andybird

Hello guys

I'm looking to upgrade my stearing. Im new to the jeep world and havent a clue about mods and upgrades. (willing to learn) I was wondering whats the best bolt on setup to use. Im no mechanic so dont really want to do any welding or drilling. I live in the uk so need to find upgrades over hear really.

Cheers

Andy

EvstaG

Are you running big tires and need extra strength out of the steering components? Or just want your steering to feel tighter and more precise?

andybird

Hi. I'm running 31 inch tyres with a 4.5 lift. I think would like more precise stearing.

winksjeep

There are lots of kits out there but you really need to decide if you want tie rod ends or heim joints ends. I want better steering but wanted to use tie rod ends but also wanted high steer and better brakes so the WJ swap is the route I am going. Just about have have all the parts here.

Guywitha92

Depends on your budget. V8Vzj tie rods are a direct swap. If your wallet is fat and needs lightening, you can look into currie steering.

Charley3

Why so much lift for 31s? That much lift is probably part of your steering issues. More lift puts trackbar and draglink at a steeper angle. They work best when they are more horizontal.

There are some cures for this for 5" lifts that would probably work for a 4.5" lift, but the most effective cure would be to lower your lift down to 3" (or ideally less).

Pretty much anyone will tell you a 3" lift fits 31" tires, and that is true. Less than 3" lift can fit 31s if you know how to go about it.

1) Consider lowering your lift.

2) Additionally there are several things I did for my steering:

I replaced all my joints in the steering. Joints at both ends of draglink, I replaced stock trackbar with a longer one that has new joint at one end and new bushing at other end. You also need a strong stiff trackbar. I use Moog Problem Solver trackbar, which is great for 1 to 2" lift and OK for 2.5" lift.

Also, make sure trackbar bolta at axlend is tight. If it gets loose or wallowed out, it degrades steering and can cause death wobble. Make sure trackbar is tight at frame-end and verify the mounting bracket is tight to the frame and bolts tight.

I replaced the weak, hollow, stock XJ tierod with a solid steel ZJ tie-rod. You can use a ZJ OEM one from a junkyard if you have time for junkyarding. I used a new Moog Problem Solver tie-rod (Moog tierod is solid steel and just like the stock ZJ tierod) and new Moog brand ZJ tie-rod ends/joints. The Moog joints are same (or better) than stock ZJ joints, and are larger and stronger than stock XJ joints.

Having a stronger tierod helps a lot. It eliminates the stock slight shimmy when hitting a bump on highway. So I have more confidence in steering on highway, and a stronger tie-rod is tougher offroad.

There are many other brands of aftermaket tie-rods for XJs. Most (perhaps all?) are solid steel (just like a stock or Moog ZJ tierod), but many of the aftermarket ones are straight (more ground clearance than ZJ style with bend in it). I like aftermarket tierods that are straight and solid and stock diameter because they still clear everything. Beware of aftermarket tie-rods that are thicker than stock (Currie for example) because they can't cause clearance problems with less than 4" lift. To clear a Currie 1.25" diameter tie-rod, you need 4" lift and 2" bumpstop extension, IME. So look for a straight, solid, stock diameter (1" diam) tierod, ideally. Or just get a ZJ tierod in either OEM stock or Moog Problem Solver for some cheap strength, but not as much ground clearance as a straight 1" diam aftermarket tierod.

Worn UCA and LCA bushings can contribute to steering wander by allowing castor to change a little as you drive. Replace all control arm bushings if you have any doubts about them.

I replaced my steering gear box with a Big Box (or Big something - whatever it's called) from Power Steering Motorsports (Google them) for $500. This helped a lot along with a more powerful power steering pump I got from them, my steering is tighter and super easy to steer. You might not need a new gearbox or pump, but if you do, I highly recommend their products. They custom made me a pump for $250 that is suitable for up to 33s, but I use it with 30s. The pump they custom made for me is lower cost than the pumps they stock and sell onlne (made for very big tires).

If you need a new gearbox and can't afford the Big box, then get a new stock gear box. It's better than a worn stock one. Likewise with pump. However, new stock parts probably cost as much or more than the PSM upgrade parts.

Have you check your ball joints on the C's? How about wheel bearings? If those are worn, they can cause wobbles in the front-end, which affects how safe and secure you feel, and might also affect steering on highway. Check and replace if necessary or if in doubt.

Lastly, do you have adjustable length control ams? If not, you need them for any lift over 2" and I like them with my 1.25" lift. They have several on and off road benefits. One benefit is an alignment shop can adjust your castor and fine tune it for better steering on road. However, they can't really give you enough castor for good steering at lift heights above 3" or 4" because that would cause a bad driveline angle. So once again, you'd be better off lowering to 3" (or less).

