So my gearbox is beat to hell after several years of abuse, and I'm about to order a new one from Redhead. I was happy with the last/current box and believe me when I say it's not the box's fault it needs to be replaced.
That said, something I never noticed the first time around is that, beyond just the standard 18510 (3-turn) box, they also offer a 4-turn box, which provides more mechanical leverage and is probably a bit less stress on the system given my 35" mud tires and all the other ways I abuse this Jeep's steering components.
My question is whether installing a 4-turn gearbox is going to mean certain doom for my clockspring. I already had to replace the clockspring right after buying the jeep because I purchased it with an ABS light on, and the turn signals were not behaving properly (I think one side didn't work). It's not caused me any problems since then, but I'd rather avoid breaking this clockspring because the darn thing was pretty pricey.
Does anyone know with high confidence that the 4-turn box is or is not a valid point of concern for the well-being of my clockspring? I'm hoping to place the order tonight and pick the box up Wednesday morning. Any advice is appreciated.
Bonus question: This one is about sector shaft braces.
My current gearbox is being put out to pasture because of a lot of lateral play in the sector shaft and input shaft, so I've started to think that one of these sector shaft braces might be a good idea to protect the new gearbox and keep everything nice and tight. I've only found two decent-looking options online for a gearbox sector shaft brace:
If anyone has any experience or knowledge about alternatives or whatever, I'd love to hear from you--especially if you know exact specs for where I could order the bearing that's being used in these other kits so I can cut out the middle man and fab up something myself and maybe save $150-200.
It seems like there are a bazillion people making sector shaft braces for the XJ and for the JK and JL, but for some reason the TJ is getting slim pickings...
That said, something I never noticed the first time around is that, beyond just the standard 18510 (3-turn) box, they also offer a 4-turn box, which provides more mechanical leverage and is probably a bit less stress on the system given my 35" mud tires and all the other ways I abuse this Jeep's steering components.
My question is whether installing a 4-turn gearbox is going to mean certain doom for my clockspring. I already had to replace the clockspring right after buying the jeep because I purchased it with an ABS light on, and the turn signals were not behaving properly (I think one side didn't work). It's not caused me any problems since then, but I'd rather avoid breaking this clockspring because the darn thing was pretty pricey.
Does anyone know with high confidence that the 4-turn box is or is not a valid point of concern for the well-being of my clockspring? I'm hoping to place the order tonight and pick the box up Wednesday morning. Any advice is appreciated.
Bonus question: This one is about sector shaft braces.
My current gearbox is being put out to pasture because of a lot of lateral play in the sector shaft and input shaft, so I've started to think that one of these sector shaft braces might be a good idea to protect the new gearbox and keep everything nice and tight. I've only found two decent-looking options online for a gearbox sector shaft brace:
- One is made by Synergy and costs $250. Sounds awful steep but looks like a good product and if it does what it's supposed to do, should be worth its weight in gearboxes two or three times over:
- The other is this random Etsy page, which also looks like it's probably pretty decent, but I don't know whether it would be wise to pay extra and trust that the pre-welded option will line up as perfectly with my sector shaft as it needs to:
If anyone has any experience or knowledge about alternatives or whatever, I'd love to hear from you--especially if you know exact specs for where I could order the bearing that's being used in these other kits so I can cut out the middle man and fab up something myself and maybe save $150-200.
It seems like there are a bazillion people making sector shaft braces for the XJ and for the JK and JL, but for some reason the TJ is getting slim pickings...
