ZINCO

I bought a 01 grand cherokee, the front wheels are bent slightly out at the bottom looks like someone bottomed out and bent the axle evenly up at each end ...it drives o.k. but tires will wear ...is there any way to tweek it to straighten it up schwab wants $2500 also how can i tell what gear ratio on my front axel 4wd 6 cyl non tow package ....thank you newbie

dave1123

Welcome to CF!

I doubt seriously that the front axle is bent. It probably needs ball joints and wheel bearings. The only way to bend the axle housing on both sides is to drop it from a crane from a height and I'd assume that would do more damage than bend the axle. Even if it IS bent, you can probably fix it with offset ball joints. Factory built-in camber is 7* plus or minus 0.5*. If you look very closely, it may look like the tires are out at the bottom. This is normal. Have an alignment shop check it.

The gear ratio should be on a tag attached to one of the diff cover bolts. If it isn't there, check the other axle. The standard non-tow vehicles are 3.55. Tow package vehicles are 3.73, BUT the original purchaser could have built it to HIS specs. This is common on older ZJ's, but IDK about WJ's (99 to 04).

If this is your first jeep, check out wjjeeps.com to learn a lot about it. Also, you can run your VIN number to get your build sheet to know what you have.

ZINCO

It is definitely bent you can see it. How difficult would it be to change the camber on the ball joints? Where would I get offset ball joints and or instructions to put them in or would this be a shop job?

dave1123

I would take it to a GOOD alignment shop to see if it's even salvageable. If not, swap the axle. Salvage yards get anywhere from $100 to $400 for a used one.

ZINCO

I have and they want $1000 plus since it drives fine i was hoping to tweek it with some shims or an offset ball joint but then maybe with the bend it would chew up the gears driving like that eventually? I may just half to bite the bullet on this one.

sycoglitch

Can you post pics for us to see the axle and whees

ZINCO

my question is since the front axel is evenly bent up on both ends...imagine it was dropped from a crane at 30' and I manage to put in some offset axel joints, . then the camber will be right and the wheels will be straight up and down but will i mess up the gears becacuse of the bent axel.??? a local shop shays he can just replace the bent part of the axel shaft..really ???..just my nature i always try to do things the hard way..or maybe i'm just cheep.

dave1123

I'm assuming we're talking obout the axle HOUSING, correct? It's just a steel pipe and yes, it can be straightened with a hydraulic press or on a frame machine. On the old classic cars with steel I-beam front axles used to be straightened all the time after accidents so I don't see why yours couldn't.

There is a little clearance on the spline where the axles themselves go into the diff side gears, but not much. Most of your bend has effected the forged ball joint knuckle angle and out on that end, there are a bunch of brackets for the spring and control arms. It seems like a lot of ball-busting work, but it can be done. I still think you'd be time and money ahead by just replacing the axle completely. Of course, it could just be the knuckles themselves that are bent or the welds broken. It's hard to see it from here.