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Rustys over the knuckle steering.....?

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Old Apr 6, 2009 | 09:57 AM
  #1  
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Default Rustys over the knuckle steering.....?

What do you guys think of this conversion kit? I put a 4.5 lift on not long ago and have some killer death wobble if I hit a bump doing over 50mph. The stock track bar was worn to hell so I installed a new stock one from a local CHEAP parts warehouse. I guess you get what you pay for cause I jacked the front up this weekend and the only place I see movement is the track bar. So I'm really leaning towards a rusty's track bar... I like the HD frame mount the also. Anyway that kit includes all that.... I want my xj to be done right since it will be my DD for another year, don't want to be driving a getto ride. So the question is do you think this kit is worth the money and should it fix my problem??
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Old Apr 6, 2009 | 10:13 AM
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I have the Rusty's on mine, and for some reason it moves at the frame mount. I just removed it this weekend to check the hole on the frame mount and it is fine, and I put it back in and torqued it down, but there is still a 1/4 movement back and forth when the wheels are turned. Not sure if this is normal, but this has been my experience with it.

BTW my DW was cause from a combo, axle joints and a bad hub bearing, and of course out of balance tires. All this is fixed and no more DW, but I still have a wiggly track bar.
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Old Apr 6, 2009 | 10:20 AM
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Originally Posted by motoxpete
What do you guys think of this conversion kit? I put a 4.5 lift on not long ago and have some killer death wobble if I hit a bump doing over 50mph. The stock track bar was worn to hell so I installed a new stock one from a local CHEAP parts warehouse. I guess you get what you pay for cause I jacked the front up this weekend and the only place I see movement is the track bar. So I'm really leaning towards a rusty's track bar... I like the HD frame mount the also. Anyway that kit includes all that.... I want my xj to be done right since it will be my DD for another year, don't want to be driving a getto ride. So the question is do you think this kit is worth the money and should it fix my problem??
I can't say from experience but rusty's trackbar's and so on have had a bad rep for the tre's breaking. If it was me I would go with either JKS or RE for the trackbar. They are a much better design and much more solid. RE makes a very nice HD track bar kit that should work out much better then Rusty's.

I can't say anything about their steering but I'd likely lean towards another brand for the OTK steering setup. Rusty's for some stuff is fine but major stuff based on others experiences just scares me when it comes to steering and suspension.
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Old Apr 6, 2009 | 10:35 AM
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your thread title says over the knuckle steering, but your asking about the tracbar?
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Old Apr 6, 2009 | 10:40 AM
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Originally Posted by reddragon72
I have the Rusty's on mine, and for some reason it moves at the frame mount. I just removed it this weekend to check the hole on the frame mount and it is fine, and I put it back in and torqued it down, but there is still a 1/4 movement back and forth when the wheels are turned. Not sure if this is normal, but this has been my experience with it.

BTW my DW was cause from a combo, axle joints and a bad hub bearing, and of course out of balance tires. All this is fixed and no more DW, but I still have a wiggly track bar.
Man that's exactly where mine moves.... like I said the thing is only 2 weeks old. I checked the wheel bearings yesterday and there fine. I had the wheels balanced 2 weeks ago also. Everything else up there seems to be tight.

Thank's okc I wasn't aware of that I'm going to look into RE but what is JKS?? Do you think this OTK is over kill??
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Old Apr 6, 2009 | 10:50 AM
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Originally Posted by motoxpete
Man that's exactly where mine moves.... like I said the thing is only 2 weeks old. I checked the wheel bearings yesterday and there fine. I had the wheels balanced 2 weeks ago also. Everything else up there seems to be tight.

Thank's okc I wasn't aware of that I'm going to look into RE but what is JKS?? Do you think this OTK is over kill??
Do a google search on JKS jeep cherokee track bar and you will find em. As for OTK I think it's well worth it if you get the right setups and don't cheap out on it.
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Old Apr 6, 2009 | 10:50 AM
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Originally Posted by 89eliminator
your thread title says over the knuckle steering, but your asking about the tracbar?
yeah well the track bar comes with the over the knuckle steering.... sorry if it wasn't clear enough for you but the main question is if I'm going to buy a new track bar because of the problems I'm having should I just go ahead and buy the over the knuckle steering..... My post also ask's for your thoughts.... but your asking a question??

J/k sorry had too
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Old Apr 6, 2009 | 10:55 AM
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oh, i wasnt aware it came as a package. OTK is pretty nice, i have the JCR OTK system. i would definetly get a adjustable tracbar too.
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Old Apr 6, 2009 | 02:30 PM
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any other opinions???
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Old Apr 6, 2009 | 02:40 PM
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yeah, don't buy rusty's steering haha. check out jeepinoutfitters.com, he has a couple good XJ steering setups. a buddy of mine got the JCR steering kit and had to have it modified to fit.
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Old Apr 6, 2009 | 02:51 PM
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I know its alittle different but on my ZJ i had 3.5 lift with 2 in coild spacer... 5.5 total... and a week later got DW real bad... replaced my track bar with a HD adjustible and didnt do a thing... did all kinds of stuff and i ended up pulling my steering dampener... it felt fine so i replaced some other stuff with no luck and decided to swap it out just incase with a old man emu... never had DW again... i would start there since there pretty cheap and wouldnt hurt to have a nice one anyway... i was running 33x12.50's by the way... had DW on my 03 dodge cummins and installed a dual steering stabilizer setup and never had the problem again there either...
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Old Apr 6, 2009 | 03:19 PM
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Originally Posted by huntingman2706217
I know its alittle different but on my ZJ i had 3.5 lift with 2 in coild spacer... 5.5 total... and a week later got DW real bad... replaced my track bar with a HD adjustible and didnt do a thing... did all kinds of stuff and i ended up pulling my steering dampener... it felt fine so i replaced some other stuff with no luck and decided to swap it out just incase with a old man emu... never had DW again... i would start there since there pretty cheap and wouldnt hurt to have a nice one anyway... i was running 33x12.50's by the way... had DW on my 03 dodge cummins and installed a dual steering stabilizer setup and never had the problem again there either...

Yeah that's not the first time I've heard that could be the problem.... however I did replace the stock one with new one when I did the lift.... however I'm really thinking about looking into a dual stabilizer
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Old Apr 6, 2009 | 03:31 PM
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stearing stabilizers are just bandaids to cover up the real problem crappy steering parts if you want to fix it right get good steering parts when it comes to steering you dont want skimp ive had a tierod break on my f150 cost me almost a grand to fix all the problems that came with the break
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Old Apr 6, 2009 | 03:38 PM
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you dont need a dual steering stabilizer setup.
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Old Apr 6, 2009 | 04:33 PM
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not big enough tires for duals... i wouldnt think... got 37's on my diesel and it stays on the street... just looks better with duals
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