I currently have 31x10.50 tires and will be putting a spartan locker in the front soon. Do I need to upgrade the steering or will I be fine with the stock setup? I heard that the v8 ZJ steering is a good upgrade is it a direct bolt in or does it require modification? Would a kit like this work.http://www.ebay.com/itm/93-98-Jeep-G...dTJv7F&vxp=mtr

 

do the v8 zj setup its all you will need, no mods its a bolt on.

 

Zj tie rod swap is definitely better, but its not bulletproof

 

Check your local parts store prices also.

 

I picked up the ZJ tie rod and new TREs and Pitman arm so I could replace every joint in mine. It was less than $200 total I think, maybe a few dollars more. Replacing 30 year old steering definitely made a difference.

 

Will the zj drag link bolt to the xj pitman arm or do I need a zj pitman arm?

 

The ZJ drag link is a bolt-on swap for the XJ. You can use your stock pitman arm.

 

having the front locked will put more pressure on everything steering related. won't be too bad with 31s, but I'd check everything around the steering gear (including the spacer between the gear and "frame") and add a plate to the outside of the frame to stiffen things up. didn't do it to mine and now I have a flimsy unibody up there. will likely have to tear it down and rebuild/plate everything just to have something to bolt the gear to.

 

you don't need the ZJ drag link, and I think it might not fit properly. the upgrade is the tie rod only as the drag link is already solid on the XJ. if you already have it, make sure it is identical to your oem XJ drag link, if not return it for the right one (XJ drag link)

what you need are the 3 parts of the tie rod that links both wheels together. those are the long tie rod end, a short one, and the sleeve that both will screw into.

looks like this : (not my pic)

 

The zj drag link will work too. It is the same as the xj one, so it will replace worn out parts

 

i'm referring to posts like this : http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1089852

he can do whatever he wants, but having heard people saying the ZJ drag link doesn't fit properly, I wouldn't take a chance unless I have them side by side and they look exactly the same

 

When I did my swap, the hole was slightly off on the zj drag link, but I don't run a stabilizer so it didn't effect me

 

Ok now I am confused, on my truck the drag link comes off of the pitman arm and connects to the tie rod and both ends of the tie rod connect to the steering knuckles. On the jeep it comes off of the pitman arm and goes to the passenger side knuckle and the one going to the driver side is also connected to it. So what exactly are we calling the drag link?

 

I reread that post and it is starting to make sense now. So the drag link from the pittman arm to the passenger side is good and all I need is the tie rod, tie rod end, and adjuster that runs from the drag link to the drivers side? Also I have been looking at the steering box plates that go on the outside of the unibody but it looks like the factory bumper mount would interfere with it going on right, how exactly does that work?

 

It does get confusing when buying the parts, as the drag link is sometimes called the outer right TRE and the TRE that connects the drag link to the pitman arm is called the inner left TRE. Then the ZJ tie rod is called the outer left TRE and the one that connects the tie rod to the drag link is called the inner right TRE.

I know for my 85, the drag link for it and for the ZJ both had the same part number at O'Reilly's.