MOOG DS1312 Steering Tie Rod End for Jeep Grand Cherokee

This thing is significantly heavier and thicker than the stock XJ tie rod. After holding the old part and comparing to this one, I'm impressed that the original held up as well as it did considering stock is just a big metal straw with TREs bolted on the ends. This is probably about as bomb-proof as I would need for mild crawling (currently with 31" tires but previously 33's...) I banged and scraped the old part on small boulders and this one makes that one look like a toy or something off a lawn tractor. Installed perfect with no clearance issues in front of a Dana 30 with stock cover. Remember: the wheels will swing freely when you remove the old drag link and tierod! Update (30 Jun 2016): Installed a second one after bending the first on a rock when the driver front tire slipped off of it and dropped the whole front end of the Jeep on the tie rod. Was still driveable on the trail after turning the clamp bolts out since they were catching on the spring perch/sway bar mount (which also bent.) Adjusted further later to toe the wheels back out for the highway. Picking up a third for a spare soon!

Quality and fit like a glove. Make sure you buy some good paint for it as well.

Item is as described. I replaced the original and this is working perfectly.

I had heard that these MOOG parts were being made in China. I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the packaging and seen "Made in U.S.A." on each box. I bought these 3 parts to replace the smaller hollow tie rod on my 1998 Jeep XJ. This ZJ tie rod is substantially thicker and heavier. It is around twice the diameter and is solid instead of hollow tubing. The price is very affordable for what you get. At the time of writing this I was able to buy all three parts for a total of around $84. Not bad for the upgrade it seems to be. I assumed my tie rod was the original one and due for an upgrade anyways. You can look at the pic I took of the boxes to see "Made in U.S.A." clearly written on them as well as the individual part numbers should you decide to do this same upgrade on your Jeep. ***Note: I did have to tap the hole for the grease zerk as it was smooth inside. I used a 1/4-28 bottom end tap. It may be possible to simply thread the zerk in and it cut it's on threads, but I didn't want to take a chance on damaging it. I'm not sure why they don't tap the hole at the factory. The tie rod end that goes on the opposite end that I got to complete this assembly came with a threaded zerk hole.***

Back in the day I always used Moog, it was the best, hassle free and had a warranty. Now it has no warranty other than the 30 days or whatever Amazon gives you. Call Moog, wait on the phone forever and they will rudely tell you take it back to where ever you got it, we don't warranty direct to customers. I switched to local store brand whatever was cheapest that had a lifetime warranty. But that stuff became more expensive than this moog jeep stuff so I took a chance. One star off for being raw metal, no coating. Even the cheapest china stuff has paint. It should loose another star for cheap boots that I know are gonna rot off within a year. Should loose another star for having no protectors on the threaded ends like they used to. Try charging a customer $$$ for all new steering linkages, then have them come back a month later throwing a fit that its all rusty and staining their new pavers in the driveway! Yeah sure you can spray it down with brake cleaner and paint, but then you dissolve the boots at the ends. And of course you can take off the boots, wipe them down and paint, wait days for the paint to dry and harden, then install. But I don't want to do that.

I recently purchased a 2004 Wrangler Unlimited, and with plans to lift and bigger tires, I figured making sure the steering was in good shape was important. My existing steering had 3 tie rod boots leaking, as well as one that looked like it was about to explode it was so ballooned out the side. I didn't want to chance anything, so I went ahead and got the following to do the upgraded/refreshed steering: MOOG parts needed for TJ / XJ tie rod upgrade: Tie Rod End - ES3096L Adjusting Sleeve - ES2079S Tie Rod - DS1312 I wanted to refresh everything, so I ordered the following parts in addtion: Drag Link DS1430 Tie Rod End - ES3096L Adjusting Sleeve - ES2079S Since I was replacing all of the parts, I removed the old stuff as one assembly, and after setting my new parts to the same length, chucked it in the metal bin at the dump. The new tie rod is much beefier than the original, as it's a solid piece as well as being thicker. Installed just like the originals, and then I did a quick measuring tape alignment to get it good enough to get to the shop for a real alignment. Steering is nice and tight now, and I know the extra beef will serve my larger tires even better.

I am so sick of poor quality. Moog USED to be good quality. Not anymore. Received my box unopened but it was missing the dust boot, nut, cotter pin, and grease fitting. What is even worse though is that the hole for the grease fitting wasn't even tapped! So they missed an entire step in the manufacturing process. I ordered this to upgrade my flimsy stock MJ tie rod. But now I have to wait longer to get my truck back on the road. Might as well just buy no name Chinese products if Moog is going to slack off on their quality control. I'm tired of these companies. I've been having similar quality issues with moog products sold at local auto part stores as well.

MOOG parts needed for TJ / XJ upgrade: Tie Rod End - ES3096L Adjusting Sleeve - ES2079S Tie Rod - DS1312 (total less than $105 w/ free shipping to me in Alaska = SUPER UPGRADE!) These 3 items are Moog quality and the center link DS1312 is what the Jeep TJ should have come with in the first place. Getting this is a worthwhile investment when the stock tie-rod needs to be replaced. Gonna put this on a 10 year-old Wrangler TJ 4.0L that I got new in late 2003 off the showroom floor...remember to use a torque wrench for the right 'specs + synthetic grease for lubing the Moog parts for a long life because this will serve any Jeep do-it-yourself owner for many years to come. **Worth every cent!!!**

Excellent

I bought this for my 2001 XJ, to replace worn out original tie rod ends. Steering feels tighter and more responsive after installing this, along with moog sleeves and tie rod ends.

Ordered this hoping to upgrade my steering geometry. Ended up with a box that looks like rats had chewed through it with a missing boot, castle nut, zerk fitting and pin.

Awesome upgrade for my jeep tj. Very strong.

Worth the money well made quality