Does this nut on the end of my drag link to the pitman arm look OK? I'm concerned there isn't enough thread sticking out of the top.

 

For reference, this is the other nut.

 

It is a 2007 JKU with 140K miles I purchased about a month ago. The exterior and interior are great but the previous owner neglected a lot of maintenance. When I got it an alignment shop couldn't get the wheel centered and it drove erratically all over the road. I noticed the track bar had movement so I bought a new one and replaced with Grade 8 9/16 bolts. That helped but it was still all over the place. I adjusted the steering box and that got rid of a little play. Yesterday, I installed new tie rod and drag link. The feel of the steering is night and day. Once it was in though the steering wheel was way off and I had to use all my muscle to get the adjusting sleeve turned on the drag link to get it straight. I'm certain it shouldn't have been that difficult to adjust the steering and that's what has me concerned this end may not be seated properly (is that even possible?). It's driving great today though. I'm about to install a new SS and lower control arms this afternoon... trying to give everything an overhaul.

The Jeep is stock. The parts I'm replacing with are all OEM replacements that I either ordered on-line or got from a local parts store. The drag link in question came from advanced auto.

I'm tempted to pull the drag link end off to inspect it but I destroyed the old one beating it off yesterday. I'm afraid the same will happen to this one. Would it come off easy since it's brand new?

My wife and kids will be riding with me in this Jeep so I'm after safety more than anything else right now. I'd appreciate any feedback. All the images I'm finding on Google are aftermarket or have the castle nuts so I can't really compare mine to anything.

 

Also, I couldn't get my torque wrench to that nut so I tightened it down as good as I could. It's not moving. If anything it may be a little over torqued.

 

Yes, that location is about impossible to get a proper torque wrench on. We all just do our best to get it tight. I wouldn't worry about that at all. That tapered stud is solid up into the pitman arm and it's not going anywhere.

 

Thanks resharp. I felt like it was good but wanted a little reassurance. I took the nut off and pushed up from underneath and there was no movement. The whole Jeep was lifting. I'm going to mark it for now and keep an eye on it.

 

Welcome to JKF btw. It's good you're going through the front end of that thing. One common gremlin we have on these things is the ball joints. Being stock, probably not as big of an issue for you than it is for those with larger tires, but the factory ball joints in general were adequate at best.

There are decent number of regulars on the board here that are willing to pop in threads and help you out if you run into an issue. The JK was a great platform and pretty easy to work on in general. As with many vehicles, one of the bigger issues is just rust for our yankee owners. I'm guessing Buford might be GA. Nice to see an '07 get a new lease on life. Though that 3.8L is a bit underpowered, there are a lot of folks that have gotten very high mileage out of those.

 

Thanks for the welcome. Shocks are next and then I'm budgeting for ball joints next month. I can handle most of the work but probably going to have a shop get those in for me. The Jeep has been a fun project. The brakes were shot too. I already replaced the Ebrake, master cylinder and rotors/pads. Did a few cosmetic upgrades from some new takeoffs too. It's great being back in a Jeep and glad I found a good community here. I had a CJ in high school and a YJ in college but that was many years ago.

Regarding the 3.8l I opted for a manual after driving a bunch. It honestly felt like driving a different vehicle to me. Being able to stay in gear when I need/want to made all the difference.

 

Good looking Ride, as you said, PO took good care, outside & interior.. with 140K yep, wear items Wear and need attention. Keep going, Rock On..

 

A 2007 with a manual transmission? Yeah, most definitely welcome to JKF! If those BJs are original, they are shot. Honestly, recommend to not use OEM BJs. They have a plastic liner that is lucky to last 30K miles. A number of aftermarket options that are greaseable. I used Synergy for about 150K miles before swapping out my axles for Dynatracs. In the long run, they are worth the money over the cost and hassle of the OEM parts. BTW: My 2007 JKU with MT is at 293,000 miles. About to replace the motor; it's getting pretty tired.