Project first timer

I'd vote for stock with a beefier tierod vs some of the OTK kits. Cavfab has a kit, that some people seem to like that's not too much $$. The teraflex kit is nice but cost a pretty penny. Really, WJ swap will net you the best overall benefit but it cost about as much as a XJ.

ATC1128 said:

Forgot the picture.

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That's the V-8, ZJ tie rod, solid steel. I don't hear about people breaking them.

Well it's settled. No steering upgrade for now. I guess to break the tie rod or drag link I would have to have an awful line or be in a bad situation. Thanks for the help!!!! Learning a lot on my first build.

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I wouldn’t be opposed to bracing the steering box. More preventative, for a lot of things. Cheap and easy.

in4aride said:

I wouldn’t be opposed to bracing the steering box. More preventative, for a lot of things. Cheap and easy.

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I have a brace on the steering box. However the front is the only place I don't have frame stiffeners so maybe I should look into that.

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It's been awhile but not a lot to update. I recently changed the shocks in the rear but they are still to short. I ordered shock hoops and shock tabs but that's a project for after moab. I also had warped rotors so I turned those. My wife went with me to the shop and I taught her how to do the brakes. It's always good to teach people general maintenance things and I'm lucky that she likes to hang out with me in the garage and learn (we did a lot of that with her old bmw lol).

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Also took the jeep out a couple of weeks ago. I can't remember the trail name but its the trail after saran wrap/eagle rock near the reservoir. It was the first time taking my wife on a "moderate" trail and we were alone so I opted to bypass the more difficult trails. Jeep did great and I'm becoming much more proficient with clutch control in tight spots. The trail was rocky and pretty jarring and made me think about getting new seats in the jeep. However, that's low on the priority list.

On another note, I will be installing new lights, light bar, jcr gas tank skid and roof rack this week. I'm pretty excited. Other than that, I have small touch ups before Moab. I need to get a new speedo gear but I need to research which one I need with 4.88s and 35s. I looked up the chart in quadratec but I found contradicting reports else where. Regardless itll be much better than my current situation.

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If I recall stock XJ tie rod is a dinky ...hollow...tube as is a non v8 i6 zj . The v8 zj is solid and I think 1 inch diameter and still not a great rod assembly for offroad, but is improved over the small hollow rod . It only takes slipping off a smallish rock to catch your tie rod and once bent will continue to do so the stock rod can bend just turning bigger tires against a rut . The steering box should have the following on larger tires... aluminum spacer removed and swapped with a steel unit and plated with a unit such as c-rok and a brace going from the box to opposing frame rail as well . I would think these upgrades to come ahead of a light bar , angry eyes , or fuzzy dice ?

1-tonxj said:

If I recall stock XJ tie rod is a dinky ...hollow...tube as is a non v8 i6 zj . The v8 zj is solid and I think 1 inch diameter and still not a great rod assembly for offroad, but is improved over the small hollow rod . It only takes slipping off a smallish rock to catch your tie rod and once bent will continue to do so the stock rod can bend just turning bigger tires against a rut . The steering box should have the following on larger tires... aluminum spacer removed and swapped with a steel unit and plated with a unit such as c-rok and a brace going from the box to opposing frame rail as well . I would think these upgrades to come ahead of a light bar , angry eyes , or fuzzy dice ?

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Funny you say that..... my otk 1 ton is on the way. Ordered it today. Jcr has been awesome to work with and gave me military discount and expedited shipping. Unfortunately the steering setup won't be here in time for moab but it is ordered. The steering box is braced but I wasn't aware of the spacer but I'll check it out.

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C-rok makes a good spacer will bolt sleeves. Stinkyfab has a good one too. Driving style has a lot to do with how your steering lasts. I try to let the steering work for me, not the other way around. Seen plenty of bent stuff from people reefing on the steering wheel when they could've just backed up a foot and repositioned.

ATC1128 said:

Jeep did great and I'm becoming much more proficient with clutch control in tight spots. The trail was rocky and pretty jarring and made me think about getting new seats in the jeep. However, that's low on the priority list.

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Great pictures! Does the Jeep have a hand throttle?

ATC1128 said:

Funny you say that..... my otk 1 ton is on the way. Ordered it today. Jcr has been awesome to work with and gave me military discount and expedited shipping. Unfortunately the steering setup won't be here in time for moab but it is ordered. The steering box is braced but I wasn't aware of the spacer but I'll check it out.

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I'll check it out! Thanks for the insight. I try not to beat on mine to bad yet as it's still my dd.

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Hypoid said:

Great pictures! Does the Jeep have a hand throttle?

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Thanks! And no hand throttle. That honestly hasn't even crossed my mind until I read your comment. Hmmmm

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Did you ever figure out the heating issues, with it getting about 210 at times? Just for reference, I have a '98 which has only gotten above 210 when it was really pushed... climbing fast in the hills, hot day with A/C on, or wheeling with low airflow. Never under normal conditions.

linksvu said:

Did you ever figure out the heating issues, with it getting about 210 at times? Just for reference, I have a '98 which has only gotten above 210 when it was really pushed... climbing fast in the hills, hot day with A/C on, or wheeling with low airflow. Never under normal conditions.

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Ya I fixed it. And 210 is normal operating temp. I flushed the system alot and replaced the thermostat because it was seized and everything works fine. Though rarely, at 215 the aux fan comes on and everything is good. I wish I had ac lol.

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Glad you got it worked out. Just for reference again, I now have two ‘98s and neither see 210 with normal driving in any weather. I only see 210+ when they are stressed.

So haven't done a lot with the Jeep lately, just stacking parts for when i have time. I ordered the jcr OTK 1 ton steering today (cyber Monday), got it for less than 300 bucks and then of course the EXPENSIVE reamer from Amazon. I got the steering box spacer as well. I also have the shock hoops for the rear and the jcr gas tank skid still sitting in my garage. The jeep is coming along nicely. Not a whole lot more to do it seems but ya know how that goes. To come:

1. Take out the carpet and fix a small rusty area on the floor. Coat the floor in bed liner or something equivalent
2. Internal roll cage. A place here in the springs makes prefab ones for an amazing price so it helps guys like me without the fabricating skills that it takes .
3. Amber lights. Not a priority but will really help in the snow and fog for when I go camping/hunting in the Backcountry.
4. Maybe a bumper with a tire carrier. Not sold on this idea yet because I would have to adjust the rear suspension to handle the extra weight.
5. Lastly, a TOW rig lol. I love driving the jeep but it's time to get something more comfortable I think. I won't be in Colorado much longer and I still wanna wheel this part of the country without driving my jeep a 1000+ miles one way. Of course I gotta go with a 7.3. Not in a hurry but at some point in the near future.

Oh and the jeep hit 250,000 miles driving home the other day . I gotta do my speedo gear. I'm not going 80 lol.


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Nice rig, did you ever find out if you were at 4.5" lift to fit the 35s?

:read:

4x4JeePmaNthINg said:

Nice rig, did you ever find out if you were at 4.5" lift to fit the 35s?

:read:

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Thanks!! And yes it's sitting right at 5in of lift.

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Well finally put in the OTK 1 ton steering from jcr. I gotta say I couldn't have asked for better results, my steering angles are nearly perfect. The install was pretty straight forward, although I had to do some extra cutting and grinding due to my track bar relocation. I had access to a drill press so that helped me alot when it came to reaming the pitman arm. Now just need to test it out on some trails.

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