Rough Country HD Steering Upgrade for 84-06 Jeep Wrangler TJ, Cherokee XJ, & Grand Cherokee ZJ

I wish I had read the previous review because I experienced everything mentioned. There is no place to mount the steering damper, but it is so beefy, you wont need it. Not sure if I like the way it drives and I would also have chosen the traditional geometry with the steering damper. Oh well...think before you purchase.

Overall a high quality kit. Super heavy duty as compared to stock parts. Looses a star as accumulation of several small things.

First, the info on Quadratec site and Rugged ridge site does not match. Here it says 0-3” lift, RR says 4” is minimum lift for this kit. My Jeep came to me with a lift kit installed, based on measurements, I think it is a 2” kit, but it could be 2 1/2 or 3”. The kit did fit my Jeep with the drag link set in shortest position, it has about 3 turns of adjustment from being bottomed out (as short as possible). I had the drag link tapped (7/8 -18) 2 inches deeper on the round side so I could shorten if required, but it wasn’t necessary.

Second is that this is NOT a 2-3 hour install. I am a fairly accomplished and well tooled up home mechanic. Drilling and reaming the knuckles and drag link will take more than 2 hours AFTER you get the old pieces off. I did the first knuckle still mounted on the Jeep. When the 5/8 bit grabbed and the drill handle mashed my hand against the hub I decided the safer course was to drill the holes in a press (was doing ball joints anyway). After the holes are drilled you still have to put it all together and establish a basic alignment (set toe and get the steering wheel reasonably straight). Plan on spending the day to install this kit.

Last little bit is “bump steer”, it is noticeable and has to do with the change from “Y” style tie rod setup to the solid bar tie rod and drag link. As the suspension extends and compresses, the drag link rotates through its arc, causing the effective on the long side of the triangle to shorten and lengthen (think back to geometry and right triangles, the hypotenuse in the triangle is formed by the drag link, the long side is parallel to the axle, short side is the vertical rise). Net result is that when the suspension extends the tires turn to the left, when compressed they turn right. Practically there is enough camber that the wheels track straight and driver sees / senses steering wheel movement, with the wheel turning right under acceleration and left under deceleration.

Small, nit picky things I wish I had understood better from the outset. It’s a heck of a sturdy kit, but If I had known this I would have stuck with a more conventional (stock geometry) setup.

Isn't a direct fit o to a wrangler tj ..took some hole drilling and more then a few hours to fit. Not a project for the intermediate grease monkey with a stationary snap on toolbox