Tie Rod & Drag Link Advice

[billyocup]

I'm getting to the point in my 75 CJ5 build where I need to start thinking about the steering linkage. My old tie rod appears to have a slight curve in it and I assume it should be dead straight? I'm going to be running 33s and my thought was to replace the entire linkage with heavier duty than stock. Was also wondering about high steer? I've got 2 1/2" of lift with the springs and another 1/2" from the shackles.

Any help you guys can provide would be much appreciated.

Thanks, Bill

 

[Old Dog]

I like the idea of a HD tierod and draglink. another good thing about them is all the ends are the short cheap ones.
If by high steer you mean fliping you ends to the top of the arms, I like that idea too, it helps get everything up out of the way.

 

[billyocup]

Old Dog -

Your picture shows exactly what I'm thinking about, Thanks. What's the process to accomplish that? I think I read something about getting a special reamer of some sort to taper the holes from the top of the knuckles.

I've been looking at the Rugged Ridge heavy duty tie rod & drag link kit, unless anybody has a better suggestion.

 

[Old Dog]

There's the reamer way, made by rocky road I believe. I went that way because my buddy already had the reamer from doing his, all I had to buy was the inserts.
There's also a couple companies that make inserts, heres their sites
Rock Equipment Tie Rod Flip Kit
Goferit Products!

 

[Buuushman]

I think the high steer is the only way to go- I've been looking for a drop pitman for mine but there does not seem to be one available unless you are running at least 4" of lift. I certainly don't want my drag link below my tie rod, but I can feel some bump steer even on speed bumps, or reflectors on the highway. I would love a 2 1/2" drop pitman arm if someone could find one-

Bush

 

[billyocup]

There's the reamer way, made by rocky road I believe. I went that way because my buddy already had the reamer from doing his, all I had to buy was the inserts.
There's also a couple companies that make inserts, heres their sites
Rock Equipment Tie Rod Flip Kit
Goferit Products!

Old Dog - Thanks for the links. Rock Equipment has a complete kit to flip the tie rod including the heavy duty tie rod, drag link and all the rod ends plus the new sleeves and the reamer. Maybe the way to go.

Does the tie rod flip eliminate the need for a drop pitman arm?

Buuushman - I like the way the draglink is level with the tie rod in Old Dog's photo.

 

[Scotty]

I have been eliminating all the steering issues one piece at a time.

Things already installed..
Big Daddy's tie rod and drag link,Moog tie rod ends,wheel bearings,gear box support,shackle bushings,sway bar bushings and disconnect bushings.

Things ready to install..
borgonson steering shaft,AIG superboxII and super pump,one piece HD box mounting bracket,body bushing kit and leaf spring bushings.

The angle on my drag link is not that bad for a 4 inch lift but I'm thinking im going to do a rod flip to get everything straight and up out of the way. I will add that the gear box support that goes from the bottom of the gear box over to the passenger side frame made a WORLD of difference as far as making the front end more stiff and responsive. The HD tie rod and drag link with the new ends did make a considerable change in the way the jeep runs on the freeway and id say this is a good place to start. Bad ball joints and wheel bearings can also make the front end wiggle around and make it hard to control on the road. Just my 2 cents.. good Luck!

 

[billyocup]

Scotty - Thanks for the advice and the pic. I'm in the middle of a frame off rebuild, so I'm trying to pre-empt as many problems as I can before I have them. I've already installed new wheel bearings, ball joints, shackle & leaf spring bushings. The PO (my nephew) installed a new steering box and replaced the tie rod. He managed to bend the tie rod in the couple times he ran it off road before he parked it, that's why I'm thinking of the heavy duty stuff. I looked at the Big Daddy's stuff, but they don't list anything for the 75 CJ5 . Since I need to replace the tie rod and drag link, I thought it made sense to do the tie rod flip at the same time.

 

[rsbad454]

I just installed the Rugged Ridge tie rods and drag link. I have the Rough Stuff Specialties diff covers, but the front cover will hit the thicker tie rod bar. I think I may want to go the high steer, which kit is better?

