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Rugged Ridge Heavy Duty Steering Kit with Damper (97-06 4.0L Jeep Wrangler TJ)

Item J114048
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$429.99 (kit)

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      Product Videos

      Hey, what's up guys? I'm Ryan from ExtremeTerrain. And today, I'm here with the Rugged Ridge heavy duty steering upgrade for your '97 to 2006 Wrangler. This kit is going to be for the off-roader that's looking for an easy bolt-on that requires no modifications. This is a very well built and heavy duty setup, it's going to add a ton of strength to the front end and prevent you from bending tie rods. With this kit, you're getting the construction of a higher dollar setup at a much lower cost without sacrificing quality. It has removable ends, so if they ever wear out, they're relatively easy to change. And as far as price goes, it's pretty middle of the road for these heavy duty setups. At under $400, you really can't go wrong with this kit. As far as install goes, I'm going to give it a two out of three wrenches since it can be installed in under three hours using simple hand tools. Now, that being said, let's hop into this install. So, before we uninstall the stock steering, we're going to measure the distance between the inside of the knuckles with the vehicle on the ground and the suspension loaded. So, like I said, we're just going to measure from the inside of the knuckle to the inside of the knuckle then we'll mark that distance down. That way when we put our new setup in, we'll be able to get it pretty close. So, if you're doing this installation on the ground, you just center your wheels, measure from knuckle to knuckle, then you can pull the old stuff out and then install the new stuff. However, we're going to lift this Jeep up in the air just so we can give you a better view of everything. So next step, I'm going to remove the tires. This is not a necessary step, however, it's just going to give us easier access to the tie rods. You're going to need a 19-millimeter socket to remove your factory lug nuts. So next step, we're going to take this cotter pin out of the drag link and then we'll remove that castle nut. To remove this castle nut, we're going to the 19-millimeter wrench. So after you get that castle nut off, you're going to want to separate this tie rod. Now, the tie rod has a tapered shaft that goes into the Pitman arm, so you might need to use a pickle fork to separate that. Mine is cracked free, but the suspension is pulling [SP] on a little bit, so I'm going to stick a jack stand under here to pop it up a little bit and then we can remove it. If you have to, you can tap down on this with a hammer. Now, allow that to drop down. Next, you're going to remove the steering stabilizer where it bolts to the axle. You're going to need a 15-millimeter wrench and an 18-millimeter socket. So next step is to remove the tie rods from both ends. First, you got to remove the cotter pins, then we're going to use a 19-millimeter wrench to remove those castle nuts. So, once you get this nut off, you're going to put it back on a few threads and then we're going to smack this knuckle with a hammer to separate this joint. Once that cracks free, you can remove this nut. We're going to do the same thing on the other side. So now that we have everything separated, you're ready to remove your stock setup from your Jeep. So now that we have our stock system removed, we are ready to install the new system. But before we do that, I just want to do a side by side comparison. Now, we all know that the stock setup isn't that beefiest especially when you add larger tires. The drag link is pretty sturdy. However, the tie rod setup is just a thin tube with small end links. This new setup is going to have a one and a quarter inch solid bar. This is cold rolled steel and it has no welds or seams that are going to cause fatigue and crack on you. Also, the new tie rods are seven-eights which are much larger than the factory ones that we're taking off. It also includes a heavy duty steering stabilizer for those larger tires. This setup is going to be slightly different. It's actually going to be a fixed tie rod setup instead of an inverted Y like the stock setup. So, this is going to keep your tires straight and even, even when you're articulating the suspension. The drag link is actually going to bolt to the end over here whereas this kind of meets in the middle. So, with that being said, let's hop into the install. We're going to have to remove these tie rods and get these clamps installed. So, to save some time, I'm just going to remove one tie rod end and we're going to go ahead and take a clamp and we're actually going to remove this bolt, that way we can slide this clamp all the way down to the other end. Once you get that on, you can put your bolt back in and then reinstall that nut. Do the same thing for the other side. Probably going to have to screw this bolt back in because it fits a little tight. Then we'll go ahead and screw the tie rod back in. And it might be a good idea to install some grease or anti seize on these threads just to keep them from rusting up. So, once you have that screwed back in, you're going to want to make sure that the threads are even on both sides and you're gonna do the same thing for the next one. Now, you have both your clamps on, you're ready to reinstall that end. This one is a reverse rotation, so you're actually going to spin it counter clockwise to screw it in. Next step, before we get this installed, I'm going to install these grease fittings. You're going to use a five-sixteenths ratchet. So now that we have this assembled, the clamps are on and the grease fittings are in, we're going to start with a tie rod crossover. So we're going to take our castle nuts off, then we'll get the one end installed, then we'll go to the other side, remove that castle nut and then we can insert that into our steering knuckle, then reinstall that castle nut. So now that we have our crossover in, we're going to go ahead and tighten these castle nuts up and then we'll install our cotter pins. I'm going to use a 19-millimeter wrench. After you get this nut on, you're going to want to torque it the 60 foot-pounds and then install your cotter pin. We're going to do the same thing for the other side. So now that our tie rod setup is on, we're going to go ahead and adjust this bar, measure in between those knuckles for that original measurement we did. So now that we have that adjusted, you can go ahead and tighten down those clamps on both sides. You're going to need a 15-millimeter and a 14-millimeter. Next, we're ready to install our drag link. Now, this is going to attach to the tie rod and to the Pitman arm. You're going to notice that there's going to be a longer section and a shorter section. This longer section is going to go on this tie rod. So, we're going to take this castle nut off and insert that. So now, you are going to hold this end and you're going to untwist this, and this is going to extend everything. So next, you're going to tighten these castle nuts up and you're going to torque them to 60 foot-pounds. These are also a 19-millimeter. Then we'll insert our cotter pin and then wrap that around. So next, we're going to tighten up the clamps on our drag link. This is what actually controls and adjusts the steering wheel. So, if you're doing this on the ground, you'll want to adjust this until your steering wheel is straight after getting your wheels straight. We're going to use a 14-millimeter and a 15-millimeter. So next step is to install the steering stabilizer. Before we do that, we're going to need to press these bushings in. I'm going to use a vise to do this. So, the last step before we install the steering stabilizer, there is a metal sleeve that we're going to go ahead and push through the bottom, goes in relatively easily and then we're going to use that stock bolt and nut that we moved from our stock steering stabilizer to reinstall this. So, we can go ahead and push that through the mount. I'm going to reinstall this bolt through the back side, reinstall our nut. So next, you're ready install your steering stabilizer bracket. This is going to bolt the steering stabilizer to the drag link using these U-bolts. You're going to use a half inch socket to tighten these nuts up. So, the edge of this bracket is going to face down and towards the back. So next, we're going to use that half inch socket just to snug this up a little bit. So next, we're going to take this bolt provided, we're going to place a washer on that. That's going to go through the steering stabilizer. Then we're going to place another large flat washer on there. Now, then this is going to go through the bracket. So, we're going to slide this bracket in place and you want to make sure that this is centered and in the middle of the piston along with your steering wheel. So, once we get that through there, we're going to go ahead and place this smaller washer and then we'll put our nylon lock nut on there. So next, we're going to tighten this up. So, we're going to use an adjustable wrench for the top and then a 19-millimeter socket for the bottom. So, after we have that tightened up, we're going to finish tightening these U-bolts. So I'm going to use that half inch again to finish those off. So, the last few steps are going to be the grease up your tie rods. And if you put your vehicle up in the air, reinstall those wheels. However, that wraps up my review and install. For more videos like this, check us out at extremeterrain.com.

