Lets talk steering

longarmwj

longarmwj

New member
I smashed my steering stabilizer about two weeks ago, so I just pulled it off. No biggie right? Well, that night I experienced the dreaded kryptonite of the Jeep world.....death wobble. Crawled under the Jeep while a friend moved the wheel back and forth and noticed the factory track bar bushings had a lot of play in then. To remedy this, I slapped on a Rock Krawler double adjustable track bar. It really tightened the steering up, but something still felt off. Again, I crawled under there to investigate, and found the tie rod end links to be worn out as well. You'd think with only 10,600 miles on it there wouldn't be that much wear on those components, but it is what it is. I could probably have Troncalli warrant the tie rod end links, but instead I want to beef up the steering. I do plan on installing a 4 inch Evo lift on it here within the next couple of months, so I would like to go ahead and get it set up for that (flip kit and the works). Now on my WJ, all my steering is 100% custom built, but my question is on the JK side of the Jeep world, what is the best steering kit/system on the market?
 
Evo drag link flip.

My advice in the TR is more what not to buy:
I have Synergy TR & Drag link. The drag link is fine but the TR flops down constantly if you don't install the anti-flop washers. Seems stupid to me to have to do that in the first place - they should come with the damn things. If you ever go to a hydro steer you would have to run those washers so keep that in mind. Then the little springs on the grease seals pop off & let water in so you're always having to keep an eye on them. Mine have not failed but I think there are better options out there.
 
I think Currie has the best tie rod. I was running it on my old jeep and it is really sweet. I would assume the drag link is too.


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WJCO said:
Currie has a couple. The stronger one is about 700 bucks. Someone here recently installed one from WFO Concepts I think, specs were incredible, it was like 2 inches in diameter. I'll try to look it up. I'll likely go with that one when mine fails, it even comes with a SS bracket.

https://wayalife.com/showthread.php...-up-with-today?p=903744&viewfull=1#post903744

http://www.wfoconcepts.com/pr/Jeep-JK-Extreme-Tie-Rod-2-DOM/10990
Click to expand...

I just looked it up, that does look massive. I'll have to look into this one a little bit more
http://www.wfoconcepts.com/pr/Jeep-JK-Extreme-Tie-Rod-2-DOM/10990


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Thanks for the quick replies guys!!! That WFO one is really catching my eye. Currie is too :hmm::hmm:
 
WJCO said:
I don't know if anyone has any good/bad feedback on it, but it has larger specs than the Currie and is about 200 bucks cheaper.
Click to expand...

But they just aren't the same thing. The WFO is DOM steel tube and the Currie is 4130 chromemoly heat treated steel. I don't think there is a comparison here. That Currie bar is made of a much better material and i could bet it would outlast the DOM steel every time. No personal expierence here but just a thought.
 
20170627_113828%7E2.jpg

I just installed the WFO tie rod last weekend. I haven't taken it out but the thing is massive. I know PROJKUR and tdougherty installed have it as well. Patrick just wheeled this weekend. There is a thread about the run somewhere. I had the synergy one before and it wasn't nearly as stout as this one. Can't wait to see it in action. Granite Head ran it as well and I'm sure will be on his new axles.
 
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Jackal01 said:
View attachment 266675

I just installed the WFO tie rod last weekend. I haven't taken it out but the thing is massive. I know PROJKUR and tdougherty installed have it as well. Patrick just wheeled this weekend. There is a thread about the run somewhere. I have the synergy one before and it wasn't nearly as stout as this one. Can't wait to see it in action. Granite Head ran it as well and I'm sure will be on hos new axles.
Click to expand...

One word...SEXY.


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quertyman said:
But they just aren't the same thing. The WFO is DOM steel tube and the Currie is 4130 chromemoly heat treated steel. I don't think there is a comparison here. That Currie bar is made of a much better material and i could bet it would outlast the DOM steel every time. No personal expierence here but just a thought.
Click to expand...

Do you really believe your tie rod isn't going to bend because it's made of 4130?

I haven't run the Currie but I have run the WFO. It took some hits against granite rocks and didn't flinch. I sure wouldn't pay Curries premium over a WFO.


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Granite_head said:
Do you really believe your tie rod isn't going to bend because it's made of 4130?

I haven't run the Currie but I have run the WFO. It took some hits against granite rocks and didn't flinch. I sure wouldn't pay Curries premium over a WFO.


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Click to expand...
From a physical perspective:
4130 chromoly is a higher grade of steel which means on a Rockwell scale and tensile test it would yield better results for strength and hardness per minimum yield.
Not that DOM tubing is inferior, but it would need more/thicker steel to achieve similar performance.
For instance: where a 1/4" thick high grade steel will pull test 105,000 ft. lbs. a lower grade may need to be twice the thickness, say 1/2", to yield similar results.
Most steel melted and manufactured in the USA (Team 'Merica, fuck yeah!) is of 55,000 and 105,000 minimum yield. Both have engineered applications for which one is more suited than the other.
For this application we're not comparing apples and my best assumption would be a significant weight savings and similar performance with the Currie.
The only other item of note is the 4130 chromoly is seamless, while DOM is not. Depending on the QA controls of the manufacturer the DOM may be prone to splitting at the seam on impact.

Metallurgical lesson for the day!

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RCVRY said:
From a physical perspective:
4130 chromoly is a higher grade of steel which means on a Rockwell scale and tensile test it would yield better results for strength and hardness per minimum yield.
Not that DOM tubing is inferior, but it would need more/thicker steel to achieve similar performance.
For instance: where a 1/4" thick high grade steel will pull test 105,000 ft. lbs. a lower grade may need to be twice the thickness, say 1/2", to yield similar results.
Most steel melted and manufactured in the USA (Team 'Merica, fuck yeah!) is of 55,000 and 105,000 minimum yield. Both have engineered applications for which one is more suited than the other.
For this application we're not comparing apples and my best assumption would be a significant weight savings and similar performance with the Currie.
The only other item of note is the 4130 chromoly is seamless, while DOM is not. Depending on the QA controls of the manufacturer the DOM may be prone to splitting at the seam on impact.

Metallurgical lesson for the day!

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Click to expand...

Now go out and put a well built Jeep against a rock with and let me know how it turns out.

If it makes people feel better to pay $250 more for a tie rod though, them by all means go ahead. I didn't want to spend any but I was tired of bending my factory back after every trip and wanted something a little stronger.


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I would think for nearly all members here would be fine with either. Even at 500 for WFO, that's a lot of money for a tie rod. Like granitehead said, if you get tired of rebending the OEM one, the wfo option is probably a good choice. There are several members here that wheel hard on the OEM one and still come out fine at the end of the day.
 
Not sure if anyone has mentioned it yet, but a steering stabilizer IS NOT A CURE FOR DEATH WOBBLE. All it does is mask the true symptoms. You need to track down the real problem causing your DW, fix it, and then replace your stabilizer. It sounds like you got the major cause, track bar, but replace the tie rod too.

EVO drag link flip is great. People like the Currie cheaper tie rod. I run the Synergy one, most people don't like their ends but I haven't had any issues. Though I wish I went with something that ran different joint ends though, the kind that are centered on the ends,if that makes sense, not the type where it's above or below (clevis?), but those systems are expensive. RPM Fab makes a nice looking set.
 
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