SUMO-SS-130 - Stainless Steel Drop Arm Conversion Kit & Track Rod for Land Rover Defender - Right OR Left Hand Drive - by Gwyn Lewis

Please select from the dropdown menu to choose between Heavy Duty Track Rod Ends, Delphi Track Rod Ends or Lemforder Track Rod Ends.

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Part No:- SUMO-SS-1304, Defender Drop Arm Conversion Kit & Track Rod Bar, STAINLESS STEEL SUMOBARS, 4 HD TREs.

Part No:- SUMO-SS-1305, Defender Drop Arm Conversion Kit & Track Rod Bar, STAINLESS STEEL SUMOBARS, 4 DELPHI TREs.

Part No:- SUMO-SS-1306, Defender Drop Arm Conversion Kit & Track Rod Bar, STAINLESS STEEL SUMOBARS, 4 LEMFORDER TREs.

Weight:-  17kg

Manufacturer:- Gwyn Lewis 4×4 SUMOBARS, these are made in the UK not cheaper imports.

Fits:- Defender 90/110/130, 4 bolt Power Steering box, RHD.
(Also fits early 3 Bolt Power Steering Box, Will NOT FIT 6 Bolt Power Steering box or Manual Steering Box)

This conversion uses our STAINLESS STEEL Steering Bars, (SUMO-SS) made from 30mm solid 303 STAINLESS STEEL BAR, which are the strongest bars in the Sumobar range, as stainless offers a much greater strength, in fact, 1.5 times stronger than steel, these bars can be used from on road to extreme off road use.

This conversion kit allows you to replace the standard Defender Swan Neck Drop Arm with a Straight Discovery 1 300tdi Drop Arm, and comes with the following benefits.

Benefits:-

• This is a much better Drop Arm for a Defender as it eliminates the press in ball joint that is used in a Defender’s Swan Neck Drop Arm and replaces it with a Track Rod End.
• The Defender press in ball joints can be very difficult to replace, a Track Rod End is much easier to replace.
• The Defender press in ball joints do not last very long before they start to show wear and play, a Track Rod End lasts much longer. The Track Rod Ends we use are greaseable, which lasts even longer 
• The Rubber Boots on Defender Swan Neck Drop Arms pop off quite easily, allowing dirt and water into the joint causing premature wear. Track Rod End Boots do not pop off.
• Our Heavy Duty Steering Bars give the steering a more solid feel, standard steering bars flex quite easily.

See the last picture showing how to align the drop arm once fitted, it is master splined so cannot be fitted in the wrong position on the splined shaft from the steering box. The drop arm should point slightly towards the driver’s side when driven in a straight line. Also, make sure you tighten and recheck the nut that secures the drop arm to the steering box, this needs to be checked at least a couple of times after use due to the splined taper on the steering box. Once you are satisfied the Drop Arm has fully worked up the tapered spline of the steering box and the nut remains tight, you can then knock over the edges of the lock washer.

The Torque Setting of the Drop Arm securing nut is 176 NM, the tightness of this nut must be rechecked after use.

The Kit includes:- All items are also sold separately
1 x SUMO-SS-830 Heavy Duty Stainless Steel Drag Link.
1 x L/H thread  Greasable Track Rod End.
1 x R/H thread Greasable Track Rod End.
1 x GL79 RHD damper mount Eye/Pin.
1 x Disco drop arm straight RHD.
1 x SUMO-SS-1135 Heavy Duty Stainless Steel Track Rod Bar
1 x L/H thread Greasable Track Rod End.
1 x R/H thread Greasable Track Rod End.

SUMOBARS are the original Heavy Duty Steering Bars and arguably still the best, they are used all around the world from on-road, off-road, comp safari to extreme off-road.

SUMOBARS have two different ranges –
SUMO-HD – Made from 30mm solid EN8 engineering grade CARBON STEEL BAR, designed to be used by all, on & off road.
SUMO-SS – Made from 30mm solid 303 STAINLESS STEEL BAR, which are the strongest bars in the Sumobar range, as stainless offers a much greater strength, in fact, 1.5 times stronger than steel, these bars can be used from on road to extreme off road use.

All our Sumobars are supplied with full locking nuts, which are for strength and security, with less chance of rounding the nut whilst tightening. The steel nuts are 24mm and the stainless steel nuts are 27mm. Both ends of the Sumobar have machined flats for ease of tightening the lock nuts to the bar. The right hand thread is easily identified with a groove machined around the bar and the lock nut.

All threads on the bars are double checked and are greased with WURTH corrosion-protecting aluminium-copper paste, this will stop the track rod ends from seizing in the bars at a later date.

A Drag Link Bar is the bar from the steering box to the opposite wheel, (short bar in front of the front axle). A rough measurement of the Drag Link bar length before fitting, from centre of track rod end to centre of ball joint is 92.5cm.
A Track Rod Bar joins the 2 wheels together, (long bar behind the front axle). A rough measurement of the Track Rod bar length before fitting, from centre of track rod end to centre of track rod end is 123cm.

When fitting the SUMO LOCK NUTS onto the track rod ends use plenty of grease on the threads, this will prevent the nuts from seizing onto the track rod ends, (cold welding) or (Galling) this is common with stainless steel fixings, but use plenty of grease will prevent the problem from happening, we use MORRIS K48 grease.

Gwyn Lewis 4×4 offers three different types of track rod ends. Please see below to help decide which one will be best suited.

SUMO-RH-HD-TRE SUMO-LH-HD-TRE
These are our heavy duty greaseable track rod ends, mainly used by off-road customers due to their strength. However, have no disadvantage of being used on the road. The heavy duty track rod ends are stronger due to the larger ½ inch UNF thread on the tapered end with less of an undercut near the taper. Also, the main thread where it meets the ball joint body has no undercut, which makes them less likely to bend or break off with heavy off road impacts.  A Nylock Nut is fitted on the tapered end, making it easier to check they are tight after off road use, it is important to check that the locking nuts are kept tight. Inside these track rod ends is a large nylon socket to cup the ball, which gives smoother steering movement, especially for road use, however on impacts, they can distort the nylon cup. Please note these are not painted and come with the original rubber boot fitted. This is to keep the cost down, they will require greasing on fitment.

SUMO-RH-DELPHI-TRE SUMO-LH-DELPHI-TRE
These are our DELPHI Greaseable track rod ends, for on road use only. These are not just a standard Delphi joint, they are greaseable, come ready fitted with our GL1172 POLYBOOTS and are fully painted black. Inside these track rod ends is a nylon socket to cup the ball; the ball is polished, which gives a smoother movement with a lighter steering feel, however, on impacts they can distort the nylon cup. These track rod ends are weaker due to the larger undercut on the main thread where it meets the ball joint body. Because of this, we would not recommend these for off road use.

SUMO-RH-LEMFORDER-TRE SUMO-LH-LEMFORDER-TRE
These are our LEMFORDER Greaseable version, can be used for both, on road and off road. These are not a standard Lemforder track rod end, they are greaseable, and come ready fitted with our GL1172 POLYBOOTS and GL1045 Clip. The main difference with these joints is that they are internally spring loaded. They have a metal ball and a metal cup, the spring is constantly holding the cup onto the ball. Because of this, these joints can withstand impacts, such as potholes, as the spring compresses, not causing damage inside, unlike the nylon cup ones do. They are greaseable, however, do not force grease into them as the ball is seated on the lower metal cup and only allows minimal grease to pass, they are pre-greased here which means they may not need greasing on fitment.