WJ knuckle swap and 1-ton steering complete

[VAhasnoWAVES]

you be the judge...

knuckle at full lock, stock coil buckets, JKS bracket.

 

[blistovmhz]

Well this is almost exactly what I'm about to do. My wj swap is done but I'm about to do my steering. I saw that gm crossover kit id like to get it if I changed the tre it came with .My question to you is for the drag link did you use the es2027 I think it is for the pitman arm side? And which one is on the knuckle side? I was under the impression you needed an offset one on the drag link for the knuckle side. Thanks

http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/Steering-Kit-Chevy-Tie-Rod-Ends_p_1338.html - I'm looking at this. Cheaper than I can source and piece together myself. Haven't ordered yet though as I want to measure and check if I'll need offset TRE's.

 

[Cburb88XJ]

I'm definitely using offset for the tie rod but I'm curious if I'll need it for the knuckle side draglink. I also dont think I'm gonna use the larger taper tre's drilling 1 inch for the inserts is a good bit

 

[XJEEPER]

Add a set of these while you're at it. Cheap insurance. http://www.artecindustries.com/Dana-30-Inner-C-Gussets_p_352.html

I used WJ ball joints upper and lower. Zero issues

 

[VAhasnoWAVES]

consensus is that there will be no discrepancy on BJs. Wj upper, wJ/XJ lower.

as far as the offset TRE at the knuckle side drag link goes, ive been thinking about it... most of the focus on the WJ swap goes into the rotor/bearing/ stub being used. the amount of stretch one has, and castor, would dictate the amount of clearance between the drag ling and track bar.... which would translate to...



idk. im smashed.




ill pick this argument up tomorrow.

 

[yossarian19]

I'm fairly certain you meant WJ / XJ upper, WJ lower.

 

[Cburb88XJ]

consensus is that there will be no discrepancy on BJs. Wj upper, wJ/XJ lower.

as far as the offset TRE at the knuckle side drag link goes, ive been thinking about it... most of the focus on the WJ swap goes into the rotor/bearing/ stub being used. the amount of stretch one has, and castor, would dictate the amount of clearance between the drag ling and track bar.... which would translate to...



idk. im smashed.




ill pick this argument up tomorrow.

Yea I noticed this guy didnt use an offset one I'm curious whether I should or not, and he said a misalignment tre for pitman arm I'm curious if that's the es2027

 

[VAhasnoWAVES]

I'm fairly certain you meant WJ / XJ upper, WJ lower.

correct. my apologies.

Yea I noticed this guy didnt use an offset one I'm curious whether I should or not, and he said a misalignment tre for pitman arm I'm curious if that's the es2027

it should be....







but what i was getting at last night was that i really think the axles location plays an important role. looking at my setup, im fairly certain that i can afford to move my trackbar where i want it and run heims. pushing the axle forward would make things a lot tighter.

 

[Cburb88XJ]

I guess for the drag link ill just use es2027 for pitman arm and standard tk234 for knuckle side...Wonder how running es2027 on both ends would be?

 

[VAhasnoWAVES]

unwise...

you want opposing threads at opposite ends to make adjustment easy.

 

[markw]

No, use an ES23434R offset TRE at the drag link, and a 2027L at the pitman arm.

 

[Cburb88XJ]

No, use an ES23434R offset TRE at the drag link, and a 2027L at the pitman arm.

Alright, i wonder how he got away with just using a tk234 standard tie rod on the knuckle side draglink, thats why i was curious if i needed to.

 

[markw]

He's running the ruff stuff trackbar bracket. Not the JKS. I'm going to run the JKS bracket as A) I already have it, and B) I've got an artec truss. The JKS bracket won't interfere with the truss while the ruffstuff bracket will. Downside is that I have to turn the misalignment spacers down to fit the jks bracket, and drill the bracket to 9/16". In reality, all it is is changing the rod end if you have clearance issues. Look at post #41, the jks will have clearance issues.

 

[Cburb88XJ]

Oh ok i see what your saying i kinda like that roughstuff trackbar bracket, being able to use different holes. I have a home made truss ill have to make sure i dont have clearance problems, id like to use that roughstuff bracket if it would work for me.

 

[markw]

The JKS bracket has 2 holes, you only need one. It welds on the front of the spring perch, and front of the axle tube. The Ruffstuff welds to the tube so it may interfere with the truss.

 

[Cburb88XJ]

Yea, never noticed the JKS has 2 holes thats pretty cool. I have everything written down for what im going to get im hoping my track bar and drag link angles turn out ok...if not i guess i might have to try other trackbar mount hole, use different pitman arm or customize my IRO mount which i dont want to do.

 

[TLowery04]

no pictures

 

[blistovmhz]

no pictures

Sorry . It's all done and working just fine, but I'm always too pissed off when I'm working on the Jeep to bother taking pictures.

If I don't forget, I'll get some of the finished product tomorrow.

 

[blistovmhz]

All done.
Had to make a few modifications today and touch up the paint.

I ****ed up while reaming out the passenger side knuckle (both for the tie rod and drag link). Reamed the tire rod hole at a bit of an angle. Doesn't matter as it's just a tie rod. Reamed the drag link hole a little bit too far, but fixed with the larger ES2027 high angle TRE. I'll probably also grind down the edge of the draglink arm for more clearance under serious articulation (it bottoms out the TRE against the arm at around 40 degrees).

And don't weld your new swaybar mount angled so your tire chews itself apart on the swaybar bin

 

[markw]

That trackbar to the tube weld doesn't look like it got any penetration on the tube side. Might want to look at that. Last thing you want is your track bar mount ripping off the axle going down the road.