Mcmopar

Does anyone know what years used which steering setup? My 98 has the "T" and my Dad's 96 has the "Y". What about the other years, say from 99-2002? I understand the "T" is supposed to be better, but why?

Thanks
Mc

smokindog

Your 98.5 has the T? I was under the impression that all the pre 99 trucks had the inverted Y.

To answer your question; the Y setup by design works against itself. The draglink meets the tierod more towards middle rather than the knuckle like the T. I just noticed the other day that the 04.5 trucks have a Y setup on them.

Follow the links below, I spent two days reading and re reading before I remembered that I had the T from the start.

http://www.turbodieselregister.com/f...4&page=1&pp=15

http://www.turbodieselregister.com/f...d.php?t=119499

CTD NUT

94-97 uses the "Y" while 98-02 uses the "T".

95ram

98-02 are not all "T". My 01.5 is Y. From everything I've read the late 98 and early 99's where the only ones with T.

diesel_kid

I am picking up a Steering Stabilizer, Thurenfab Trac Bar, Bilsteins and then I cant decide whether or not I should go for the upgrade to the T-setup from the 99 HD trucks, or get the x-over steering from Thurenfab. What do you guys think? Is the T-Setup worth going to?

BigBlue

I'm gonna do the thuren crossover on mine. Even if you go with the factory t-setup it's still factory. Might as well upgrade.

95ram

IMO staying with the factory stuff is good. If you ever decide to sell your pickup someone will have a slite idea as to what is there and where to get it. If you go with the thuren upgrade there is no going back to stock. You have to bore both TRE's and the pitman arm.

CTD NUT

Does this aftermarket system use Heim joint rod ends? If so, forget about any longevity compared to a factory rod end.....the highest quality Heims even with the dust cover/grease boots do not last anywhere near as long......got a link for this Thuren system?

Cowhand

So far the Thuren x-over set up has far outlasted the factory TRE's....

My experience has been that you have it backwards. I never got more than 20K out of the factory style TRE's before they started going bad. Never seen a dust cover/grease boot for a heim, typically (at least in an automotive application) they don't get greased. Don uses teflon lined heims that have a wiper seal in them to keep the crud out. So far mine are still nice and tight after 30K+.

Here's the link...http://thurenfabrication.com/crossover.html

CTD NUT

Hmm......don't know what to say.....my experience is that exact opposite of yours.....I have factory-style rod ends that easily last in excess of 100,000 km (62,000 miles)......I watch guys in our 4x4 club over and over with aftermarket/custom steering linkage and lift kits that claim to use the highest quality heims fail rapidly. I use greasable teflon-lined 3/4" rod ends with chromoly bodies that have the integeral grease/dirt seals and dust boots on the steering linkage and they won't last more than a few seasons without experiencing some noticable wear.....The only reason I do use them is because they are much stronger than a conventional rod end and can't be pulled apart with the hydraulic steering, unlike the conventional tie rod ends.

Cowhand

That's pretty wild...

Where did you find greasable 3/4 heims? And dust boots? Are they 3/4" shank-3/4 bore? Could it be the grease is trapping grit in the ends, causing them to wear prematurely?

I'm running the 3/4X3/4 FK teflon rod ends on my knuckles and drag link, and they seem to be holding up very well. Even the cheap 1"X1" heims I had in my old control arms lasted for around 150K miles.

Could road salt be the culprit? I live in a pretty dry climate, although they did make it through 16+ inches of rain last winter.

CTD NUT

Yup, they are 3/4 x 3/4 heims.....I get them from a local bearing supplier.....I can't remember the manufacturer but all you had to do was add a "G" to the end of the part # when ordering greasable units.....the dust boots came from the same supplier but they are made my another manufacturer. A trip to a local industrial bearing supplier might be very helpful.

As to the road salt...yeah, they paint the roads with it here in the winter but my Jeep doesn't see any on road time in the winter but there are other guys in the club that do expose their rod ends to road salt so I can't say that isn't a factor. FWIW, I doubt that grease would trap anything in the rod end because it is actually an excellent way to pump the rod end clean....on my latest set of heim joints I gave up on the dust boots, though.

killfast1

How in the heck do you tell if you have a Y or a T?

Mcmopar

T has a straight one piece tie rod from the right knuckle to the left knuckle, the "Y" has the drag link from the PS box going to the pass knuckle and the tie rod from the drivers side ties into the drag link.

shawn085

Can the Thuren x-over set up work with stock rims? My truck has the stock Mags and the TRE are realy close to the rim now on the inside.