Rusty's steering kit???

[chpmnsws6]

But none fit with stock wheels. I enjoy keeping wheel bearing life in check and the Rusty's setup has worked well for me for the last 6-8 months I've been driving on it. No slop and OEM Moog tie rods are not all that bad

*Edit*- I would like to point out that I'm on 3.75 inches of lift according to the LCA angle with drop brackets. If you have slop, try stuffing new tie rods and spacers in to reduce slop/roll.

 

[256offroad]

Rutys sucks, for the money there are much better steering setups out there, JCR, Completeoffroad, bandit, ballistic ect.

disagree.... been running that exact steering setup used 4 years ago and its still going strong. i ended up putting it over the knuckle.



dont bash his parts till you run em. dont base your info off of posts that were made 5 years ago.

 

[rockclimber]

im running that kit... 2 years. I go through 1 tie rod end a year so far...

it does limit droop on the passenger side.

Its not indestrucable. I bent the tie rod slightly on my last trip out.

there are better kits but this one is ok.



and yes I know its an old thread... gotta pad the post count

 

[TheXJfiles]

Im selling that kit right now for a friend. $150.

 

[Alex E]

I just swapped my Rustys steering out a few months ago in favor for the Currie set up. In my opinion the Currie is way better. I kept having problems with the Rustys geometry, it kept wearing out all the tie rod ends. As the tie rods wear out the upper link tries to pivot or roll the lower link when you work the steering, making for tremendous slop in the system and accelerating tie rod wear even more. Also, the lower link between the two knuckles is a common bar rather then a Y set up with an adjusting sleeve so setting toe is a bitch, the whole common bar gets rotated to set toe. That block looking thing on the passenger side has to stay vertical because it receives a tapered tie rod end so you have to make 360 degree adjustments unless you remove one end at a knuckle to fine tune the toe. When you go lock to lock that block that says Rustys on it hits the track bar bolt, the steering limits drop out a lot and the tie rod ends for that upper link from the steering box to the lower link get wasted and over articulated all the time. Trust me, my entire Jeep is built with Rustys parts. I love their products and their service, but their steering isn't that good. I've just had way to many problems. On a good note, one time I smashed the steering into my diff cover and it sprung back. I drove it an hour home and put it on the alignment rack at work and the toe was fine! That actually saved my ass because it didn't stay tacoed, plus one in that regard. I would highly recommend Currie or keep it stock with a ZJ tie rod. FYI I run 4.5 inches of lift and no sway bars, the front has upper and lower Rustys control arms with flex joints. While my Jeep isn't a monster it drops out well and I wheel it on some hard trails, while the Rustys held up, its service life was really poor. I always had to address and tweak with the sloppyness. The Currie has awesome clearance from the front axle and track bar bolt. The passenger side at the knuckle connects up to the steering box on a common bar similar to the stock set up, the best part is the tie rod ends are slightly angled for lifted Jeeps! NO MORE WASTED tie rods from over articulated rod ends being worked past their limit. The tie rod adjusting sleeve is pure beef just like the rest of the system. The greatest part is setting toe is a breeze, its just like stock. If you want to mod it you only have to "over the knuckle" the driver side to get sweet clearance, while maintaining stock geometry between the pitman arm, the passenger side knuckle and track bar. The Currie steering doesn't dart back and fourth as much like the Rustys set up did on whoops and wash board roads. Anyway, I'll leave it at this. Hopefully my write up makes some sense but it is 1am, I've been drinking Sam Adams Winter Lager and I've left the room many times while writing this. I took pics when I modded everything because I intended to do a write up a long time ago, so here they are...ready or not!

 

[Alex E]

The systems side by side.

Rustys installed, sorry dark shop and cell phone pic

Rustys hitting track bar bolt.

Full drop with Rustys at pitman arm.

Major design differences, notice angle of tie rod ends on both systems.

Currie installed at full lock, notice how much more room there is at the track bar bolt.

Full drop, steering installed. Notice corrected angle of tie rod.

Stock pitman arm, full drop. Notice angle again.

Full Currie set up installed.

I'll try and get some posted later of it flipped and how much clearance there is.

 

[Alex E]

OK, OK...one last thing. Something that's NOT mentioned any where on the Currie web site but is in the instructions after you purchase the kit...use stock pitman arm because the Currie set up is designed with corrected angles for lifted Jeeps, not recommended for Jeeps with all down travel and no up travel, may require modification on Jeeps with no lift or lift less then 2 inches. Do not use steering if it limits suspension travel. I think it said something about not recommending that it used on lifts of 6 or 8 inches, can't remember exactly. But yeah, fit my Jeep perfect. Keep in mind also, if you buy the Rustys for 250-300 bucks you may want to run a dropped pitman arm where with this set up you save money there. Just food for thought. ANYWAY, I'm going to bed for real this time.

 

[muddeprived]

Wow the differences just by the looks is huge in the quality department. Rusty's tie rods look like cheapies and the bars are so thin.

I remember watching the Trucks episode where they installed this system. I actually wanted to do the same thing but after hearing about these issues and actually seeing the problems, NO WAY.

