OME Steering Damper Upgrade

pdXDisco97

Well-known member
Dec 6, 2011
277
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Oregon
I was given an OME steering damper and tie rod from a fellow club member. It's the upgrade, a larger diameter tie rod and beefy damper. He mentioned that it goes in the front instead of the rear of the axle. For the rear (that now no longer has a damper), can I use the existing rod? Or do I need to replace that as well?
 

pdXDisco97

Well-known member
Dec 6, 2011
277
36
Oregon
Front: drag link
Rear: tie rod
You can have a steering damper connected to either of these steering links, or both.
I knew I was going to get the nomenclature wrong, thanks for the no-shame response!

Any benefit to both being connected to a damper?
 

ERover82

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Nov 26, 2011
3,899
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Darien Gap
I knew I was going to get the nomenclature wrong, thanks for the no-shame response!

Any benefit to both being connected to a damper?

I drove for years without one at all. Didn't miss it. It's probably best to have at least one though, for longevity of your thumbs and the steering box. With two you might notice a slight sluggishness in quick turns, but at least you'll have redundancy when one gets smashed.
 
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Blueboy

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2004
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Back in the USA; Rockwood, PA
I drove for years without one at all. Didn't miss it. It's probably best to have at least one though, for longevity of your thumbs and the steering box. With two you might notice a slight sluggishness in quick turns, but at least you'll have redundancy when one gets smashed.
Yep, ‘96 D1 currently total stock without one. The ‘94 Rangie has one installed. D1 has stock everything including tire size. RRC has ARB bumper with winch, lift, and 235/85 tires. Steering on D1 much lighter yet given all the weight on the RRC front the OME damper helps. Tire balance as well as healthy suspension also has an impact. Can’t hurt to have one.
 
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p m

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Apr 19, 2004
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Any benefit to both being connected to a damper?
Most will tell you it's okay to not have any and with properly adjusted swivel preload you shouldn't need one.
In my experience, at the point when the swivel preload starts adding enough of friction to suppress shimmy, the swivel bearings are going to be way overtightened.
Also, some trucks are more susceptible to shimmy than the others, and tires affect it greatly. I had steering dampers both on the drag link and tie rod in my D1 and both were needed with 265/75R16 KM3s; with 7.50-16 XZLs I tore the bottom one off on Rubicon, took it off, and the damper on the drag link was sufficient.