Steering bar for dana 44....

[west747]

well i have everythiong i need for my 9inch and 44 swap except for the steering. does anybody know what steering bar( the one that goes from knuckle to knuckle) i need to order that will work with my OEM jeep drag link? i was looking for a bar that has the right size hole in the right place for my factory drag link. i have heard that a J-10 steering bar will work but i do not have any postive conferimation on that. any help would be great.

also i just recived my AA slip yoke eliminator kit and found out i have to crack the case in half to install it. any tips on doing this that i should be aware of ?

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

I don't know of one you can order.

The 'tierod' connects the two knuckles.
The 'draglink' connects the pitman arm with either the tierod or steering knuckle.

Does your D44 have an extra hole in the pass. side steering knuckle to accomodate the draglink?

 

[jps4jeep]

See if you can find one that has adjustable tierod ends, that way you can modify with minimal effort if needed. What is the D44 out of? what is the width knuckle to knuckle? Would it be possible to modify the one that is on it (if such part exhists)

 

[west747]

no hole on the passenger side. that is the problem i am having. the 44 i have is out of a f-250 and has a wms-wms of 65" so its a pretty big 44. i am thinking about using flat knuckles from a chevy to make a high steering set-up as i can not see too many other options.

also anybody ever installed an Advanced adpters SYE?? do i need to take the t-case out to install this? from the instructions it looks like i have to take this case apart completly to get the new heavy duty shaft in there. thanks for the help.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

You have to pull the rear half of the transfer case off, it can be done in the jeep or on the bench. I've heard recommendations to both. Search 'jeep sye' and you'll find a lot of good install writeups.

The 231 is easy to remove if you wanna do it on a bench.

 

[redrooster]

Will the Ford tie rod not work or did you not get that piece?
I made mine out of steel DOM tubing and used heim joints at the knuckles. If you get the chevy high steer stuff then you can make your own tie rod with heims. You can get 11/16" id DOM tubing and tap it out to 3/4" for the heim joints or you can buy weld on bosses to thread them into. Drilling the tapered holes out of your knuckles isn't fun though. The drill kind of wants to break your wrist.

 

[west747]

yeah the f-250 that i got my dana 44 out of used a steering arm off of the driver side knuckle so it has no hole in the tie-rod for a drag link. this steering set-up did not use a drag link.. as for drilling the knuckle i have a bench drill press i was planning on using...provided i can get the knuckle and drill bits in their..also i am a big fan of that heim joint set-up but i wasnt going that route. i was simply going to bolt on another knuckle arm on top of mine(or the chevy ones if there isnt enougfh material on mine) and use a longer drag link to connect it...heim joints are pretty expensive.

 

[redrooster]

width of a J-10 dana 44

I know what you are talking about now. The Ford steering box actually turns backwards vs. a Jeep or chevy box, and they use a Boomerang looking pitman arm.
The chromoly heims with a 3/4" shank and 3/4" hole are $25 a piece, but you can get industrial grade ones for $12 a piece. I used the industrial ones for a long time and never had any failures.
Drilling the knuckles in a press is going to be difficult. More in the sense of holding them rather than drilling them. I used a 1/2" drill with 3/4" bit in it. If you drill from the top as I did, it will grab and try to take you on a waltz. I bet if you flip it over and drill from the bottom, it won't fight as much.
Before I went to hydraulic steering I had a homemade tie rod and drag link. The tie rod was made of DOM and used heims to the knuckles. I welded a bracket on there (close to the original spot where the drag ling went in the factory tie rod) to take another heim for the drag link. I cut the factory rod end off of the old drag link and slid it inside the new DOM drag link and welded it in. Make the drag link about the same over all length as your original one when you make the new one.
Center the steering box and tires when you make your measurements.
I had less than $40 in heims and $15 or $20 in tubing, about 2 hours worth of work and a pretty stout steering setup.

 

[west747]

yeah thats what i got...that boomerang style steering arm...hmm now that i know those heim joints arnt as expensive as i thought i may go with that set-up.. thanks for all the great info rooster!

out of curiosity how is your hydrolic assit set-up? is it like a ram in place of the steering dampener? what size tires are you running? will i need some kind of assitance to run 39.5? sorry for all the questions.