One ton steering on a Dana 30

[Skillet]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and was wondering what y'all think of the heavy duty steering kits out there.
I have the under the knuckle kit from Serious Off-Road on my TJ—here's the before and after: http://i.imgur.com/zXiSG9m.jpg
I was somewhat weary of doing it since it required drilling out the knuckles, but it, plus new ball-joints, shocks, and tires turned the Jeep into a legit highway daily driver.
Does anybody else here run this setup or something similar on any of their jeeps? Any problems or weaknesses I should look out for?

[bluedragon436]

I have a 1-ton OTK style I'm going to be installing on my XJ here shortly and can't wait... I am not going to lie, I am/was a bit leery of drilling out the knuckles.. I have seen the same setup I have as well as the same setup you have installed on quite a few different model Jeeps, and have driven a few of them, and they all were pretty smooth and tight feeling.. I liked it quite a bit and hope that mine will turn out the same way once I get it installed..

[Skillet]

I have a 1-ton OTK style I'm going to be installing on my XJ here shortly and can't wait... I am not going to lie, I am/was a bit leery of drilling out the knuckles.. I have seen the same setup I have as well as the same setup you have installed on quite a few different model Jeeps, and have driven a few of them, and they all were pretty smooth and tight feeling.. I liked it quite a bit and hope that mine will turn out the same way once I get it installed..
Just make sure you use a new drill bit if you're going with the tapers instead of reaming. Otherwise you may have to use shims if your hole ain't straight and smooth.
I've heard of people breaking the knuckles because there is no longer any give in the tie-rod which then makes the knuckles the weak link. There's a video on Youtube of a YJ with 1 ton steering that broke a knuckle but he also had hydraulic assist steering and may have caught some air. I don't think I'd be doing any kind of off-roading that would put that much force on the system. There's not a lot of heavy rock crawling here where I am in east Texas either. It would be nice though if someone would make some aftermarket knuckles specifically for these setups.

[bluedragon436]

The kit I have uses tapered inserts once you drill out a bit.. Was going to purchase some new drill bits anyways.. just to make sure I'm working with the best I can be for the drilling out knuckles as well as for when I do the drilling for my LA upgrade... Only knuckles I know of for the D30 are made by Reid (http://www.reidracing.biz/off-road-products/dana-30-44-jeep-knuckles/chevy-heavy-duty-flat-top-dana-44-knuckles-2), and are flat topped and setup for high steer setup... But they aren't cheap...

[denverd1]

East Texas??? Skillet why haven't we wheeled together yet?

I like steering upgrades as well. Got some work to do on mine

[rabies]

how much is this upgrade? whats the point? is steering any better?

[4.3LXJ]

This is a good question. I can see the reason for a tie rod upgrade since the XJ tie rod is made out of spaghetti noodles. But the tie rod ends themselves are plenty strong. When you do this conversion you end up with a different configuration on the tie rod that allows it to roll. The drag link hooks to the tie rod instead of the tie rod hooking into the drag link. This allows the tie rod to roll up and down resulting in sloppy steering. Personally I don't like that change in design. NW99XJ did this conversion. You can ask him.

[murray_xj]

This is a good question. I can see the reason for a tie rod upgrade since the XJ tie rod is made out of spaghetti noodles. But the tie rod ends themselves are plenty strong. When you do this conversion you end up with a different configuration on the tie rod that allows it to roll. The drag link hooks to the tie rod instead of the tie rod hooking into the drag link. This allows the tie rod to roll up and down resulting in sloppy steering. Personally I don't like that change in design. NW99XJ did this conversion. You can ask him.

JCR claims to have a solution for the roll that you are mentioning...

http://www.jcroffroad.com/product/STR/1TS-UTK.html

[4.3LXJ]

JCR claims to have a solution for the roll that you are mentioning...

http://www.jcroffroad.com/product/STR/1TS-UTK.html

Yes, as do some other companies. But to my knowledge, they don't solve it entirely. There are better upgrades, but much more expensive

[nickxj94]

I went with the rugged ridge 1 ton upgrade. Basically just replaces the tre tube with a stick of dom tubing with 7/8 Chevy tierod ends. It's pretty strong I've bashed it off a few rocks and it's held the weight of my xj without bending any.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/04/12/d2c9c9a522871852024ed7cf664abddb.jpg

[OneArmArrowSlinger]

I just did the WJ knuckle swap and 1 ton w/ heims on mine. Have to put new brake lines on before I can drive but just putting around the lot it felt good.

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h106/jruzich43/IMG_5404.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h106/jruzich43/IMG_5405.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h106/jruzich43/IMG_5406.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h106/jruzich43/IMG_5408.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h106/jruzich43/IMG_5411.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h106/jruzich43/IMG_5410.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h106/jruzich43/IMG_5412.jpg

Will know hopefully this weekend how it drives.

[TallGuyJeep]

Softballs for bump stops???