{"id":5302,"date":"2020-01-01T18:39:38","date_gmt":"2020-01-01T23:39:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/?p=5302"},"modified":"2020-01-01T18:41:22","modified_gmt":"2020-01-01T23:41:22","slug":"jeep-xj-drag-link-replacement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/2020\/01\/jeep-xj-drag-link-replacement\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeep XJ Drag Link replacement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Correcting the steering on my Renix era Jeep Cherokee with a new drag link tie rod.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After replacing my track bar<\/a>, I still had play in the steering. The next worst spot was the drag link. I noticed this was loose when I was trying to center the steering wheel after changing the track bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

I ordered the Omix Ada AKA Rugged ridge drag link kit.<\/a> This kit comes with both tie rod ends and a new coupler. Finding parts for the renix era Jeeps is getting harder but this kit was readily available from Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When unpacking, I almost missed the new grease serts and cotter keys that were down in the packaging. I began by installing the grease nipples using an 8mm wrench.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I began removing the old parts by removing the steering stabilizer. It popped out a little too easy after removing the nut. I think the mounting hole was worn as well. But that gets replaced with the new parts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, I removed the tie rod from the drag link. This mounting hole was also worn allowing the tie rod end to spin while trying to remove the nut. I used a pry bar to put pressure on the taper while turning the nut to remove it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I then removed the tie rod ends from the joints on each end of the drag link. I had to use a hammer to shock these joints to get the tapers to break loose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I then compared the old and new parts. I wanted to make sure I got a Renix era kit and not the later one that is a different length.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I put anti-seize on the coupling threads and assembled the kit. I measured the old assembly and set the new coupler to the same length to speed up the steering wheel alignment after I was done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I then put anti-seize on all the threads and assembled the new drag link. I then greased all the fittings: old and new.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I rolled the Jeep back and forth a few times and made the final adjustments to the coupler to center the steering wheel. I made a quick check of the alignment with a tape measure. It should not have changed but I will check it later just to make sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This would have been a good time to upgrade the steering, but since I am planning a new axle build soon, I just replaced the stock parts. They have worked well for 15 years off-road anyway.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Correcting the steering on my Renix era Jeep Cherokee with a new drag link tie rod. After replacing my track bar, I still had play in the steering. The next worst spot was the drag link. I noticed this was loose when I was trying to center the steering wheel after changing the track bar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[210,6,231],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5302"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5302"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5302\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5311,"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5302\/revisions\/5311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mikestrawbridge.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}