My 81 CJ on LP

[Matt612]

I think it turned out real good. In the pictures it almost looks like the background is in black and white cause the jeep is so bright haha

[CJonLP]

I think it turned out real good. In the pictures it almost looks like the background is in black and white cause the jeep is so bright haha

Thanks, I was thinking the same thing about the pics.

[MtnManMatt]

Looks great man! I really need to get paint on my rusty fenders, bumpers, etc. before we get into winter.

[BadnewsCJ]

Nice. I know what I'm doing in the spring.

[CJonLP]

I need some help.

My steering is not gonna make it the way it is setup now. Over the weekend I broke a ton tie rod end, not my usual bend that I never thought would come apart, but broken.



My setup is pretty basic, Parts Mike hi-steer arms, drag link from pitman arm to the tie rod end on the passenger side with a hydro assist attached to the tie rod.







Slightly better picture:



I think the ram is the problem because of its size, 2x6. Way overkill, I should have gone with a 1.5x6. I can't invest much money in correcting this before the Windrock trip which I have to go on. I am thinking about sleeving my tie rod and using an tube insert so I can get a little more length so I can get more rod around the threaded portion of the tie rod end for strength.

I am looking for suggestions. I am planning on taking an extra tie rod end to Windrock so my weekend doesn't get cut short after one day.

Anybody have a 1.5x6 ram they would trade for a 2x6? If you have questions about my setup I will answer them as best I can.

Also on a side note, thanks Matt C., I owe you big time! We had fun though!

[BadAssEddie]

Charles, I would suggest drilling the Hi-Steer Arms out to 3/4", running heims, and making a tierod out of 1.75 .25 wall DOM. I have 4 heims (so you can make a spare tierod), and I should have enough tubing to spare. You'd just need to order some bungs from Ruffstuff.

[BadAssEddie]

I'm thinking $10 a piece for the heims, but I'm not sure If I could spare like 8 feet of 1.75 .120 and 1.5 .120 to make 2 sleeved tierods. Its like $13/ft. for 1.75 .25 from Ruffstuff. Ryerson should be a decent bit cheaper. If you wanted to buy a stick of 1.75 .120 and 1.5 .120 I'll buy a stick of each too to get a better price or buy the extra you dont need off you. You could pick up a stick of 1.75 .25 but it would prob be cheaper to get .120 and sleeve it, plus I don't have a use for 1.75 .25 and I dont think you need 20 ft of it either lol.

[willhf1011]

I'm thinking $10 a piece for the heims, but I'm not sure If I could spare like 8 feet of 1.75 .120 and 1.5 .120 to make 2 sleeved tierods. Its like $13/ft. for 1.75 .25 from Ruffstuff. Ryerson should be a decent bit cheaper. If you wanted to buy a stick of 1.75 .120 and 1.5 .120 I'll buy a stick of each too to get a better price or buy the extra you dont need off you. You could pick up a stick of 1.75 .25 but it would prob be cheaper to get .120 and sleeve it, plus I don't have a use for 1.75 .25 and I dont think you need 20 ft of it either lol.

I think 1.75x.250 is overkill, in my opinion 1.5x.250 would be sufficient. Otherwise you are right on track I think, except that he would need 3-4 heims because he won't be able to attach the tie-rod end on his draglink to his new tie-rod, so it would need to be replaced as well.

Charles, I think sleeving it would be a good step. Ultimately I feel you will have to upgrade your linkage, but you shouldn't be having so many problems with your current setup. Is your front axle in the stock location or stretched?

[CJonLP]

Thanks guys, I like the way you are thinking.

My current tie rod is .25 thick, but its tiny in diameter. The tie rod was ordered from Parts Mike for a cross over setup on my D44. When I switch over to the D60, I also switched to the hi steer setup and I had to cut the rod down because it was too long. I measured once and well I cut it too short which is why there are so many threads remaining on the tie rod end when I installed it.

So back to the tie rod being so tiny, when I cut it down I was hoping to just be able to tap it, but the inside diameter was so small I had to drill it first and then tap it. I am guessing it is a 1.0 x .25 piece of DOM. I am hoping I can find a piece of DOM that's about 1.5' long that I can slip over to tie rod, weld in place to make it about 6" longer and install the bung to install the tie rod end.

For right now I am looking for a temp repair until I can save the coin to do this properly, the way you guys are suggesting. Maybe I am not approaching this the right way, but truely my funds are limited right now.

My front axle is pushed forward 2" by using Waggy springs. I have about 1/8" between the tie rod and the draglink when the tie rode end is straight, when it bends it makes contact with the drag link tie rod end on uptravel.

[BadAssEddie]

It should only cost you like $75 bucks. Ill trade for the heims if you have any junk laying around that I could use.

[Matt612]

Sleeving your current tierod seems like the best solution for the time being until you decide to go to heims or full hyrdo. The extra inch or two of length will add a lot of strength, because the main issue like you said is there is too much thread exposed with the current set up. Figured out the size of tube you need and post up. Im sure someone has something that would work.

[CJonLP]

I was able to move my front axle back 1" last night, which created clearance between the drag link tie rod end and the tie rod itself. This is great, because now I won't have any interference between the two. However, my new problem is that my front driveshaft has no more, maybe 1/4.", of in travel. I can cut it down so it isn't the end of the world.

Edit:

Now I can move on to the steering!

[CJonLP]

Before:



After:



Much Better.

[Matt612]

Looks good Charles.. that should be plenty of room for the new 1.5" tube

[BadAssEddie]

Looks good