 

[CaliXJ]

I think it said something about not recommending that it used on lifts of 6 or 8 inches, can't remember exactly.

The Currie set up said not to use with 6-8" of lift? I would think at that point a drop pitman arm would still be needed.

 

[Alex E]

The Currie set up said not to use with 6-8" of lift? I would think at that point a drop pitman arm would still be needed.

Yeah, I bet if you got a dropped pitman and ran the Currie it would still be fine. I think they just put all that lawyer wording in there to cover their ass's for the most part. In my opinon like I stated before the Currie is well worth the money and is very nice, strong and works just like stock. BUT Im not claiming its the be all end all system either, because its all apples and oranges too. Depends on the rig, driving style, type of trail use, does it get trailered vs driven on the highway..etc. For my use, its perfect...other people have told me other wise for their use. Another system I almost purchased was the JCR but I've heard over similar issues with tie rod life span, geometry issues and other things. On fellow er in my area has the JCR OTK and wants the Currie set up instead. Thats all I know, I have no personal experience with JCR so take what I know with a grain of salt. I do know a lot of their armor is of really high quality though.

 

[Alex E]

Ha, excuse my typos. I do most of my posting from my cell phone. I took some pics real quick of my set up how it is now. To OTK the driver side you need an insert, Go Fer It has them as well as Motion Off Road and a few other places. I used the Motion Off Road insert, aka XJ flip kit.

The system as a whole, I know its hard to see BUT notice where the bronze colored adjusting bolts are. Its actually perfectly level and up high by the axle tube when you OTK it rather then let it angle down low with out OTKing it.

This is the passenger side, good tie rod angle, lots of clearance. You'll probably hit the lower control arm before the steering. The passenger side can NOT be OTK'd because that particular tie rod can't be flipped.

In this photo you can see how level and high the driver side drag link is, after OTK of course.

Another shot of the steering where the two links connect, everything seems to be well thought out and properly aligned. Driving from the Rubicon back home at 75 MPH is fine, steering is responsive and no shakes.

 

[Alex E]

Dang, I always have more to add. The driver side sway bar mount on the axle has to be modified or cut off only IF you decide to OTK the kit. Or when you go lock to lock it will hit, probably not a big deal but I don't like when things work like that so I just cut mine off. OK, I'm done...

 

[jeeptec]

i ran a cross an article where a 4x4 magazine was doing some steering upgrades on there xj. they were doing the OTK flip on the drivers side.they were going to run the right hand drive drag/long tie rod and be able to flip it above the knuckle.it sounds like a good idea. but every thing i have read says if you do a flip on the pass side the trac bar geometry has to be change to be in a parallel line with the tie rod/ drag link. there are so many possibility's . p.s i found my trac bar bushings wasted. i have them on order i believe that is my main steering twitchyness feel.ill give the rusty's one more chance . if it still feels terrible off it comes.

 

[stroked88]

if their steering is like their ca bushings dont get it. my lca's already need the bushings replaced after only 2 months of running. when i hit the brakes in reverse the axle rotates downward and clunks due to the amount of slack they already have.....

 

[CAPE83]

Thanks for the info and pictures Alex. I couldn't make up my mind on the steering kit to buy, but I'm sold on the Currie set up. My friend has the Rustys set up and swears by it, I think Ill change his mind when I install the Currie kit on mine. Also you mentioned the OTK on the driver side and having to cut off the sway bar bracket. Did it affect how far you could steer to the left or did it just hit when you steered all the way to the left? Just wondering if it would be worth getting rid of the sway bar or not.

 

[Alex E]

You know, it might have effected how much you could steer by a very small amount BUT I stopped running my sway bars a long time ago so cutting it didnt matter to me one bit. Plus I just dont like things rubbing and hitting. In all honesty I load the crap out of my Jeep, hit the trails, hit the highway and go on 2500 mile road trips and I dont regret ditching my sway bars one bit. I think just about anyone will admit the rear one is worthless and some people may argue the front one is needed, I could agree with them but I choose to run none. Personally if I was to go fast I've got a 66 Mustang GT or a 04 GT with a Griggs Racing chassis so a Jeep is always going to be slow so who needs sway bars. Plus I urban wheel when the parking lots get crazy and who has time to pull sway bar pins?

 

[CAPE83]

Hahaha, Good point, didnt think about those urban adventures. I ditched the rear a long time ago but obviously kept the front. Ill disconnect it and run for a while....see if I like it. Thanks again

 

[jeeptec]

well i was complaining that the Rusty,s steering kit that i was given and installed felt twitchy and the whole ride quality of my XJ felt squishy.i found that i had wasted upper trac bar bushing replaced all of them. also found worn out leaf spring bushing.replaced all of them. i kept the Rusty,s steering as i figured i didnt give it a fair chance with wasted trac bar bushings.i took the XJ out for a drive. sterring was spot on. real nice. ride quality has improved. im happy.P.S. i talked to Zac at Rusty,s with my concerns,he guided me on where and what to look for in the isuess i had. some people knock Rusty,s as i did but there customer service was great and as i stated my Jeep rides and steers great again