 

[billyocup]

Both of the flip kits (Rock Equip and Goferit) I looked at have pros and cons.

The Goferit kit is easy on one hand because you just drill out the existing tapered hole to install the insert but you have to weld the insert in. All you have to buy is the inserts.

The Rock Equip kit requires the use of a reamer to cut new tapered holes, but the inserts don't require any welding. You have to buy the reamer which is about $85.

I went with the Rock Equip kit because they also had a complete flip kit including heavy duty tie rod, drag link and all the tie rod ends. It went together pretty easy, but in retrospect the tie rod and drag link are probably a bit of overkill because they're not tube steel, they're solid steel rod.

Good Luck,
Bill

 

[PaRenegade]

There seems to be a bit of confusion in terminology in this thread. High steer is done with a new knuckle or an additional "arm" added to the top, usually on beefier axles. What you guys are talking about is a drag link and/or a tie rod flip, where they just get moved to the top of the existing arm instead of mounting under like stock.

There 2 types I've seen out there, the tapered inserts (like OK4WD has) or the thick inserts (like goforit has). The tapered ones use a tapered reamer to taper the top of the hole and the insert fills in the bottom. The goforit type drills out the existing hole to make it larger and then the inserts go in the new hole.

I just did the tapered type recently and the directions are more of a guide for a perfect situation, however the variance in knuckle arm thickness's changes things and the guide isn't always correct. The end result is what must be kept in mind if the directions don't match your reality. The inserts are $13 ea, the reamer is much more so try to borrow one if possible.
I also choose this way because if I did screw it up I could always drill it out and get the goforit inserts to work.

The goforit inserts are the more simplistic route to go but you must be able to drill a 3/4" hole thru a 3/4"(+/- 1/16") piece of steel. They then want it tack welded in place but I'm not sure you'd need to. The inserts are $18ea and a good 3/4" drill will probably run $25-30.

Note that the Rugged ridge HD tie rod and drag link use different tie rod ends that have a larger threaded shaft then normal, no matter what brand. I'm trying to get a Big Daddy HD drag link. I already have a HD tie rod, which I had to flip too due to it hitting my diff. cover skid plate.

edit: Guess you beat me to it Bill. (I type slow)

 

[rsbad454]

There seems to be a bit of confusion in terminology in this thread. High steer is done with a new knuckle or an additional "arm" added to the top, usually on beefier axles. What you guys are talking about is a drag link and/or a tie rod flip, where they just get moved to the top of the existing arm instead of mounting under like stock.

There 2 types I've seen out there, the tapered inserts (like OK4WD has) or the thick inserts (like goforit has). The tapered ones use a tapered reamer to taper the top of the hole and the insert fills in the bottom. The goforit type drills out the existing hole to make it larger and then the inserts go in the new hole.

I just did the tapered type recently and the directions are more of a guide for a perfect situation, however the variance in knuckle arm thickness's changes things and the guide isn't always correct. The end result is what must be kept in mind if the directions don't match your reality. The inserts are $13 ea, the reamer is much more so try to borrow one if possible.
I also choose this way because if I did screw it up I could always drill it out and get the goforit inserts to work.

The goforit inserts are the more simplistic route to go but you must be able to drill a 3/4" hole thru a 3/4"(+/- 1/16") piece of steel. They then want it tack welded in place but I'm not sure you'd need to. The inserts are $18ea and a good 3/4" drill will probably run $25-30.

Note that the Rugged ridge HD tie rod and drag link use different tie rod ends that have a larger threaded shaft then normal, no matter what brand. I'm trying to get a Big Daddy HD drag link. I already have a HD tie rod, which I had to flip too due to it hitting my diff. cover skid plate.

edit: Guess you beat me to it Bill. (I type slow)

Yes I know what the high steer actually is, my meaning was obviously in reference to moving my steering bars on top of knuckles. I have seen both kits and will probably opt for the Goforit setup, drilling etc isn't an issue. I already have the rugged ridge bars and rod ends installed, they have a beefier ball joint and have the stock size taper. I had no idea my new diff cover would interfere with tie rod bar until it was installed. Oh well, you live and learn.

