Doetsch 2.5 Ton Drag Link/Tie Rod for JL

[wolf]

Some of my more recent upgrades. The knuckles are from Reid Racing and are made with high strength ductile iron. They will resist getting wallowed out from the ball joints and steering linkages, while doing a better job at keeping all of those tapered parts locked in. The factory aluminum ones were designed with priority of being lightweight.

The axle shafts are from RCV Performance. I forget the exact grade of chromoly they are made of, but are rated to resist twisting or breaking from upwards of a 43" tire. They are supposedly stronger than the shafts in a 60 series axle. Also, the heavy duty cv shaft allows climbing power to be put through a locked front axle with the steering fully turned. A ujoint becomes a bigger and bigger failure point, the more its steered from dead straight. I went with their 2-piece axle set that retains full function of the front axle disconnect, so the front driveshaft isn't spinning in 2h. The 1-piece set is only 5% stronger. In my opinion, that's not enough benefit to offset the disadvantage.

Any complications with computer with the change?

Sponsored

 

[word302]

Any complications with computer with the change?

How would “the computer” know anything about those changes?

 

[Headbarcode]

Any complications with computer with the change?

Those 2 specific upgrades, the Reid knuckles and RCV axles, are purely mechanic enhancements. The only tweaks to the Jeeps computers that I've had to make is 3 tire size changes from the factory 33's and deleting the sway bar disconnect motor when I switched to front and rear Antirocks.

 

[2019 JLUR]

After switching to aluminum tie rods, is anyone now bending the tie rod ends in the threaded area?

 

[gerlbaum]

Not to sound like a complete tool (but I will anyway) but why are they’re called “2.5 ton?”

 

[Headbarcode]

Not to sound like a complete tool (but I will anyway) but why are they’re called “2.5 ton?”

A 3500 series or f350 pickup is a 1 ton vehicle, meaning it's rated for carrying 2000lbs of cargo weight. These aluminum steering linkages are strong enough to be used on a vehicle that can carry 5000lbs of cargo weight. Our Jeeps are rated for just a fraction of that payload capacity, but they are designed for taking a beating offroad. These 2.5 ton linkages will stand up to heavy abuse, especially on our Jeeps that are much lighter than the type of vehicles they are normally found on.

 

[gerlbaum]

Thanks! I remember when everyone would swap the Chevy 1 ton TREs. It made sense to call them “one tons” because they literally came from Chevy 3500s.

I always liked the Chevy option over heims because you could get them at a auto parts store.

 

[Yellow Cake Kid]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M35_series_2½-ton_6×6_cargo_truck

 

[FLUndertaker]

They offer aluminum replacement bars for the SteerSmarts tie rod ends, but their 2" 2.5 ton linkage set has a larger and stronger set of tre's. 2 completely different setups, as SteerSmarts is rated at 1 ton.

Here's a pic I took of the RPM and SteerSmarts linkages laying next to each other. And a couple more to compare both setups on my Jeep. As beefy as the SteerSmarts are, the RPM's dwarf them.

Great looking set up. Wanting to do the same thing to my JT. Reid Racing knuckles to replace the factory aluminum, RCV shafts with FAD delete and RPM drag and tie bars. How much difference did the fox stabilizer make? I have the upgraded steel steering gear and added the synergy sector shaft brace already. That $450 stabilizer seems like a lot but if it makes a big enough difference than I’ll do it as well. In for a penny, in for a pound!

 

[Headbarcode]

Great looking set up. Wanting to do the same thing to my JT. Reid Racing knuckles to replace the factory aluminum, RCV shafts with FAD delete and RPM drag and tie bars. How much difference did the fox stabilizer make? I have the upgraded steel steering gear and added the synergy sector shaft brace already. That $450 stabilizer seems like a lot but if it makes a big enough difference than I’ll do it as well. In for a penny, in for a pound!

I actually opted for the 2-piece RCV axle shafts that retains full functionality of the FAD. They are twice as strong as oem, and also stronger than a 60 series axle shaft. The 1-piece is only a small percentage stronger than the 2-piece.

For proper steering and handling our Jeeps require 6-6.5° of caster, which is higher than factory specs. The kicker is that we are also adding more angle between the pinion and drive shafts, because Dana set the pinion to jeeps caster specs. This tends to result in a slight felt vibration at higher speeds when in 4hi.

Now, typically we're not hitting these higher speeds in driving conditions that call for 4hi, so we get away with enjoying the benefits of higher caster without the downside of too much pinion angle. If you delete the FAD, the only disconnect left will be in the t-case, so the drive shaft will always be spinning in all drive modes. You'll have a high speed vibration for a slight increase in axle shaft strength.

This is just a simple heads up, not me telling you what to do with your JT.

As for the stabilizer, I opted for the non adjustable Fox TS that doesn't have the piggy back reservoir. I personally don't have any inclination to change settings between on and off road use. Most others with the adjustable ATS, who never change the settings, always end up in the middle range which is what the TS is set to. Plus, not having the reservoir keeps it low profile and one less thing to get tangled up in the steering and front track bar. I've had the Fox TS stabilizer for over 2 years and 40k miles and it continues to do a great job of reducing the felt amount of bump steer. The Reid knuckles, Dynatrac HD ball joints, and RPM Performance linkages have done an amazing job of making the steering feel more solid with even less bump steer. I was recently rolling a set of 38x13.5's, and now have 40x13.5's. With all the beef I've added, the Jeep feels like it's still sitting on factory 33's.

 

[FLUndertaker]

I actually opted for the 2-piece RCV axle shafts that retains full functionality of the FAD. They are twice as strong as oem, and also stronger than a 60 series axle shaft. The 1-piece is only a small percentage stronger than the 2-piece.

For proper steering and handling our Jeeps require 6-6.5° of caster, which is higher than factory specs. The kicker is that we are also adding more angle between the pinion and drive shafts, because Dana set the pinion to jeeps caster specs. This tends to result in a slight felt vibration at higher speeds when in 4hi.

Now, typically we're not hitting these higher speeds in driving conditions that call for 4hi, so we get away with enjoying the benefits of higher caster without the downside of too much pinion angle. If you delete the FAD, the only disconnect left will be in the t-case, so the drive shaft will always be spinning in all drive modes. You'll have a high speed vibration for a slight increase in axle shaft strength.

This is just a simple heads up, not me telling you what to do with your JT.

As for the stabilizer, I opted for the non adjustable Fox TS that doesn't have the piggy back reservoir. I personally don't have any inclination to change settings between on and off road use. Most others with the adjustable ATS, who never change the settings, always end up in the middle range which is what the TS is set to. Plus, not having the reservoir keeps it low profile and one less thing to get tangled up in the steering and front track bar. I've had the Fox TS stabilizer for over 2 years and 40k miles and it continues to do a great job of reducing the felt amount of bump steer. The Reid knuckles, Dynatrac HD ball joints, and RPM Performance linkages have done an amazing job of making the steering feel more solid with even less bump steer. I was recently rolling a set of 38x13.5's, and now have 40x13.5's. With all the beef I've added, the Jeep feels like it's still sitting on factory 33's.

Great insight. Thank you Sir.

Sponsored