Ye Ol' Cherokee

Im having the front axle u joints done at the shop cause their shot, and i don't have the tools to do it myself.

Anyway, i was thinking, since they will have everything taken apart to do the u joints anyway, would there be a lot more that they would have to do to replace the ball joints? Other than press them out and press new ones in. Or is it more complicated and gonna end up needing a lot more labor.

The thing is, they dont show much wear, but do have almost 200k on them, so i figured if everything was already taken apart, id just be paying for parts and maybe an ounce of labor.

Whats your guys input on this? I just got new tires and want them to last long on a properly riding vehicle

JamromXJ

In my opinion, it's best to get it done while it's apart than to go back and do it again.

Just consider the added cost of labor if you have to go through the trouble of bringing it back for more work.

To replace the Ball joints, everything has to come off again except the axle shafts.

Just for conversation... I thought I was just going to do a 3" lift and new wheels... well... bushing, motor mounts, upper and lower ball joints, u-joints, brakes, bearing hubs, paint, axle cover and everything else later... I'm still working on the front end.

JR

salad

^^ Bang on advice there.

One thing not yet mentioned is the axle shaft seals. Most of the labour in the book for replacing those is because everything else has to come out. If I was paying someone to do work on the front axle I'd get the seals, ball joints, U joints, and hubs taken care of in one fell swoop. Use OE parts and you won't have to worry about them for another 200k! Not bad for like-new condition.

For new tires, making sure your front end is properly aligned - and will STAY properly aligned - is wise. Don't forget to have the steering and track bar looked at. The track bar takes the brunt of potholes

xjsnake

Sage advice there. I did it myself and didn't do the axle seals because I was in a hurry to get it back on the road. Needless to say a seal failed and out went my gear oil which grenaded my ring gear into a bunch of pieces.

JamromXJ

Going for the Hijack....

Does the carrier and pinion have to come out as well out to do the seals?

Thanks

JR

salad

Not at all. Just the diff carrier needs to come out. FSM says blah blah diff spreader, us working folk get by fine with a 2' breaker bar.

http://www.stu-offroad.com/axle/d30seals/seal-1.htm
http://go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoD30AxlesSeals.htm

Gojeep's method is what I did. Went swimmingly.

andrewmp6

I'm with salad get everything done at once so you know its all new and good to go for a long time.