CJ-7 Projects
 

  

Lightforce Lights - H.I.D. High-intensity discharge Upgrade

HEI Ignition System (GM Style) Installed in the AMC 360 V8
Getting rid of gremlins and improving performance

Installing 23,000 Volt Offroad Lights

Autogage Tachometer Installation
  

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Project CJ-7
  
Offroaders Guide
to Gearing up
for Offroad

From Basic Equipment to Well Equipped.  An extensive list guide to help you prepare your vehicle for the offroad.
  
 

  

Onboard Air
Converting a York
AC Compressor
to Pump Air


Trailering Safety and Trailer Hitch Information

 

Off-Road Truck Driving Techniques and Safety



Off-Road Lights
by LightForce Product Review / Installation.
from Off-Road Lights

 

Jeep Dana 300 TeraLow - 4:1 Gearset for the Dana 300 Transfer Case


AMC V8 Engines
From
GEN-1 Nash/Hudson/Rambler V-8s (1956-1966) through to the GEN-3 AMC Tall-deck (1970-1991)

Chevy Small-Block V8 Engines
Chevy Small-Block V8 Engines Manufactured by General Motors - Production: 1955?2002

Hemi Engine - All about the Hemi Engine

Ford Engines
4 Cylinder, 6 Cylinder, 8 Cylinder, 10 Cylinder, 12 Cylinder Ford Engines

Ford V8 Engines
8 Cylinder Engines manufactured by Ford

Ford 351 Cleveland V8 Engines
351 cubic inch V8 Engines manufactured by Ford

Chrysler Hemi Engine

AMC V8 hp/Torque, Compression & Bore/Stroke by year

Engine Size Conversion Table
Converting engine displacement from CID, Liters, C.C.

Engine Overheating Basics - 16 Common Causes of an Overheated Engine

Fan Clutch Diagnosis
How to tell if the Fan Clutch in your Cooling System is failing or has failed.

Automotive Gauges & Instrument Functions
Information they display & their importance.

 

From the
Department of Cheap   Tricks and Useful Tips

  
Ultra-Cool Hand Throttle for Free!

Jeep V8 Swap Tips

The Exploding Clutch

Radiator Protection using 6 bucks worth of material

Cracked Under Pressure - Fixing a smashed fingernail

A Cheap, effective alternative to undercoating

Home-built Saginaw Gearbox Brace for the cost of lunch!

Ammo Box Storage - Mounting Them for Quick Disconnect

Home-built Serious Skid-Plate protection for the Oil Pan for under 20 bucks!

Ramp Travel Index
RTI / Ramp Travel Index  What it is and how to calculate it, with and without the ramp.
 

 

 

 

Project Jeep CJ-7   
Tie Rod and Drag link

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HEAVY DUTY Tie Rods
Custom Length Tierod and Drag link by
SRC Precision Products Xtreme Steering Rods

  

 



During the installation of the Scout Dana 44 axles and later with the Wagoneer Dana 44 front axle, I decided that the Scout tie rod and drag link would not be used.  My decision to use the CJ outer knuckles meant that the ball joints of the Scout Tie Rod were too large for the CJ knuckle.  Additionally the Scout Dana 44 front axle was wider than any stock CJ axle and I would need a wider tie rod and a slightly longer drag link. 

First Attempt - the Hack Job
The first attempt of a new tie rod was to modify an existing tie rod by cutting the ends off, inserting them into a 1.25 inch 1/4" wall tube and welding the ends onto the rod at the right length for my modified Scout Dana 44 front axle.  This option worked good for a while.  For the drag link, I extended a stock CJ-7 wider track drag link further, about as far as I wanted to safely go with it.  The only problem I ran into was the clearance of the tie rod to the 44's differential cover on a hard turn.  This was addressed by a little grinding out of the area where the tie rod contacted the diff cover.

Welding the
modified tie rod
To address clearance, a small amount of material was grinded off one side of the rod at both sides of full lock.  This force me to align the rod facing one way, but it worked while I used it.

At this time I did a tie rod flip, using a CJ Tie Rod Flip Kit by Rock Equipment, adding 3" inches of clearance to the tie rod and the lower end of the drag link.  Flipping the tie rods also leveled the drag link more, greatly reducing any chance of bump-steer.

It was a nice attempt at a cheap, yet heavy duty tie rod but it was obvious that I was going to get something after market.  Primarily I felt that the drag link was weak but the fact that I couldn't precisely adjust my toe-in meant I really wasn't happy with the hack job.

SRC Precision Products Xtreme Steering Rods

I contacted OK 4 Wheel Drive in Stewartsville NJ and talked to Mike there.  He suggested SRC Precision Products Xtreme Steering Rods.  They'll make any custom   size with heavy duty ball joints or hemi joints and the rods are available in 1.125 and 1.375 inch thicknesses.   I chose the 1.375 wall and specified the width from ball joint center to ball joint center of both the drag link and tie rod while the Jeeps front axle was aligned.

