Steering Setups

[rokdaddy]

I'm still good with my decision to go with the SLR kit. I knew that I was going to have to look into upgrading the TRE's someday (or come up with a replacement plan like Silver Dude has). After this discussion I'm starting to think that high quality Heims may be another option to choose from. I'm pretty sure I can retrofit my SLR centerlink to work with Heims, I'm not as sure that I could retrofit a TC centerlink to work with TRE's.

 

[NMTerras]

I can't find SLR on the Internet anyone have contact info? I have to say my hd tras held up to a big beating in Moab.

 

[NMTerras]

Well it seems AC doesn't include inner or outter TRA's in it's "COMPLETE STEERING SYSTEM" for the Gen1 X. Something else has to be purchased and neither say that in the descriptions.

That's because the system uses the heim joints instead of tre/tras. Their kit is complete

 

[Silver dude]

Alright well let's open this up a little bit and get back on the original track of this thread - for me, I'm looking for the strongest possible offroad setup without going SAS. I understand the tre/tra/tre setup is longer lasting and road friendly, but I might be willing to trade off longevity for tightness and strength when I'm off-roading, and that's why I'm considering the total chos setup with the heims.
Suggestions for an alternative?

Be the guinea pig. Not many people have real world experence with them. Might be the best alternative just many don't have the $. I remember reading about someone who installed heims on a frontier and regreted it. Was over on club X though and wasn't using the total chaos kit just using off the shelf parts.

If you want my answer. I'd say its the best on the market. Well designed for Heim use with the double shear yokes on the CL. If you wheel frequently and abuse it. It will be the best option for you. If you drive a gazzilion miles on the highway everyday and wheel once a year well... tables turn.

 

[NMTerras]

Be the guinea pig. Not many people have real world experence with them. Might be the best alternative just many don't have the $. I remember reading about someone who installed heims on a frontier and regreted it. Was over on club X though and wasn't using the total chaos kit just using off the shelf parts.

If you want my answer. I'd say its the best on the market. Well designed for Heim use with the double shear yokes on the CL. If you wheel frequently and abuse it. It will be the best option for you. If you drive a gazzilion miles on the highway everyday and wheel once a year well... tables turn.

Gaahhhh...peer pressure!
JK.
Funny thing is I have a different dd and terra is meant to be a dedicated trail rig, but I end up driving her to work, too, more often then I should ...

 

[Silver dude]

Worth mentioning in this thread. Bandit 4x4 sells all the parts needed to rebuild SLR steering. The SLR setup uses all off the shelf parts that can be purchased at most race shops. I rebuilt mine last month with parts from bandit.

 

[rokdaddy]

Be the guinea pig. Not many people have real world experence with them. Might be the best alternative just many don't have the $. I

^^^^ I like this^^^^ it almost has me thinking about biting the bullet on the TC kit. Almost...

 

[NMTerras]

^^^^ I like this^^^^ it almost has me thinking about biting the bullet on the TC kit. Almost...

I need to think on this, but me too. I'm going to inquire about SLR and see what he has to say

 

[rokdaddy]

There's a guy on CX and Ronin (texask5) that was running a TC kit a while back. I bought my TC IAB from him and he seems like a good guy. He deleted all of his TC centerlink pics from his photobucket account so I don't know if he's still running it. You may want to see if you can get some beta from him.

 

[Ricel]

NM, if you get in touch with him, hit me up on his reply.

 

[NMTerras]

Will do ricel

 

[NMTerras]

Emailed SLR - 650 for The kit "Comes with idler pitman centerlink bearings and hardware." told me I was ready to run with my hd tras and IAB.
Still totally undecided and now I've thrown thinking about SASing into the hopper.

Speaking of guine pigs, to refer back a few posts, Morpheus got the TC with heims like three-four months ago...report?

 

[TKDx00]

Emailed SLR - 650 for The kit "Comes with idler pitman centerlink bearings and hardware." told me I was ready to run with my hd tras and IAB.

So with the SLR kit all you need to add are the TRAs and you have a "complete" steering replacement? NO other parts need to be bought?

Can you tell I'm a little confused on replacing the steering...lol.

 

[NMTerras]

So with the SLR kit all you need to add are the TRAs and you have a "complete" steering replacement? NO other parts need to be bought?

Can you tell I'm a little confused on replacing the steering...lol.

I think you need your own tie rod assemblies - ends and outers, and you'll be bracing your stock idler arm with his IAB. I think...

 

[TKDx00]

I give up on trying to understand steering and the use of the term "complete".

