Steering Shaft for an XJ with 4.5 lift ??

[Maximus Ram]

OK, I searched , but only found answers about stock height XJ's....
The steering shaft on the XJ is looooose, so I was going to get a new stock shaft, but started thinking, the XJ has 4.5"'s of lift and will a stock shaft be ok or should/is there a relatively affordable shaft for lifted XJ's...
Any input is needed before I pull the trigger on a stock shaft.

Thanks,
Matt

 

[Eric S.]

My XJ is at 5" and the stock drag link works okay. There isn't a whole bunch on thread left in it though. It is high on my things to do list.
Might want to go with something like this:
http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/Steering-Kit-Chevy-Tie-Rod-Ends_p_1338.html

 

[OverlandZJ]

Matt, the steering shaft is typically the piece from the steering column, through the engine bay to the steering box. Is this what your referring to?

In the event your speaking of the Draglink/tierod the easiest and cheapest is a V8 ZJ setup. The tierod is larger diameter and solid tubing.... but the 6cyl version is not.

 

[Maximus Ram]

Matt, the steering shaft is typically the piece from the steering column, through the engine bay to the steering box. Is this what your referring to? Yep

In the event your speaking of the Draglink/tierod the easiest and cheapest is a V8 ZJ setup. The tierod is larger diameter and solid tubing.... but the 6cyl version is not.

#1 in the diagram...

everything else, except the steering pump, shaft, and box , was changed out while chasing the DW.

 

[ExpoMike]

The steering shaft will have nothing to do with your lift as it does not move. The stock one would be fine but over time the rubber will degrade and will need to be replaced (assuming you have it that long). I know BigDaddy (Brian) replaced his recently and it made a world of difference for him. If you want an upgrade that will likely never need replacing, I believe Borgeson (sp?) makes a shaft with u-joint ends (like hot rodders use) and will stay tight forever. You may pick up a few more vibes since it doesn't use any rubber to dampen any vibes but you get the most direct feel from the steering you can.

Either way, if you got slop, any replacement will be a big improvement. Good luck.

 

[BIGdaddy]

The steering shaft will have nothing to do with your lift as it does not move. The stock one would be fine but over time the rubber will degrade and will need to be replaced (assuming you have it that long). I know BigDaddy (Brian) replaced his recently and it made a world of difference for him. If you want an upgrade that will likely never need replacing, I believe Borgeson (sp?) makes a shaft with u-joint ends (like hot rodders use) and will stay tight forever. You may pick up a few more vibes since it doesn't use any rubber to dampen any vibes but you get the most direct feel from the steering you can.

Either way, if you got slop, any replacement will be a big improvement. Good luck.

yup, x2, just replaced mine. completely different jeep. The borgeson unit is a good buy. If my current, OEM fresh one goes out in anything less than like 5-10 years, I'm either going to weld/bolt the current one, or get a borgeson. The rag joint is completely unnecessary, IMO.

Like Mike said, though, it has nothing to do with a lift...you'll be fine on your install, no matter how much lift you have.

 

[Maximus Ram]

Thanks, Guys...
The shaft is the original , so it's 17 years old...probably time to replace it.
I have looked at the Borgeson before for the Dodge, but can't bring myself to spending that kind of change.
Guess I'll pull the trigger on the stocker on e-bay. It looks to be the same as the one Morris sells, but for less $$.

 

[alosix]

Depends.. Does you XJ have a body lift?

:sombrero:






Yes I know better.....

 

[BIGdaddy]

Depends.. Does you XJ have a body lift?

:sombrero:






Yes I know better.....

:coffeedrink::coffeedrink::coffeedrink:


Brian<-----chuckling audibly in a very quiet office.

 

[alosix]

Well.. sometimes you just never can tell

 

[Black Dog]

Depends.. Does you XJ have a body lift?

:sombrero:

Yes I know better.....

I actually had a guy once try and tell me he would install a body lift for me for only $100. A year or so later he was locked up for theft by deception and credit card fraud.

 

[Explorer 1]

Different body lift.....

Maybe he was just installing spacers between the drivers seat and the uni-body floor, thus giving you a "body " lift. :elkgrin::ylsmoke:

Fred
Explorer 1

 

[Black Dog]

No, he said he had done a bunch of them for his friends and he only ever charged them $100. I played along with him at first until I realized he was serious, so I made sure he know the XJ was a unibody and he knew it. When I told him you can't do a body lift on a unibody he said that unibody only means that the body is "solidly" attached to the frame. When I asked him how that differed from a regular frame/body he said that those have bushings between the body and the frame, so when he does the body lift on a unibody what he was doing was adding those bushings. The guy was kind of a d****e bag.