The installation of Xtreme Heavy Duty Rods was as straight forward as it gets. I just popped the ball joints out and dropped the new ones in, adjusting the length to drop it in without moving the tires or steering.

Thoughts on the Xtreme Heavy Duty Rods
made by SRC Precision Products LLC

After several hard years of wheeling on everything form boulders at Rausch Creek and Paragon to thick mud to river crossings and more, the tie rods are the last thing I worry about.  I've whacked them on rocks often enough (not really knowing I did it) to have scraps and gouges in them but they have not bent, dented, deformed or failed.  The align is adjusted by a large jam nut threaded onto the ball joints threads, that locks down onto the rod itself instead of the clamps that were used in stock CJ or Scout tie rods.  The nuts have never loosed and the alignment as stayed true.  It was nice to able to custom design my own setup for this application rather than buy an off the shelf stock rod.  They also have several kits to choose from.  Overall a great investment.

SRC Precision Products, LLC
952 Koehl Ave.
Union, NJ 07083
phone: (908) 687-0611 7am-4pm EST
fax: (908) 687-0611
http://www.jeepxtremes.com


 

Project Jeep CJ-7
Tierod and drag Link

Back to Project Index

  

  

 

Offroad Tire Info
Tire Terminology
Wheel Terminology
How to Pick the Right
Tires for your Truck
Truck Tire Info
Tires - What Hits What Fits
 
All Terrain  Mud Terrain
Tire Reviews & Info
Mud Terrain MT Tire Reviews
All Terrain AT Tire Reviews
Super Swamper Bogger
Super Swamper SSR
Super Swamper SX
Super Swamper Vortrac
Interco IROK TSL
Super Swamper LTB
Super Swamper TSL
Super Swamper TSL Radial
Super Swamper Narrow
Interco SS-M16 Swamper
Thornbird TSl Radial
Thornbird TSl Bias
Thornbird TSL
Parnelli Jone Dirt Grip
BFGoodrich Krawler
BFGoodrich MT T/A KM
BFGoodrich MT T/A KM2
BFGoodrich AT TA KO
BFGoodrich Mud King XT
Bridgestone Dueler MT
Cooper Discoverer ST
Cooper Discoverer STT
Cooper Discoverer ST/C
Firestone Destination MT
General Grabber MT
General Grabber AT2
Green Diamond Icelander
Ground Hawg Mud Tire
Hankook Dynapro MT
Hankook Dynamic MT RT01
Hercules Terra Trac MT
Hercules Trail Digger MT
Kelly-Springfield Safari DTR
Kelly-Springfield Safari MSR
Kumho Road Venture MT
Kumho Road Venture KL71
Kumho Road Venture AT
Dick Cepek Mud Country
Dick Cepek F-C II
Dick Cepek Fun Country II
Dick Cepek Fun Country Nylon
Dick Cepek Fun Country Kevlar
Mastercraft Courser MT
Mastercraft Courser HTR
Mastercraft Courser HTR Plus
Maxxis BigHorn Radial
Maxxis Creepy Crawler
Maxxis Trepador
Maxxis Buckshot Mudder
Maxxis MA-SW
Maxxis M-8080 Mudzilla
Maxxis MT-754 Buckshot
Maxxis MT-753 Bravo
Maxxis MA-751 Bravo
Maxxis MA-S2 Marauder II
Maxxis MA-S1 Marauder
Maxxis MT-762 BigHorn
Nitto Mud Grappler
Nitto Dune Grappler
Nokian Vatiiva MT
Pit Bull Rocker Extreme
Pit Bull Maddog
Pit Bull Growler
Goodyear Wrangler MT/R
Pro Comp Xterrain
Pro Comp All Terrain
Pro Comp Mud Terrain
Pro Comp Xtreme AT
Pro Comp Xtreme MT
Toyo Open Country MT
TrXus Mud Terrain
TrXus STS All Terrain
Mickey Thompson MTZ
Mickey Thompson MTX
Mickey Thompson Baja Claw
Mickey Thompson Baja Crusher
Competition Claw
Dunlop Mud Rover
Yokohama Geolandar
  

Latest trips Offroad
... trail reports with the Project CJ-7
click here.

Sounds System, Raised the Rear Seat
Storage below and a great place to mount 6x9 Speakers for Great Bass ... In a Jeep!

York AC Compressor Conversion.  What used to pump Freon, now pumps compressed air to the front and rear bumpers.  125 psi,  2 gallons of storage, air fittings at the bumpers, enough CFM to power air tools!.  Click Here for more  Details

 

Dick Cepek's 2008 F-250 Super Duty Project Vehicle ? Project CRUSHER


Warn X8000i
Winch Installation


ARB Air Locker Install
Jeep Wide Track Axles Swap

 
Mud Tire Reviews

Building a Garage?
Need a Garage Plan?
 


Reader's Rigs and Seriously Stucks!

 

Jeep Trans Swap Info
T-18A Transmission Rebuild & Short Shaft Conversion