 

[Silver dude]

Generally complete refers to complete Centerlink replacement. As well its the heart of the steering and the biggest trouble area. Its sloppyness is what causes tierods to tweak and bind. But, HD adjusters I feel are needed as well. When it comes to steering seems you throw the coins or whine about it. I tossed a large sum of $ for the SLR parts and Ac HD adjusters but no longer have to worry or decide on my options just wheel. Its been mostly solid and leaps and bounds better then stock as far as longitivity. There are no real cheap ones it seems they all price jack to meet each others prices. As there is no reason it should cost as much as it does. The money isn't in materials but perhaps the labor or.... the need to pay bills. With the plethera of options there really isn't one that is more wrong then the other. They all have issues. Calmini the idler arm bushing and poor parts support, SLR mostly reused stock components at a premium cost. TC the cost and the fact that its a rather unexplored option that we have yet to have history or review on. I love my SLR but, if I did it again I'd likely get a grass roots cl and call it done. As I have experience with both types (owned both) and I can't see much difference in longitivity.

 

[NMTerras]

Ac kit is complete, replacing tie rod assembly with heim joints. Calmini system lacks TREs. SLR lacks TREs, TRAs and braces the stock IA. grassroots is a replacement centerlink only.

 

[TKDx00]

Dude & NM...thanks. Between your 2 posts I believe I understand now. "Complete" is an individual supplier defined word and not an OEM Steering linkage equal. AC comes the closest to OEM but it's the most expensive while Grassroots is the furthest. Now that I understand, I can start searching for part combinations.... Thanks.

 

[NMTerras]

Ok - I am going to take Silver Dude's advice and be the guinea pig, since Morpheus never reported back...

Got back from the alignment shop and my steering is worse than i thought. (A lot easier to tell when you get it up on a big rack!) Anyway, my idler arm and pitman arm bushings are shot to sheet and the stock steering has reached the end of its days. I just put in my order for the Total Chaos system, so it's heim joints for Terra!

(I toyed with the idea of SASing it, but I decided I'm not ready for that level of commitment just yet)

 

[J Everett]

Wow, that TC setup is pricey, but it looks solid.

 

[NMTerras]

Wow, that TC setup is pricey, but it looks solid.

Yeah, but i figured out a way to make it feel inexpensive:

1) Think about SASing your rig
2) price out SASing your rig
3) Order TC steering

 

[rokdaddy]

Ok - I am going to take Silver Dude's advice and be the guinea pig, since Morpheus never reported back...

Got back from the alignment shop and my steering is worse than i thought. (A lot easier to tell when you get it up on a big rack!) Anyway, my idler arm and pitman arm bushings are shot to sheet and the stock steering has reached the end of its days. I just put in my order for the Total Chaos system, so it's heim joints for Terra!

(I toyed with the idea of SASing it, but I decided I'm not ready for that level of commitment just yet)

Noice!

Can't wait to hear how it turns out. I'm seriously considering picking up the full TC long travel kit (upper and lower control arms) for my Toyota Tundra.

 

[NMTerras]

I promise i will not pull a Morpheus and disappear the day after my steering arrives...:hmmm:

 

[J Everett]

Yeah, but i figured out a way to make it feel inexpensive:

1) Think about SASing your rig
2) price out SASing your rig
3) Order TC steering

Fair enough,lol. And I don't think it's ridiculously over priced. It seems well engineered, everything is double shear. It just seems like Nissan should have engineered it that way in the first place. Makes me grateful that the 2nd gens have rack & pinions instead of the 1st gen recirculating ball steering box set up. One thing is certain, you will have more road feel with those heim joints in the tie rods.

 

[ChiXterra]

Does the TC system come with greasable Heims?

 

[NMTerras]

https://www.4x4parts.com/nissan/complete-steering-system-p-5256.html

 

[Mirage]

Does the TC system come with greasable Heims?

My opinion is heims shouldn't be greased, most of the high end bearing makers agree. Your just making a spot for the grit/dirt to collect and wear. Most of the teflon lined ones act like a wiper as well as being self lubricating, keeping it off the ball surface and from getting inside. Aurora also says it weakens the heim body putting a zerk in it. Some of the big off-road specific joints have been designed with greasing in mind though, so you kinda got research and decide for yourself. I have some Aurora metric heims on my car, daily drove on them over 3 years just wiping them off at oil changes, still look good and move fine.

 

[ChiXterra]

My opinion is heims shouldn't be greased, most of the high end bearing makers agree. Your just making a spot for the grit/dirt to collect and wear. Most of the teflon lined ones act like a wiper as well as being self lubricating, keeping it off the ball surface and from getting inside. Aurora also says it weakens the heim body putting a zerk in it. Some of the big off-road specific joints have been designed with greasing in mind though, so you kinda got research and decide for yourself. I have some Aurora metric heims on my car, daily drove on them over 3 years just wiping them off at oil changes, still look good and move fine.

I definitely prefer heims to be greasable. I've been tossing around the idea of heims, or tie rods for my SAS steering, and have decided to do go with tie rods. Hems are indeed strong, but I personally like to be able to lube them. The Teflon insert can only last so long. The downside of Heims, is also the cost. A good heim runs around $50-60.

