Hey guys, so im an occasional wheeler, nothing to heavy but sometimes getting into some tricky rocks and what not. im running a 3" SL with and IAB and wondering how imperative it is to upgrade my steering components. any thoughts?

thanks,
Rob

Kind of depends on what size tire you are running and what an IAB is??? a suspesion lift changes your drive geom. and wheeling style has a lot to do with it. Some people can go years without an upgrade and some people only a season it varies on driving technique. But not a bad investment in the long run.

Eventually that centerlink wears out and that is the major weak point in my opinion since you already have an IAB.

Just adding that the IAB = Idler Arm Brace

Having done the upgrade recently and feeling the difference between last year's ECXC and this year's, I'd say it's worth it.

I felt the difference immediately the first time I had it on the road. Wheeling with it, it felt more stable and predictable and, with the bigger tires (33s), I didn't worry at all that I'd snap something that I'd need on the way home.

The steering kit buys you three things:
1) Harder-to-bend tierods.
2) Harder-to-break idler arm.
3) Fixes the worn out centerlink problem.

Personally, I wouldn't bother - the steering kits (or at least the Calmini ones) have problems of their own, you already have the idler arm taken care of, you can buy heavy duty tierods from 4x4parts, and centerlinks are cheap (new for $115 or so).

I'd get a Hoohaa or an L&P centerlink that's less prone to wear, upgrade the tierods, and call it good.

good info guys thanks....im still running the stock BFGs in a 265/65/17 (about a 30.5") but in the next 8-12k miles im hoping to switch out to 15" rims (if anyone has some they wanna dump let me know) and moving up to 32s. Im probably NOT going to do the 2" BL and I dont really want to trim any metal so I dont think I'll be going to 33s.

Rob

Rob,

I didn't upgrade my steering until it was pretty toasted, but wish I had sooner.

As stated, the tie rod adjusters are weak points. For wheeling, this is a sensible upgrade, and keep your stockers as spares.

The new centerlink that hoohaa is making looks pretty good. If you're thinking of doing a system, than SLR is a tough alternative. Total Chaos is nice too, but may be overkill for your use. That's your call.

Hope this helps.

I looked at the Total Chaos thing once - but it's over $1100 for both pieces of it (the $600 "steering system" requires you to have their $500 heim joint tierods)

I agree the TC and SLR stuff is nice. Id love the TC setup but MAN is it steep. im sure you get what you pay for but geeeez! I may pick up sone adjusters and keep the stockers as spares as you suggested Bobby.

Also, a couple of you guys mentioned "hoohaa"? this is the first ive heard of them and i stalk these boards quite a bit. anybody have their link?

Thanks
Rob

p.s. is the stock centerlink fairly robust? or does it become a "new" weak point once you do the adjusters?

HERE

Thanks Kaiser

Definitely upgrade the centerlink to a hoohaa unit or similar at the very least.

Calmini steering is stout...you won't break it. The problems some of us are having are with the idler bushing. It wears and the idler gets loose, but it doesn't cause the steering to fail....it just makes it a little sloppier.

SLR and Total Chaos also build full kits, but they're very expensive. To Kaiser's point, one of the spherical bearing upgraded centerlinks and a heavy duty set of adjustors should be all you need.

Thanks for the kind words guys. I wanted to chime in here as well. Pretty much all parts of the Nissan steering system are good except the centerlink. The idler arm is tough as long as you install a brace (IAB) which are cheap from many sources. In my experience there is no need for a $1100 steering system.

I have run 35's and a front locker on my TK1 modified centerlink through some fairly nasty stuff and the steering system didn't even flinch. The hubs and front differential were a different story. When you do the TK1 mod the rest of your steering system is strengthened, as Kaiser mentioned. Your TREs will last longer because they are no longer trying to twist themselves out of shape by rolling over the centerlink under load, which is the result of Nissan choosing to use ball joints on the centerlink ends where they tie into the idler and pitman arms.