JeepTrick68

I've been searching on here for steering linkage upgrades. I'm looking for a set up that's a direct bolt-in. I don't wheel hard as my rig is a DD. Don't really need 1 ton and I'm not looking to ream out my knuckles. I heard some bad reviews about Rusty's and Rugged Ridge. I'm also considering the ZJ swap. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

kcdt58

What size tires do you plan to run? If you stay at 33" and under I would highly recommend just doing the ZJ swap. Anything more than that is overkill IMO.

PurpleToxin505

Overkill Is Underrated

unidentifiedbomb

Could save that money and put it to better use.

kcdt58

What he said.

PurpleToxin505

Like what?

unidentifiedbomb

Could buy a locker, make/used sliders/bumpers, armor.

andrewmp6

Depends on if you want a bigger lift and tires later on or not.But to me i would do the zj swap now and later on if needed upgrade to the heaver stuff when you need it.

JeepTrick68

I'm running 31s right now. I have funds & plans for new wheels/tires and bumper. I just put on new 3.5" leaf packs and Bilstein shocks. I don't want to go with bigger tires on account of re-gearing.

unidentifiedbomb

For under $100 you can upgrade the tie rod to a ZJ V8 one and be done.

SeriousOffroad

Type of wheeling and terrain is more important than the tire size when you're talking about steering upgrades.

Steering a 32" tire on a rocks and boulders is a lot more demanding than rolling down a dirt road.

Considering how important your steering is, why not invest in a quality upgrade.

Fred/N0AZZ

I agree if you plan on running 37" tires or larger or planning on a hard core "Rock Crawler" you need all you can get as for the steering because these are very hard on it as well other equipment that will be required also.


I off road on some very difficult trails but none of the above and only run 33/35" tires depending on where I'm wheeling at. The mid 90's V-8 ZJ tie rod upgrade is what I choose. Its 10x stronger than stock and was under $100 from AutoZone their best line (Moog parts). Ran it for well over a year now without any issues so far, at some point I may upgrade if something ever breaks but till that point I'm pleased with it.

BNJeepsta

The ZJ swap is definitely an upgrade and if you're easy on it, it can survive with bigger tires but, let's face it, the stock inverted Y steering is garbage. A good inverted T or crossover set up is so much nicer to drive. Most 1 ton inverted T set ups seem to run $250-$350 for everything. Pretty cheap for peace of mind and much better steering.

Fred/N0AZZ

If you read his post he stated he didn't want to modify the knuckles or interested in a 1 ton setup, his is mostly a DD.

BNJeepsta

I did read it. The post wasn't really meant to suggest going 1 ton but, to suggest a different style of steering. You can go inverted T without doing anything to your knuckles.