Rough Country HD Steering Upgrade Kit

4.3L XJ said:

Give me a link to it so I can see it

Click to expand...

HD Steering Kit | Jeep Cherokee XJ (84-01)/Wrangler TJ (97-06)

Give your steering setup incredible durability with Rough Country’s HD Steering Kit. Off-road obstacles such as rocks and logs can wreak havoc on your factory steering components. This handy steering upgrade replaces the weak factory tie-rod and drag link with a massive 1.5in DOM tube...

www.roughcountry.com

4.3L XJ said:

I would say that you will not be happy with that kit. It changes the position of the tie rod mount and drag link. That produces tie rod roll and will give you the impression you have sloppy steering. You would be better off just replacing the tie rod with the ZJ V8 tie rod or similar product and you will have all the steering you need. I have never yet seen a ball joint stud fail, so they are plenty strong enough and all you have to do is keep them lubed and they will perform well

Click to expand...

Gluckmysock said:

I think you have bump steer and if you don't fix that, your upgrade will leave you disappointed. Take some pics of your steering linkage. If the drag link and track bar are on different planes, you will get bump steer. Also make sure all your steering and suspension components are tight.

Click to expand...

quicksilver said:

I had a steering setup similar to this, the only difference was the tre the draglink connected to, it was a little different. Was not happy with it, there was a ton of tie rod roll induced by the very design of this system.

I ended up trashing that setup and went with steinjager's heim joint tie rod kit. Way more gooder, no more dead spots in steering induced from tie rod roll and much better handling on the road. I would say they are more durable as well since there are less forces placed on the lower tierod ends since the draglink goes right to the passenger side knuckle.

Click to expand...

4.3L XJ said:

Ok, thanks for the pics. Fix that drag link and tie rod by replacing it with the proper design and you will have it. You are getting tie rod roll. People that sell that design shouldn't be allowed to. The drag link needs to go all the way to the steering knuckle and the tie rod should connect to it. Any kit you get should have that design.

Click to expand...

Cydney97 said:

View attachment 228999 View attachment 229000

Click to expand...

4.3L XJ said:

If you want to put up with heims, this would work if you make sure your track bar is parallel by lowering the frame end about 3"

Steinjager Jeep Wrangler Crossover Steering Kit - Black J0048525 (97-06 Jeep Wrangler TJ)

FREE SHIPPING! All-Terrain Stability. Off-roading will eventually lead to the deterioration of your stock steering components. Make the wise choice of upgrading

www.extremeterrain.com

But this is the design you should look for

Rubicon Express Jeep Wrangler Heavy-Duty Y-Link Style Steering Kit RE2602 (97-06 Jeep Wrangler TJ)

FREE SHIPPING! Heavy Duty Y-Link. The Rubicon Express Heavy-Duty Y-Link Style Steering Kit provides your Wrangler with a high-performance alternative to stock t

www.extremeterrain.com

Click to expand...

Cydney97 said:

Okay what do you mean by lowering the frame about 3”? Again sorry for all the questions but just never had deal with steering.

Click to expand...

Gluckmysock said:

Your setup looks like a rustys off road. Check out this link. Rustys off road steering. It's need some major adjusting and I would say all those tie rods are toast.

Click to expand...

quicksilver said:

Adjust it by throwing it in the trash, cause that's all it is. New tie rod ends won't last a year even with road miles.

I'd go with the recommendation by 4.3l XJ and get that steering system by RE. It will be the most reliable and will require minimal work to install since its bolt in.

*side note, not trying to be a dick, but I had a very similar setup and constantly wore out rod ends, it caused many issues with good control over the road. Now that I have the steinjager setup, I have no more dead spots in the range of steering.

As stated above, id recommend keeping it simple though and go with the RE kit. Also, im curious to know if you have a drop pitman arm or not, some measuring might be in order for you to figure that out. Unless the PO of the jeep could tell ya.

Click to expand...

Cydney97 said:

View attachment 229055

Click to expand...