Well I tried to redo my steering and upgrade to bigger brakes via the WJ knuckles and it did not go as planned. I welded on the unit bearing spacers and retapered the tie rod holes to install GM 1 ton TRE from the top at all locations. EZ PZ. I got sport track rotors and ground a little off the outside of the unit bearings, EZ PZ. After that I spent a whole lot of hours trying to install the drag link and Tie Rod to get as much clearance as possible and that did not go so good. The mod is only worth doing if I keep or gain clearance over my existing setup and that means the Tie Rod has to be installed on the upper side of the knuckles.
Tie rod upper side of knuckle and drag link on upper side of knuckle and lower side of pitman arm = tie rod contacting drag link in area of pitman arm and drag link contacting frame. I can easily notch the frame but the tie rod contacting drag link would require too much bump stop.
Tie rod upper side of knuckle and drag link on upper side of knuckle and upper side of pitman arm = drag link goes into radiator hard, too much to try and relocate rad up, etc.... drag link would also contact frame if it got past Rad.
I tried both the GM 1 ton tie rods and I also looked at heims since the heims aren't as bulky, same results in both configurations.
I can get it to work if I put the tie rod on the upper side of pass knuckle and lower side of driver knuckle and I notch the frame but I lose clearance over my existing set up on the drivers side which I don't want to do. Clearance is king.
I can definitely make it work if I put the tie rod ends on the lower side of the knuckles but I lose a lot of clearance and not an option. I can't sacrifice clearance.
I looked at a lot of pictures on the Internet (including some from this site) and I think that my issue may be my rotated steering box putting that pitman arm in line with the tie rod on the WJ knuckles or others were just willing to make some sacrifices that I am not. I also stared and pondered and bent tubing and cussed and complained to my wife, etc... all weekend with no magical results. So I used the time to figure out how I could make it work:
1. Make a pitman arm that puts the joint at about the midline of the pitman arm. This will allow the tie rod to not contact the drag link and lessons the amount the drag link will contact radiator and frame. Not sure how I am going to make it yet, but I have some ideas.
2. Move the radiator up a little (no more than inch).
3. Notch the frame
I did make a track bar which requires a slight bend and I figured out how to install track bar axle side bracket to get the geometry correct and I have the parts made and ready to weld in in the future.
I am going wheeling next weekend and then the 1st week of May so I decided to punt and reinstall my existing Currie setup. I did not want to get too deep into this mod (radiator relocate, frame notch, and ?pitman arm?) and not be able to wheel next week so this was my best option. I did weld a 3/8 solid rod to the front of the drag link in the area that bends the most, hopefully that will resist some of my drag link bending issues.
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Anyway, not every thing always goes our way, but lessons were learned and plan is somewhat made for next time. I very much like the clearance that I will get with the Tie Rod installed on the upper side of the WJ knuckles and I really like separating the tie rod and drag link and getting the drag link completely out of the rocks. The bigger brakes are also going to be very nice when driving on road. So the mod is worth the effort, it is just going to take me more time than I originally planned.