Here is what I've learned (15 years reading online and personally experimenting on my Jeeps) about castor vs tire size for XJs and TJs.

Note: * means degrees of castor. Below are castor figures I for good steering and reduced wandering with each tire size.

225 to 235/75R15 6.5* to 7* for good steering and straight tracking on highway (no wander).

30 x 9.5 R15 6* to 6.5* for good steering and straight tracking on highway (no wander).31 x 9.5 or 10.5 5.5* to 6* for good steering and straight tracking on highway (no wander).More castor than necessary for good steering increases wear on front-drive shaft CV joints. Increasing castor reduces clearance between the inside edge of the tire and swaybar and LCAs (during during full lock turns). You need appropriate castor (not to little or to much for the tire and lift).

Charley3

My XJ used to wander a lot at 35 mph. I did the above and now it drives straight on highway up to 76 mph without wandering. I haven't tried it faster than 76 mph.

To save costs you could try to track down a specific source of your issues (lift height and castor being most likely causes), but in reality, our XJs are old. There's usually multiple causes. I started withe the trackbar, then all the joints and bushings in steering and suspension. Each thing helped. The tierod helped. But still it wasn't good enough. The steering gear box and pump were the last things I did and were the icing on the cake.

Since it's likely you castor is off, I'd start with adjustable lower control arms and adjusting castor Even better would be to lower lift to 2.5 to 3" and then adjust able control arms and castor.

Beyond that, you likely need all the things I did because these XJs are old and have multiple worn out parts, and the stock tierod was weak from day one.

Charley3

As lift height increases, the amount of castor possible decreases due to front drive-line angles. However, that's not as much of a problem as it sounds because higher lifts usually include taller tires, and taller tires don't need as much castor to steer reasonably good. Howevever, Andybird has a fairly high lift with relatively small tires. That's not a good combination, IMO. His 4.5" lift makes it impossible to have much castor (front drive-line angles) even with adjustable lower control arms, IMO. If he had larger tires they wouldn't need much castor, but he has 31" tires and they need more castor than his 4.5" lift drive-line angle can allow, IMO. So he doesn't have enough castor for his tire size and wanders on highway. Best solution for that is lower lift to 2.5 or 3" and get adjustable lower control arms and adjust castor for the tire size. Otherwise, if staying at 4.5" lift, taller tire might help since they don't need as much castor. However, taller tires might cause other problems.

In addition, he may have other issues I've already mentioned.

Charley3

At 4.5" lift Currie would be ideal (more than good enough) but ZJ tierod would be plenty strong enough, especially with 31s. If he lowers to 3" then Currie would probably have clearance problems.

I experienced clearance problems with Currie steering on an LJ with 3" lift and 1" bumpstop extension. I later learned Curried steering is for 4"+ lift with 2"+ bumpstop extension. Having at least 2" bumpstop extention is key to Currie steering clearances.

Guywitha92

I bent 2 sets of brand new zj steering. One zj drag link, and 2 tie rods. I'm only running 32s on 3.5 lift

andybird

The Jeep came with the 4.5 inch lift and 31 tyres. Theres a lot for my head to get round here as I havent a clue really what your on about, but willing to learn. Im new to the jeep world. I'ld like to keep 4.5 lift and change to a bigger tyre size. This is my daily drive as well

andybird

According to the fourwheeler.com I think the previous owner put on 31 tyres so they didnt have to mod the flares. Ill take a pic of the stearing rack. Hopefully you guys can see if it stock or not. I picked up the jeep from a guy who picked it up from somebody else, so I have know idea if the rack is stock or not

andybird

The jeep doesnt really wander whilst driving. It will drive in almost straight line without using the stearing wheel. Its just abit vague. One other thing is that the stearing wheel isnt straight when driving and my passernger front tyre is wearing down quicker than the drivers side. (jeep is right hand drive)

Charley3

Since it tracks straight almost without using steering wheel, it sounds like your castor is good. i.e. - like your lower control arm length is good.

Offcenter steering wheel sounds to me like trackbar is to short for amount of lift. Does your front axle look properly centered under vehicle, or does it look offcentered?

As for vagueness, there are many possible reasons for that, which I explained earlier.

Let's tackle one problem at a time. Stand in front of the Jeep from about 7 to 10 meters. Does the front axle look centered or offcentered under the Jeep? Look at the tires relative to fenders-body is the easiest way to check visually.

Charley3

3" lift is all that's needed for 31 x 10.5 without modifying flares (with most wheels). Some wheels with AT tires might make less than 3" lift work with 31 x 10.5.

I can't imagine any reason you'd need 4.5" lift for 31 x 10.5 tires.