best tie rod / drag link

[JTenn]

Which geo brackets?

Rock Jock.
https://www.rockjock4x4.com/RJ-151403-101

https://www.rockjock4x4.com/RJ-441110-101

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[JTenn]

Which geo brackets?

But I'm also running RJ tie rod, drag link, and steel knucles. My front and rear track bars and all upper and lower control arms are Core 4x4 though. They all play well together so far.

 

[Rusty PW]

But I'm also running RJ tie rod, drag link, and steel knucles. My front and rear track bars and all upper and lower control arms are Core 4x4 though. They all play well together so far.

I have the Teraflex geo brackets for the front control arms. Core front track bar and front lower control arms. More Core pieces hopefully soon. The Core front lower control arms adjusted short as possible is about a 1/4" or so longer than the oem control arms. Was wondering if you noticed the length difference between the Core and oem control arms. With the geo brackets and the core arms. It seems to push the front axle too far forward. The coil spring on the driver's is hitting the Steer Smart track bar brace.

 

[Andy29847]

I'm installing Core control arms on my JT. I like the Johnny Joints on both ends.

I had Johnny Joints on my TJ that I owned for5 years. It is a good joint with a lot of flex and very little play.

The problem with Johnny Joints is maintenance. The Johnny Joints requires occasional maintenance, and the joints are too tight to use the grease zerks. To service the joint it has to be removed from the vehicle, disassembled (think special or home made tool to compress the joint so the snap ring and can be removed), cleaned and greased, and reinstalled. It's a big job!

 

[JTenn]

I have the Teraflex geo brackets for the front control arms. Core front track bar and front lower control arms. More Core pieces hopefully soon. The Core front lower control arms adjusted short as possible is about a 1/4" or so longer than the oem control arms. Was wondering if you noticed the length difference between the Core and oem control arms. With the geo brackets and the core arms. It seems to push the front axle too far forward. The coil spring on the driver's is hitting the Steer Smart track bar brace.

I started out with the Teraflex leveling kit which I set at the max 1-1/2" then added the Mopar lift and Core trackbars a little later. I drove like this for a few months with 0 issues. I wanted to contiue to strengthen things up so I bought the Core CA's. Since everything felt right I just replicated the hole centers from the Mopar control arms over to the Core pieces and haven't had the first issue. Keep in mind the Mopar front LCA'S are about 3/8" longer than stock. I haven't and don't intend on installing geo brackets for the ca's. I don't have a need to for my particular build. I know the more horizontal the ca's the better but I'm just not having issues that need to be corrected.
So in the mix of all this I swapped in Rubicon axles so I could have lockers. Before I began the swap I documented all my current measurements so I could setup the new axles the same as what I was removing. The castor with the Mopar LCA'S was 5.5 degrees so by setting the new LCA the same, it stayed at 5.5 degrees. My CA's are not fully compressed but are only out maybe a couple turns the best I can remember.
Is there a particular reason you feel the axle is too far forward? Visually or some other issue? Sorry for the long post.

 

[JTenn]

@Rusty PW
If you're still running stock upper ca's the axle should still be in its original location. I'm not sure if you're lifted or not but if not, the longer lower ca's HAS rotated the bottom of axle forward slightly. If you are lifted more than a couple inches, the stock length UCA's are pulling the top of the axle back some. This could also affect the spring perch causing the springs to have a weird bow in them.

 

[Gizmo]

Been using Savvy dbl adj arms with JJ's on my TJ's for about 15 years . Never have had to disassemble one. Just grease them occasionally seems to be enough for mine. I have no rocks around here but plenty of mud . I usually use JJ's on lower control arms to locate the axles tightly and Metal cloak Duroflex joints in the uppers for better ride and isolation . Track bars are metal cloak on the 05 and JKS with the larger JJ swapped into the frame end on the 99 TJ . I have used Core in my Ram with no issues naturally with JJ's. On the JT right now the longer MOPAR lowers for now but will eventually be something with JJ's just in the lower fronts. The JT don't really see off-road often. I always swore by Currie and Savvy for steering , Anti-rock , joints and PSC for steering gear& Pumps . can't go wrong with them brands .

 

[piroman683]

I have over 85k on my truck right now and the stock joints have been fine in all the desert stuff I do including high speed jumps and whoops. I did bash a rock hard and bent my tie rod cross bar which pulled my toe in, but I was able to easily bend it back into place after I got home. This is where, as I understand it, the big aluminum bars would be beneficial as they have a lot more flex before you exceed the elastic region of the material.

One thing I cannot figure out is how much stronger are the aftermarket end links compared to OEM. They all fit the OEM knuckles without modifications so the same shear stress is felt on the end itself. Anyone have a good breakdown of the exact design differences between rod ends from OEM vs aftermarket? (Material difference, etc)?

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