dogkatcher

ive seen alot of threads regarding this fix .. I did right front U-joint yesterday .. noticed upper ball-joint was loose .. so i stopped & researched

I got prepared with moog parts, a rental press setup & studying up

I attacked it today .. took 4-5 hours .. gremlins!

since I just did u-joint, brakes & axle came out quick, clean bolts

steering knuckle took almost 2 hours to break loose .. I tried to press the balljoints out with steering knuckle still on .. not a chance .. was in the way

I pickle forked that SOB (knuckle) for over an hour .. finally the bottom joint bolt separated from steering knuckle .. and some blunt force gave way the upper ball-joint bolt / frozen to knuckle still, dislodged

Used the press & broke those 2 apart (steering knuckle & dislodged upper ball joint bolt)

back to axle

used the blank press rod & forced the remaining upper joint out .. it was loud

bottom wasnt too bad

I am so glad I did this .. upper joint was like dry clay .. no wonder when i tried to grease it, it felt clogged .. was completly solid in there, grey solid matter
on to the left side .. thanks for the tips on here too .. I only broke 1 ratchet & 1 socket adapter .. parts were $135 approx

http://mikestrawbridge.com/blog/2009...erokee-repair/

diskman

Dammit.. Reminded me that I gotta do mine. 250K on the originals.

Looks GREAT! Good job man!

dogkatcher

will be able to sleep better tonite, since I didnt tear into left front last wknd .. as hoped .. right side took way too long,, obvious from pics

been getting quotes on new AT tires all over the grid .. lookin at $800+ for top of line (cooper at3, destination at, etc.)

Peerless down the street is run by XJ owners .. gave it a shot 2day

quoted, once again $808 .. we looked at tire rack again .. I pulled trigger on Wild Trac XRS Plus 31/10.5/15 .. he said 30 minutes, done .. look similar to the Dest. AT

look killer on jeep, compared to the bald 30s that were on it .. full benefits w/ "buy & try" .. if they suck can upgrade

i think they will be fine for my travels, they arnt a joke, very meaty .. $643 total

I scoped out left front while up in air .. no play in wheel, u-joint is tight, balljoints look ok, hub is fine, brakes identical to right side (recently replaced) .. just that tie-rod boot that i meant to fix last weekend .. figure I can refurb that side during a warm weather trend .. gonna get chilly here this weekend (colorado) .. other than tie rod boot random pop .. front end noise is gone !!

a guy working there is having auto trans weird shifting problems, like i had .. I showed him the throttle valve adjustment .. may have saved him $350 in labor he was quoted .. good stuff

those tires any good ? tried to save $$ for new windshield / roof basket / and whatever else comes up .. they look fine to me

looking into new rims too .. steel or alloy ? I dont crawl or mudbog, but get into deep snow, some thick mud at jobsites





EDIT : jeep on lifts is at tire shop (pics below) , they were quick .. I did not repair it like that, I have jackstands & keep 3 wheels on ground, chalk a couple too .. sorry to scare you .. tire shop had it in air for 15 minutes maybe .. I just eyeballed around areas while waiting .. didnt crawl under it either








jeep purchased with these Bald 30s .. took em down to 30 psi, felt like rocks, about to pop .. theyre gone !

Dan91

Looks like you had offset balljoints, did you replace them with offsets? Just curious.

armymedic120

Dude I understand work with what you got, but please please please invest in some jack stands. I've had a jack fail on me before and it scared the **** out of me. Seeing your Xj with three jacks and no wheels just makes me nervous. Wouldn't want anything bad to happen to a fellow jeeper

bloddy mud

I thought of the same thing last night when I seen the pictures. That looks very unsafe. Especially in the rear. I've had like 3 different cars fall off the jacks cause I was yawing the one that the vehicle comes with. It is not fun lucky I didn't get hurt. Scared the **** out of me everytime. Just get jackstands. Even a couple of wal-mart ones are better than nothing. List a uncle cause he was pulling a transmission out of a old Nick with out jackstands

beefmobile

that looks like the service shop's doings to me....

bloddy mud

someone is getting workmans comp soon. half *** thete

dogkatcher

I have jackstands, did repairs safe .. up in air pic: was tire shop just replacing tires

didnt know ball joints could be offset, hoping youre not telling me I will be doing that side over

tire shop said wheels are offset, when I inquired about new rims

Dan91

Well, offset ball joints are for caster/camber adjustment, usually in cases where the axle has been damaged like bent C's(where the joints press in.) Your second pic sure does look like an offset one.

Here is an offset joint:


Here is a normal one, the stud is perfectly centered:

dogkatcher

checked busted joint, definatly off centered .. think Im gonna go get alignment / camber checked professionaly .. it drives straight, but was gonna get it checked anyways .. especially after replacing steering boots

with new tires it does seem the upper side of tire (left side / balljoint not replaced by me) sits out a bit more from fender than fixed side, like that side has offset balljoint in it, (from drivers seat, left wheel may a slight counter clockwise tilt .. the joint makeup looks same as busted 1 .. so I assume the right side wheel, would have been a slight clockwise tilt)

.
wish I knew more about service on this jeep, and why/what was done where .. but no

would they offset it during the lift job for any reason ?

I assume camber being off would just wear out tire quicker ? or is something seriously bad going to happen ?

I'm not going on any long adventures til correcting a few more things

good thing seller let it go way cheaper than asking price, putting some loot into it, but not too bad yet .. engine is sounding good so far

somehow .. even though replacing that side took awhile, seemed a bit too easy .. glad you guys caught this !!

If Im lucky the offset balljoints shouldnt be in there anyways .. then replace other side worry free .. we shall see

thoughts?

dogkatcher

what do you think ?

get alignment checked free tomorrow? lots of shops to hit up nearby

then figure out which side is right ? drives super straight on new tires, even at 65 mph

obviously, front wheels are not sitting evenly on camber ..new tires can see it good

the centered balljoint I installed is way off from other front, Im sure that 1 is offset .. would they be offset for the lift ?



if "my non-offset" side shows up way off camber .. should I eyeball / measure other offset balljoint side .. then install offset joint as close as possible to that 1 .. or am I over my head?

yea.. my 1st ball joint job .. still learning some stuff

OleBlue

Nice man, the first time i did ball joint replacement was on the trail, 2 hours from home. PITA!!!!!!!!!!! Luckily for me my ball joints seperated and were pretty easy to get out lol.

Dan91

I'd get alignment checked just to be sure, let them know your concern about the balljoints. Bad camber can lead to uneven tire wear (one side wears faster) other than that I'm not too sure. There would be no logical reason for someone to use offset balljoints with installing a lift. The other thing is: offset joints are more expensive, so you'd think there was a good reason for them being on your Jeep Anyways, I hope it all works out man, I'll keep checking back to see how it went.

morgan320i

goodyear wrangler authority are 158$ for each tire in that size and they look nice,

ball joints are a pita when i had aftermarket arms on a dif truck they had 3 bolts which made it nice to remove