'98 XJ -Tie rod ends are toast. Best upgrade or replacement on a budget?

[cnugent]

My tie rod ends are toast. I've got excessive play and torn boots on 'em. Tires are moaning so there's alignment issues as well.

Question is, what should I replace them with. I can get cheapie Napa parts for $70 for both sides. At the dealer both parts run $210. Heavy duty upgrades from Kevin's Offroad run $450 and up. But really I'd love to do this for as inexpensive a price as possible.

So what say you, ? What's everybody doing to their steering once their stock tie rod ends go bad?


Thanks for any help,

Chris

 

[WrenchMonkey]

V8 ZJ.

Done.

Robert

 

[IslanderOffRoad]

x2 on the ZJ setup, beefier and bolts right on

 

[Bjorn86]

x3 on ZJ tie rod.

 

[Johnnie Walker]

If buying new, I would just go with an aftermarket tierod. Such as ironman4x4fab, etc. Or, for a couple hundred bucks you can pick up the seriousoffroad steering.

 

[ParadiseXJ]

It depends on what you do with your Jeep. If it's mostly a road warrior and doesn't see alot of abuse, go with stock replacements from NAPA. The ZJ V8 tie rod and drag link are indeed great upgrades though.

Both my rigs have ZJ tie rods, but the ends all around are otherwise NAPA ends. 20K+ on the XJ ends, still look fine. <10K on the MJ ends, still brand new.