Jeep Steering Upgrades for Paved and Unpaved Roads
JK Forum member seeks advice that’ll ‘steer’ his dual-purpose Jeep Wrangler in the right direction. And he gets it in spades!
Like any specialized vehicle, there comes a point in any Jeep build where decisions must be made. And often, compromises. Sure, you can build an adequate dual purpose off-roader. But there comes a point when mods can mean sacrificing on-road comfort for off-road capability. Steering upgrades are a great example of this evil necessity for compromise. So when JK Forum member preeb was contemplating multi-purpose steering upgrades for his big-tired Jeep, he wisely headed to the forums for some advice.
“I’m considering a hydro assist kit to support the current setup and possibly a 40″ setup in the future. So it should be a ‘buy once’ thing given the high $ involved in this type of upgrade. Other options may be full hydro (risky if fails, I get completely stuck) or beefing up the box/pump. I know I also need to replace the ball joints (Dynatrac probably) and entire steering linkage as well to have the job done once and correctly. I would like to ask those of you who do hard wheeling and have upgraded their steering for your input as far as recommended setup and which exact kit and steering parts are satisfactory based on actual experience.”
As always, it didn’t take long before plenty of members chimed in with excellent advice. Quite a few folks, including Earth Siege, recommend PSC components.
“I went with PSC rams. It was not cheap but well worth it. Had some extra work to make it work with my LS conversion. Later I learned about Redneck Rams, which comes highly recommended after the fact. Also hear it’s a less expensive option. Look into it and a frame brace.”
BoraBora seconds that notion, and also recommends against a full hydro setup for streetable applications.
“I’m about to pull the trigger on a set of 37” Trail Graps. My plan is to go with the West Texas kit, and send them my stock steering box for them to tap. I’ll either run their ram or the PSC.
Don’t go full hydro if you drive it on the road any long distances. If it was a trailer queen, then for sure.
Last note: I really wouldn’t put 40’s on Rubi axles (even if they’re built). Unless you wrench on all your own stuff, are self-sufficient on the trails (read: not reliant on the help of others in the event of a failure or breakage), have great towing coverage, or once again, don’t daily or long distance drive it. Even then I still wouldn’t. 37s will get you where you need to go, and are already pushing the limits of the 44’s. I know Eddie/WOL ran 40s on his 44s, but there’s a reason he’s on ProRock 60’s now.”
