New owner of an old Rubi. I was just replacing the front brakes and noticed this. I found the ZJ tie rod thread first thing; glad it is such a popular upgrade.
Looks like it is time for a ZJ tie rod upgrade?
- Thread starter Julio P
- Start date
If you're bending your tie rod like that it might be time for a correctlync? Or even the MEGA TIE ROD from black magic brakes
Looks like my jeep when I bought it! Same upgrade I did, I would rather the cheap parts bend or break rather than the expensive bits.
If you play in big rocks, upgrade. Otherwise, take it off, bend it back straight and reinstall it. You should also replace your dropped pitman arm with a factory style one to fix your steering geometry. You are likely feeling some bump steer as it is now.
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I just purchased the Rubi so I inherited the problem. One of the things I saw going into rig. I’m not planning to make this a habit, but time will tell if the stupid side of my brain wins when I’m in that position.
I see other issues too.Post some more pics and fill out your Jeep profile.
I apparently need to hit up this forum more often than once a week or so. Lots of good info to learn. Good call on this - thanks!
Correct. This picture shows the difference clearly:
A dropped pitman arm offsets the drag link connection point lower than stock. If your track bar is not also lowered by the same amount to match it, the drag link (steering) and track bar (suspension) will no longer cooperate nicely as designed. This manifests most noticeably as a jerking motion of the steering wheel when the suspension is compressed at speed when going over a bump.
More generally, the steering wheel will not hold true through suspension travel, yet the wheels will. This is commonly called bump steer.
Same with my Currie!
In all seriousness though, the ZJ tie rod is a good upgrade. The Currectlync would be a good upgrade if you plan to wheel hard. Blaine's 4340 heat treated version would be a good upgrade if you wheel harder.
Good info - thanks! To be clear, the current suggestion by the experts is that I get a factory pitman arm to reduce bump steer? Would that mean I should get a new/longer drag link?
On a side note, why would one install a dropped pitman arm without installing a lowered track bar? Is it because whatever lift was installed on this rig was cheap? I have yet to identify what aftermarket upgrades have been installed on this. I installed a Old Man 2" lift in my other TJ (2000) and this sits much higher than that.
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