Sector Shaft Brace

[kabookie10]

I've had a Synergy and currently have a Steer Smarts. In my opinion they both have issues.

The synergy was a pain to get the pitman arm support bolt holes to line up with the brace. And i noticed that it needed greasing quite a bit to keep it from clicking. I had the model that has the bronze bushing in it, not the sealed bearing.

I switched over to the steer smarts because at the time Synergy didn't have a sealed bearing for the pitman arm brace. The steer smarts fitment was alot better than Synergy and the bearing support plate was easier to install and line up bolts. However, their choice in a sealed bearing is junk! I've been through 5 bearings in the past 3 years because stuff gets into them and it eats the bearings. I am so fed up with it i just removed the bearing pitman arm support plate and run without it. And of course, as my experience with Steer Smarts goes, its not their fault and they've never had that issue.

I use to run steer smarts steering stuff but recently switched everything out and got rid of it because of the experience i had with their customer service. I refuse to run Steer Smarts. I've even thought about going back to a Synergy or trying the MetalCloak.

Thats just some of the issues i had with them. I think if you could get steer smarts bracket, with a better sealed bearing or a bushing with some sort of dust seal it would be a lot better. I have to say though the steer smarts fits a lot nicer than the Synergy.

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[professorkx]

I’ve never heard of this brace, and ran extreme Trails in my JK on 37’s for a decade without any frame issues. Does the JT have a weaker frame in that area than a JK?

 

[tysongladiator]

I’ve never heard of this brace, and ran extreme Trails in my JK on 37’s for a decade without any frame issues. Does the JT have a weaker frame in that area than a JK?

It hs nothing to do with the frame. It helps reduce gearbox movement. Some have issues and some don't. And some people install it as a just in case, preventative measure.

 

[JTGuy]

My steering feels better with the Synergy brace.

 

[pvn.jt24]

I’ve never heard of this brace, and ran extreme Trails in my JK on 37’s for a decade without any frame issues. Does the JT have a weaker frame in that area than a JK?

It hs nothing to do with the frame. It helps reduce gearbox movement. Some have issues and some don't. And some people install it as a just in case, preventative measure.

Definitely for preventative measures for me and also that I’m eventually going 37/38 with some KMC GRS or Grenade Crawls.

 

[Pismo61]

How much lift is needed for the MetalCloak brace?I just have 1 inch in front?

 

[tysongladiator]

Definitely for preventative measures for me and also that I’m eventually going 37/38 with some KMC GRS or Grenade Crawls.

Yea. I really didn't need it but at the time Metalcloak had just recently introduced it to the market, so I decided to give it a shot. I figured I may or may not need it in the future, but it's not (or wasn't) a very expensive part and wasn't complicated to install, so why not.

Also.... I have a youtube channel where I post offroading and some tech stuff that I do and it was an opportunity to do another video. Lol

I don't think it would hurt you at all to install. Especially if you're going to 37s/38s. Like we both said..... Preventative measure.

BTW..... Those KMC wheels are nice. Once I destroy mine beyond repair, they may be my next move. Gotta worry about my wife's JK as well, so I pretty much have to buy two of everything.

 

[tysongladiator]

How much lift is needed for the MetalCloak brace?I just have 1 inch in front?

The metalcloak website just says doesn't work with factory height and doesn't work with a drag link flip kit.

I feel like as long as the front is more than factory and less than 4" of lift in the front, you should be good.

 

[Gizmo]

I have the Synergy with the sealed bearing for about 6 months(1500 miles). I did it as a preventative measure . Bearing is making a creaking noise for a week or so. I soaked the top of the bearing with penetrating oil to stop the noise followed with a good soaking of Mobil 1 today so maybe it will soak in and keep the creaking from coming back

 

[AustyPosty]

Is this even necessary for those with the steel steering box?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Is this even necessary for those with the steel steering box?

Necessary? No. and it's not what the steering gear housing is made of, it's a point of flexing a bit at the frame mounting point with high stresses on the steering.
If you have tires with large footprints, prefer to run low inflation, or need to run low inflation on trails or get into tight spots where turning a wheel offers a lot of resistance, then it "braces" the pitman shaft to the frame, preventing flex between the two..
Cast aluminum steering gear housings aren't going to flex - they'd break.
There's a heck of a lot of force on that steering system with non-stock tires and off-road use - depending.
So - no one can really say when it's needed or not in many cases. "it depends" on your tires, inflation and use.

 

[fourfa]

Think about descending a steep right-leaning boulder-filled ravine in 4L, full locked, aired way down. You can easily have 50% or more of the weight of the vehicle on the front passenger tire. If you need to steer from there, you’re essentially using the sector shaft as a torsion jack to lift all that weight. Or if the vehicle slides downhill, or doing momentum bumps, the momentary load could far exceed the vehicle weight.

Is it common on the JL/JT - no (at least, not yet). Has it happened, definitely. If these sound like absurd made-up scenarios, then great! You don’t need a sector shaft brace. There will be some here who get in these situations regularly and it’s something to think about

I recently read a thread on a Rubicon Trail group just listing out all the JL parts that people have seen broken on the Rubicon, and it included sector shafts, pitman arms, and both axle-side and frame-side track bar mounts. That was eye-opening

 

[Gizmo]

It may not be necessary but I have had to replace plenty of cast iron boxes in Jeeps and replace with PSC boxes so its not just a flex issue that requires a better “ built “ box. I call it a preventive maintenance type of a mod. i made my own sector shaft brace for early Saginaw boxes in early TJs out of one made for a straight axle Ram. Once again to preserve a more expensive aftermarket PSC box

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Think about descending a steep right-leaning boulder-filled ravine in 4L, full locked, aired way down. You can easily have 50% or more of the weight of the vehicle on the front passenger tire. If you need to steer from there, you’re essentially using the sector shaft as a torsion jack to lift all that weight. Or if the vehicle slides downhill, or doing momentum bumps, the momentary load could far exceed the vehicle weight.

Is it common on the JL/JT - no (at least, not yet). Has it happened, definitely. If these sound like absurd made-up scenarios, then great! You don’t need a sector shaft brace. There will be some here who get in these situations regularly and it’s something to think about

I hope that is sort of what I was saying - yeah, you are trying to move a lot of weight with that short pitman arm and putting a whole lot of stress.
Up to the individual - if they run into that - or even MAY......... it's a good option.

I have to admit - when I have that snow plow on my JT, it sticks out there a long ways from the front, and it's 300 pounds standing out there. It's tough to turn those tires in the winter once they touch concrete. I can feel the resistance, it's almost like there's no power steering.
So, I have actually considered such a brace even though I don't see the off-road scenarios you have described.

Absurd or made up? Heck no! It's very real.

 

[pvn.jt24]

Has anybody ran this with a stock Rubicon? I’m reading through the fitments and it seems like for a stock Rubicon, you’ll need the bump stops installed as well…

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