      Product Information

      Features, Description, Reviews, Q&A, Specs & Installation

      Features

      • Prevents Bent Tie Rods
      • Crafted from 1-1/4” ID Steel
      • No Seams or Welds
      • Heavy-Duty 7/8” Tapered Rod Ends
      • Gain 1 Ton Strength
      • Kit Includes Damper
      • Bolt-On Application
      • Expert Installation
      • 5-Year Limited Warranty
      • Fits All 1997-2006 4.0L Jeep Wrangler TJ Models

      Description

      Sturdy Reinforcement. Are you looking to upgrade your Jeep with superior steering components that prevent bent tie rods and are built to last? Rugged Ridge brings you the perfect product in the Rugged Ridge Heavy Duty Crossover Steering Conversion Kit. This conversion kit features heavy-duty steel tubes that are 1-1/4-inch thick. These tubes are cold-rolled, pierced, and drawn through dies to produce a 1/4 in. wall thickness.

      Built to Perform. This DOM tubing has no seams, or welds that can cause future failure. The tapered rod ends are a sturdy 7/8” in diameter, and a perfect fit for factory stock fittings. This conversion kit will give you 1 ton of extra strength without any modifications required to your steering components.

      Superior Quality. This product comes with a damper and features a bolt-on application, therefore, no drilling is required.

      Installation. The manufacturer recommends an expert mechanic install this conversion kit. The installation time is approximately 3 hours.

      Technical Note. Not recommended for vehicles with over 4 inch of lift. Not compatible with smaller OEM steel wheels or wheels with deep backspacing. Not recommended for vehicles with under 2 inch of suspension lift

      Warranty. Rugged Ridge stands behind this conversion kit with a 5-year limited warranty. Any defect found in the materials or workmanship will be covered in full.

      Application. The Rugged Ridge Heavy Duty Crossover Steering Conversion Kit fits all 1997-2006 4.0L Jeep Wrangler TJ models.

      Fitment:

      Details

      Rugged Ridge 18050.88

      CA Residents: WARNING: Cancer and Reproductive Harm - www.P65Warnings.ca.gov

      Installation & What's in the Box

      Installation Info

      What's in the Box

      • (1) Steering Conversion Kit

      Tech Specs

      4.7

      Customer Reviews (37)

        Questions & Answers

        10 More Questions

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