Steering Upgrade

[cschneider69]

I have a 1997 Cherokee with a 4.5" Rough Country lift. I need to replace front ball joints, steering stabilizer and weld a new trackbar mounting bracket.

I am looking for recommendations on upgraded/heavy duty parts that will hold up the the strains of the lift and light off roading.

Should these be replaced or will they come with whatever kits I buy......
Tie Rod Ends (all four, plus the upper track bar end)
Steering Box Brace
Track Bar Ends

Should I replace pitman arm with one with a drop? Or not necessary.

I've had recommendations of Moog, SFR, Iron Rock Offroad. Not looking to bust the bank, but looking for good quality products that will hold up.
thanks

[prerunner1982]

I would recommend Ironman4x4fab, https://www.ironman4x4fab.com/cherokee-xj

His stuff is beefy and he has a new 1 ton under the knuckle steering setup out.
Prices on some stuff may be seem a bit high but it's high quality and he is a good guy, Kevin Cox is alright too.

[denverd1]

I did a dropped pitman for my 4.5". drag link link angle isn't as extreme. I plan on getting to 6" soon so it made sense to do when I had the gear out.

for light wheeling, the only weak link in the current system is the tie rod. Grab a WJ tie rod - or Iron man rod - and new TREs, you should be good to go.

[4.3LXJ]

Did you mean ZJ Denver? Although the WJ tie rod is a nice rod, it is too long

[denverd1]

Did you mean ZJ Denver? Although the WJ tie rod is a nice rod, it is too long

YES!! Thank you, I'm always confusing the two..... you want ZJ steering and WJ brakes :crazy:

ZJ rod is about a hundo. Ironman's is 120. I would've bought Iron's had they made it when I did steering.

[4.3LXJ]

WJ brakes are great, but require a different drag link and tie rod. And to make it just right, track bar work. But sweet when done

[denverd1]

WJ brakes are great, but require a different drag link and tie rod. And to make it just right, track bar work. But sweet when done

isn't that what the spacers are for? Damn it, I'm not replacing all that stuff again

[4.3LXJ]

Actually, the slick way to do a WJ tie rod relocation is to use a 2" block under the coils, which is what Jeep did. Then you can move the tie rod end up about 5" I think and make it all work right. Can also use a double shear mount on the frame and lower it there if needed

[drakan1908]

Make sure to use a V8 tierod . Both my 4.0 ZJs have the hollow road.

Sent from a van down by the river

[89limited_hero]

I've been able to find moog part numbers for the v8 zj steering swap. That cross reference to NAPA performer chassis pretty much same part number. And come up for around $80.
Moog part numbers
ds1312 tie rod with one tre
es3096l tre
es2079s adjusting collar

[denverd1]

I've been able to find moog part numbers for the v8 zj steering swap. That cross reference to NAPA performer chassis pretty much same part number. And come up for around $80.
Moog part numbers
ds1312 tie rod with one tre
es3096l tre
es2079s adjusting collar

It's worth the time and effort to order from a local shop, then take a few minutes to unbox and assemble it to make sure everything connects properly right there on the counter. IIRC it took me 2 trips to Dodo Zone to get the proper TRE's. the adjusting collar components are pretty straight forward, but it's all a mix of right and left threads.

[denverd1]

here's our sticky on it:
http://xjtalk.com/showthread.php?t=6242