 

[WSS]

I did the goferit adapters and built my own tie rod and draglink out of 1.25x1 dom and used protofab inserts (LH and RH) and bought some 3/4" moog tres. At first it scraped my diff cover, or at least the stabilizer mount did. I built s diy diff cover from blue torch fab. I moved the stabilizer to the outboard side of the driver side spring and problem solved. I was able to ditch the drop pitman arm and regain la tighter turn radius as well as no more bump steer. The draglink sits nearly level now and lots more ground clearance.

See my finger for new stabilizer location LOL











before new diff cover:

 

[rsbad454]

I did the goferit adapters and built my own tie rod and draglink out of 1.25x1 dom and used protofab inserts (LH and RH) and bought some 3/4" moog tres. At first it scraped my diff cover, or at least the stabilizer mount did. I built s diy diff cover from blue torch fab. I moved the stabilizer to the outboard side of the driver side spring and problem solved. I was able to ditch the drop pitman arm and regain la tighter turn radius as well as no more bump steer. The draglink sits nearly level now and lots more ground clearance.

See my finger for new stabilizer location LOL











before new diff cover:

Nice, the diff cover is similar to the Ruff Stuff Specialties I bought. I won't be able to use the front until I do the tie rod flip.

 

[es335]

I must be missing something. The Rugged Ridge kit (HD) states "bolt on". I pasted their ad:
(I just ordered it for my 74 CJ)

HD Tie Rod & Drag Link Kit, 82-86 Jeep CJ7 & CJ8 WT


$259.99
Availability: In stock

OR

• Add to Wishlist
• | Add to Compare

Quick Overview

SKU: 18050.81
This heavy duty tie rod and drag link kit from Rugged Ridge fits 82-86 Jeep CJ7 and CJ8 . You get one ton strength without any modifications

 

[es335]

Finished the install of the Drag Link/Tie Rod and four new Tie Rod ends. Used the Rugged Ridge Kit. Install took about an hour, pretty uneventful. Quite a difference between the stock and Rugged Ridge components. One question, was trying to get torque specs for the tie rod to knuckle bolts. The site I used stated 55 ft lbs, for all except the drag link to pitman arm-which they stated was 5 lbs???? I think it was a misprint so I stuck with 55 ft lbs for all.

 

[Torxhead]

Its kinda hard to state an exact torque spec for the tie rod ends since the cotter pin holes don't always line up at that tightness. The fsm for my '86 gives a minimum tightness of 40 ft lbs, but I'm sure 55 is fine. So set it to that than tighten to get the holes to line up for the pin. They are 7/16-20 bolts, and the spec for those is about that.

 

[es335]

Thank you.
I was starting to panic-looking at some of the other pictures on the forum-some put the tierod ends on top of the knuckle. I double ckd the diagram and the stock diagrams show the tierods on the bottom-which is how mine was . However. it actually looks like they would work on top? Would give better clearance for sure.

 

[tarry99]

Thank you.
I was starting to panic-looking at some of the other pictures on the forum-some put the tierod ends on top of the knuckle. I double ckd the diagram and the stock diagrams show the tierods on the bottom-which is how mine was . However. it actually looks like they would work on top? Would give better clearance for sure.

They would work on the top but the taper is from the bottom up.........some re-cut the taper with a reamer from the top down and flip the tie-rod over while others buy inserts from places like Goferit......this requires drilling out the spindle holes and installing an insert that already has a taper in it and then tack weld it in place..............both solutions will get your tie rod up & out of the way for added clearance and also help bump steer.............

 

[es335]

Thank you-confirmed what I researched!!! Going tomorrow to have the money pit aligned.....and to let them double ck my install....