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Drag link rolls forward

9K views 20 replies 7 participants last post by  j3ff3ry_j33p 
#1 ·
Hey guys, sorry for the sh*t cell phone picks, but....my drag link seems to always want to "roll" forward instead of laying flat. What am i doing wrong here?
 

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#2 ·
You're not doing anything wrong, and neither is your drag link (it's following gravity and finding its position of least potential energy).

If you need / want it to sit more upright, you can clock the rod end at the steering box end to hold it up some, but don't overdo it - leave some wobble room so nothing binds and causes problems worse than a droopy drag link.
 
#3 ·
Synergy now makes a "single plane" tie rod end that prevents the flop you're having. You'll want #4139L, according to the site. I'm running one now, but haven't had the Jeep out of the garage yet.

I used to clock the pitman arm end so that the link was rotated all the way down and back, in order to keep the DL sticking out like it's supposed to. Problem with that approach is that the boot always either ripped or allowed dirt & water in, killing the joint after about a year. Went through three pitman arm rod ends before finding the new Synergy design. Good luck!
 
#5 ·
That pinch bolt on the knuckle side should be pointing straight up and down when the bar is oriented correctly. The bend in the bar should be pointed straight forward. One of the tie rod ends is going to need to be fully misaligned when the bar is in this position to prevent the bar from rolling forward/down. You can do it with the TRE's you have now. Set one TRE fully misaligned to prevent the bar from rolling forward, and then set the other TRE misaligned the other direction, but not quite all the way. With both ends tight, you should be able to grab the bar and move it up and down about an inch or so. Keep adjusting until you have about this much movement, not less, you don't want it to bind. The tricky part about setting it up this way is you have to use one TRE to set the orientation in one direction, and the other TRE to set how much the bar can roll. Our old white/clear boots did have a tendency to tear when the TRE is fully misaligned or pumped full of grease, but the new black boots are much better and we have been using them for quite a while now. You shouldn't have any issues setting it up this way.

Our current drag link comes with the 4139-L single plane tie rod end on one side. This type of TRE restricts the movement of the bar in both directions at once, so is simpler to set up. The other TRE just gets set neutral. Either way works.
 
#6 ·
I should clarify what I wrote earlier. My earlier flopped drag link and failed rod ends were NOT Synergy components. At the time, I was running the RK off road pro link and various rod ends from the local parts store. Moved on to Synergy when the RK drag link became hopelessly seized. Haven't had any issues with my Synergy TBs, tie rod, TB braces, etc. and looking forward to running the new DL and upgraded DDBs on the TB.
 
#17 ·
Like I'm hitting the bump? It even does it when I am sitting still and crank the wheel back and forth a few times. Thought it was possibly my assist cylinder pushing on my tierod so I disconnected it to test and it still does it. I've had others stand there and watch to see if they could pinpoint it but nothing noticeable happens. It's really odd but sounds just like the joint tapping from that small amount of draglink roll :confused:
 
#18 ·
Got it. When you said driveway, air bumps make sense as they do typically make a noise when they engage. Still making the noise when not moving is different though.

Could your drag link be contacting your hydro ram mount when turning? You'll want to get someone under there and feeling/looking at each piece while you're turning to pinpoint where it is coming from. From your image, everything looks pretty good.
 
#21 ·



well, if it returns or presents itself again, I was late chiming-in but better late than never.
From experience running a full Synergy Mfg suspension w/ 3" prog coils that I have squeezed the psc steering ram up-into the space that remained - plus already had Synergy's beefy links .
Like you, I opted to leave the trackbar and DL mount in the standard, OEM location.
This results in us really not having much wiggle-room at all for the cylinder/hoses once moving to assisted steering. It looks like your previous TR mount could be turned a little forward. I cant tell if you have contact scratches or dings on your trackbar from the pict.


if you're not running a flipped draglink , you have to clock everything just right or it'll hit possibly several things during full-turns.


I have fine-tuned mine as optimal as I can get it.
I can still occasionally tag the trackbar w/ the tierod mount bolt-head at full-turn one direction :



or even a few times hit the axle-side ram mounting bolt head up-against the back of the DL:


thats during extreme limits of the suspension's articulation and max-angle.

I experience no noises at all during normal driving . It took me several tries to get it all straight

The front sides are beaten on rock , the backsides are chewed by grade-8 protrusions; it'd sure suck to be one of my steering links:


..but I still like not having my trackbar lifted nor the draglink flipped.
It drives extremely well but requires added attn & very specific placement of everything to work in Synergy, er... properly. :wink2:


I have noticed the front of your Synergy tierod where the TREs are and the way your bar is clocked could be changed and lifted upward slightly on on of the TREs. The fact I still see each of those hard anti-roll caps seem to be separated at the front lip. That tells me it could possibly be flopping one hard time still - though minimally- but enough to clunk from the ram's piston force in turn. Have you had anyone watch the front as you turn in a parking lot?


that can be very revealing



 
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