Tie rod flip

[jeepboy45]

Mountain Off Road Enterprises Part 9928Z - Heavy-duty Tie Rod and Draglink by Mountain Off-Road Enterprises for Jeep

Would this also be a good way to achieve the same thing?

You can mount top or bottom of knuckle, and drill the hole straight with no taper...



Wondering...


~ JR

with the goferit method, you dont drill a tapered hole. you drill a normal hole, and weld in a tapered sleeve.

Are those heims joints? I heard that heim joints werent DOT legal for street use. It could have just been a rumor that had no validity though.

 

[JR74CJ5]

Are those heims joints? I heard that heim joints werent DOT legal for street use. It could have just been a rumor that had no validity though.

That's what i was wondering... I know at the beginning of this thread it was mentioned... Just hadn't found anything further on it either...

Ran across this today though and was checking it out...


~ JR

 

[jeepboy45]

The goferit kit seemed pretty much idiot proof. As I mentioned earlier, holding onto a drill that wanted to throw me into the fender or break my wrist was the worst part of it. It is definitely just an afternoon job, unless you are taking the knuckles off to do it on a bench.

I've seen several of those type joints on Jeeps, so maybe they arent an issue. Not sure. Someone mentioned them either wearing out, or loosening up over time. They sure do look cool though.

 

[JR74CJ5]

They kinda do...

Also I like the idea of what i assume is a heavier Duty Tie rod itself as well...

I would not buy the kit I linked( $$$$$$$ ) , would simply make it myself... But just was wondering the general consensus especially in relation to this thread topic, of flipping to top of knuckle...

 

[Old Dog]

Are those heims joints? I heard that heim joints werent DOT legal for street use. It could have just been a rumor that had no validity though.

legal or not they do wear faster than normal ends.
JR. there's 2 schools of thought on the HD rods.
1. is you won't bend it near as easy
2. since it won't bend the next weakest link (steering box) takes all the punshment.
Some of the kit prices arenot to bad. I made mine and the 1 1/4" dom (enough for a tie rod and a draglink) was $70. the taps were another $60 and I still had to buy 4 ends.

 

[JR74CJ5]

JR. there's 2 schools of thought on the HD rods.
1. is you won't bend it near as easy
2. since it won't bend the next weakest link (steering box) takes all the punshment.

True true... I just seen the same situation out at the local OHV park... Guy had awesome square tubing drivelines, heavy and basically un bendable... So when it needed to bend, and couldn't, it just ripped the output shaft from the T Case instead. Lost the seal and fluid all out of TC...

same with "unbreakable' u joints correct? Why make the easiest part to replace be super strong, causing the weak link to move into a harder to replace / access area instead... Something will always need to be the weak link right.

 

[jeepboy45]

They kinda do...

Also I like the idea of what i assume is a heavier Duty Tie rod itself as well...

I would not buy the kit I linked( $$$$$$$ ) , would simply make it myself... But just was wondering the general consensus especially in relation to this thread topic, of flipping to top of knuckle...

I've got to be honest here. My tranny went down and I've had it out for about 1 1/2 months. During that time, I did a few mods, including the tie rod flip. I havent actually driven it yet!! Waiting on a couple little parts so it is still sitting. I KNOW it is going to drive better, partly because of the tie rod flip, but I also added 6 degrees of caster correction which I didnt understand 10 years ago when I first put the front end together with extended shackles. However, the flip also allowed me to get rid of the drop pitman arm, which I understand puts added stress on the PS gearbox and also throws the geometry out of whack a bit...

Also, because I was using a drop pitman, my drag link was almost horizontal. (one of the goals of doing the tie rod flip OR drop arm is having horizontal drag link) Because I did the flip at the same time I got rid of the drop pitman, the net gain was zero!! No change... So the bottom line gain for me is getting rid of the drop arm... (plus changing all tie rod ends in the process)

Also in the down time, I put in a J20 PS gearbox to replace the very loose stock one I had. So, to be honest, there have been several changes in the steering system, so it isnt fair of me to say either way how much of a change the tie rod flip actually did. Personally I believe that replacing my worn out PS gearbox, and castor correction will improve things more than the flip / loss of drop pitman. But from what I have read, getting rid of that drop pitman is a very good thing.

