Ceedubya06

So I recently lifted my 2001 Jeep XJ from a rubicon express 3.5" front and rear, to about a 5.5-6 lift with front ACOS spacers, RC drop brackets, Core4x4 adjustable control arms, and rear shackle relocation kits. At the same time I also installed JKS front sway bar disconnects. My issue I'm having now is my passenger tierod end is making contact with the disconnect. I'm looking for opinions on fixes. The options I see are Cav Fab high clearance with heim joints, or drop pitman arm and track bar bracket.
Anyone run heim joints on their daily driver? I'm in New England so they would see road salt/calcium, sand. I don't want something I'll need to replace every couple years, and this Jeep is also like 99% mall crawler haha

any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

XJlimitedx99

I have the same issue with the steering hitting my swaybar. It actually ended up breaking my swaybar mount off.

I think any aftermarket steering kit should correct the problem because (on mine) the tie rod end at the connection between the drag link and tie rod is what makes contact with the swaybar mount. Running any kind of different steering setup should fix that.

At that lift height you really should be looking into over the knuckle steering to correct the steep angles. This does require much more work than under the knuckle because you need to relocate (weld) the track bar mount over the axle as well.

Its a bit of a toss-up between heims vs TRE's. You'll get people advocating for both. Cheap heims wear out, expensive ones will last. Do your research and buy what you're comfortable with. Either will work.

I'm also at about 6" of lift and have been DDing for over a year with STOCK steering. (yes, you read that right). Its bad. I've just learned to deal with it at this point but I don't let others drive my Jeep.

My plan is to do a WJ swap with the RuffStuff crossover steering kit which uses TRE's and the RuffStuff panhard kit which uses heims. I like the idea of heims on the track bar because there should be no play in the track bar at all. Anything that uses poly bushings will wear out eventually. This will net me OTK crossover steering and a nice tight track bar setup.

SteveMongr

The easiest solution is extended sway bar mounts on axle. $20 from JKS. Raises the end links 2".
http://jksmfg.com/i-17393807-fab-ext...q%3Dswaybar%2B

XJlimitedx99

Now that's thinkin with your dipstick.

OP, you'd have to extend the sway bar brackets like that to do OTK steering anyway, so you might as well do this first.

SteveMongr

I should also mention that the extended mounts sit further back and more vertically than stock mounts, allowing more clearance for steering.

Ceedubya06

the cav fab high clearance steering is made to go out around the links but i see how this would probably be my easiest/cheapest option, thanks guys!

Guywitha92

I run heims on my daily and I have no issues besides them getting squeaky once in a while. I keep a can of silicone spray inky jeep and just spray the heims when they start making noise. Solves the noise issue and I have no death wobble anymore

01xj609

I was having the exact same issue with the drag link contacting the sway bar disconnect. I've heard you can flip the disconnect around and run it on the other side of the mount, but not sure. I ended up changing out my steering. People recommended currie but honestly I had no interest in it because it still retains the stock Y geometry. I looked into the IRO otk steering but a couple local guys had issues with it, mainly alignment. The typical 1 ton kits require reaming and people complain about a dead spot, I said screw it and ordered the rusty steering conversion despite all the hate towards rustys. I ended up mounting the tie rod in front of the drag link like most of the "T" steering setups rather than on top like rustys has it and I have absolutely no contact issues and it drives good in my opinion. Been wheeling it for about a month and does 80 down the parkway with 2 fingers holding the wheel. Just an honest opinion because some people seem to talk without having first hand experience with certain parts.