 

[NMTerras]

The TC system is in, heims and all. It looks and feels super solid. See my build thread for pics, but pics don't do it justice. I will update with a review/comments once I've had a chance to test em...

 

[02Xterra]

Just installed my new steering setup my buddy designed years ago before sas'ing his rig.. never got to test it out until now

Here's what we swapped in tonight in about 3.5 hours:
- GM 1 ton tie rod ends
- (2) 1 1/4" OD, 1" ID DOM tubing, 5.5" LG.
- (4) 7/8-16 tubing inserts, left and right hand thread
- (4) 7/8-16 jamb nuts
- New centerlink (machined for the bigger TRE's
- New to me set of spindles (machined for the TRE's)

Also did new lower ball joints since the spindles were off. Mine were waaaaay past gone. The tube inserts were gtaw'd to the DOM and they are f'ing gorgeous. My buddy did a damn good job.

This is the only pic i have at the moment, mainly because this is the only thing that's different lol

 

[rokdaddy]

Wow. Now that's a brute force solution. Very nice.

-Rok

 

[Jmac289gt]

Yeah man, that set up does look nice.

 

[TKDx00]

That's not beefy...That's elephantine!!! :shocked:

 

[NMTerras]

Just installed my new steering setup my buddy designed years ago before sas'ing his rig.. never got to test it out until now

Here's what we swapped in tonight in about 3.5 hours:
- GM 1 ton tie rod ends
- (2) 1 1/4" OD, 1" ID DOM tubing, 5.5" LG.
- (4) 7/8-16 tubing inserts, left and right hand thread
- (4) 7/8-16 jamb nuts
- New centerlink (machined for the bigger TRE's
- New to me set of spindles (machined for the TRE's)

Also did new lower ball joints since the spindles were off. Mine were waaaaay past gone. The tube inserts were gtaw'd to the DOM and they are f'ing gorgeous. My buddy did a damn good job.

This is the only pic i have at the moment, mainly because this is the only thing that's different lol

Looks good - question - is your idler arm braced? From the pic it looks like maybe it isnt. if not, it will be even more vulnerable since everything else in the system has been beefed up so much...

 

[02Xterra]

Looks good - question - is your idler arm braced? From the pic it looks like maybe it isnt. if not, it will be even more vulnerable since everything else in the system has been beefed up so much...

It is. I've got a SLR IAB on there.. you can just see it attached to the bottom of the idler arm. The other side bolts to underside of the frame rail. I plan on getting a total chaos one at some point though

Looks like this:

 

[Morpheus]

I promise i will not pull a Morpheus and disappear the day after my steering arrives...:hmmm:

Hey guys, sorry, I'm here... Been a crazy summer, had sell my house, which involved finishing 100 1/2 done projects around the house, bought a new house, which brought 100 more projects..

Anyways, the overhaul of the truck was finished during the spring.

I ended up having to replace upper control arm bushings, l/side lower balljoint, lower control arm bushing, and installed the TC steering system.

So far, I think I've put about 5,000-6,000km on the truck this summer, and I've only wheeled it once, but so far the system has worked flawlessly.

I installed a steering stabilizer at the same time, and I didn't bother to re-install my front swaybar.

I'm not 100% happy with the way the "tie-rods" are set up, I plan of fabricating a gussett that will keep the joint from falling apart if it ever failed

I was also able to take the tie rod setup to my local speed shop and have them match up a complete adjuster and heim joints, so I now carry 2 trail spares if I ever have a problem.

Here's what it looked like while I was working on it:

 

[NMTerras]

"I was also able to take the tie rod setup to my local speed shop and have them match up a complete adjuster and heim joints, so I now carry 2 trail spares if I ever have a problem."

That's a great idea!

Welcome back...


So far I love my new steering setup, heims and all. No problems at all, tight and sturdy...

 

[TKDx00]

Has anyone bought the SLR system lately? Can someone compare the TC to SLR cause it's down to these 2 for me. SLR has been really emailing me and is sweetening the deal a little at a time. But I just don't know about the quality now since the old man is no longer there.

 

[Silver dude]

I own a lot of SLR parts the steering has been mostly good. The quality on UCA's was lacking. Given the choice I wish I wouldn't have listened to the people that said SLR makes quality. Yeah I've made the choice to not deal with that company again. Shock hoops way off missing parts. UCA's wrong bushing kit included and with the right bushings my truck still doesn't align like it should. Bought a diff drop kit had a missing bushing. The steering has been good yet it doesn't really fix anything. The idler arm still rides on stock bushings. The fit isn't perfect but it lasts longer then stock between rebuilds. The TC kit looks way way better I wish they had the kit developed while I was looking.

 

[TKDx00]

Thanks Dude