On one hand it would have been nice to do these projects one at a time to see the difference each one made, but to be honest, it was good to have gotten the bulk of things done at one shot.

Now if the local shop would just get me my new front T case output yoke, I could get my baby back on the road and test all of this!!! AARG!!

 

[my73cj5]

Hey Sasquach, not to steel the thread but I noticed what I thought is a steering pump protector, is this home made or something you purchased? Looks as though it fits nice.

 

[Sasquach]

It's built into the front bumper, forget the maker....Body Armor I think.

 

[jeepboy45]

I will say that it seemed to handle nicely while I was steering her....while my Jeep was BEING TOWED to the tranny guy....:madjeep:

New tranny, wont seem to go into gear......

Steering corrections seemed nice though.... (sarcasm)

 

[CJim7]

I will say that it seemed to handle nicely while I was steering her....while my Jeep was BEING TOWED to the tranny guy....:madjeep:

New tranny, wont seem to go into gear......

Steering corrections seemed nice though.... (sarcasm)

And....you got great gas mileage

 

[jeepboy45]

And....you got great gas mileage

thanks for making me feel better... !!

I was gonna make that joke to my friend who was towing me with MY tahoe... Best mileage I've ever had with my jeep, and WORST with my gashog tahoe.... I guess it evens out.

 

[jeepboy45]

I finally drove it last night !! After 11 1/2 months of sitting in the garage collecting saw dust.

Ok, during the tranny rebuild I did the tie rod flip, 6 degrees of castor correction, new drag link and rod ends, got rid of the drop pitman, and put a new PS gearbox in from a J20..

So its hard to narrow it down to just one thing..

Wow, handles like a sports car!! OK, maybe not quite that good, but the 3 inches of play in the wheel is GONE!! For the first time since I have owned it in 25 years, it finally steers GOOD!! And I've replaced the drag link, and rod ends in the past, so its definitely not those replacements that fixed my issues.

I cant attribute the responsive handling specifically to the tie rod flip (mainly the PS box and castor correction) but I'm sure it helped getting rid of the drop arm....

The flip is such as easy mod, I'd recommend it to anyone with a drill and the desire to lose the drop pitman...

thanks to Sasquach who started this thread and all who answered my questions throughout it.

 

[Germy]

Getting rid of the dropped pitman arm and doing the tie rod flip will help bump steer a lot. The goal is to get the drag link to be horizontal.

If the drag link is at a steep angle then as the suspension compresses, the axle and steering knuckle are closer to the steering box. That forces the tire to the right as you go over a bump. And then the tire goes to the left as the suspension extends. That's your bump steer.
I have a tie rod flip.

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but I am confused. I have a kit that came with a drag link, tie rod and three sleeves. Am I to put tie rod on top of knuckle as well as drag link? I thought I was just puting the bar that goes from the pitman on top of the knuckle, what are three sleeves for?

 

[Germy]

I thought the tie rod was pitman to knuckle.

 

[BusaDave9]

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but I am confused. I have a kit that came with a drag link, tie rod and three sleeves. Am I to put tie rod on top of knuckle as well as drag link? I thought I was just puting the bar that goes from the pitman on top of the knuckle, what are three sleeves for?

Yes. If you have 3 sleeves the first is used to mount the drag link to the top of the steering knuckle. This is used to reduce bump steer. Some people stop here. But you are better off using the 2 remaining sleeves to mount both ends of the tie rod to the top of the steering knuckles. This keeps them out of the way of rocks.

 

[mtnwhlr]

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but I am confused. I have a kit that came with a drag link, tie rod and three sleeves. Am I to put tie rod on top of knuckle as well as drag link? I thought I was just puting the bar that goes from the pitman on top of the knuckle, what are three sleeves for?

Yes that is why you have three sleeves to move it all to the top.

 

[Germy]

Got it, same caution reaming as drag link? I was told to put reamer in a drill bc it feels chunky by hand? Thoughts?

 

[mtnwhlr]

You need to it by hand with a drill it goes to fast. You can always take more but when you go to far you are screwed.

 

[PaRenegade]

^^ What he said. By hand.