Hello all. Hopefully this isn't a dumb question but my OCD requires I ask. The upper ball joint on my one XJ is shot and I ordered a set of Dana Spicer ones from Rock Auto. They look nice but never having changed ball joints before I was under the assumption that new ones should be nice and rock solid (That is, you can grab the threaded stud and they have no movement) where-as worn ones moved around. When I looked at the new ones the larger upper ball joint is indeed very solid and has no movement but the shorter lower new ball joint can be moved as much as a new tie rod end moves. Before I go through all the work of swapping these things out does that sound normal for new ones?

Here's a pic of the ones I got. The larger one on the right is the upper

 

I used Moog when I did mine a few months back and IIRC the joints were movable, just nice and tight/smooth.

When you put those in, make sure they press in tightly. Sometimes the axles are worn and without the little ribbing used in aftermaket joints they won't be tight enough in the axle. If you weren't aware...

 

When I changed mine the old ones were very lose the new ones were tight and had grease fitting on the upper and lower the ones I used are Mevotech's Terrain Tough

 

I have a couple of sets of Spicer 706944X here as spares,
purchased six months ago. They say Made in Canada on
the boxes and they all behave like yours.


I suppose the lowers have more grease in them since
they are perma-lubed. The uppers left the factory with
a minimum of grease.


If you put them in the freezer the night before, they
will install easier.

 

Thanks. Someone else mentioned that. I'll see how it goes. I've taken Cherokees apart down to changing the hubs a number of times before so this will just be one step further.

 

It's a simple enough job. The old ones will make a loud pop when they first start coming out. You should need the press to install the new ones - it should take some muscle to get them in - if they slip in super easily then they're too loose. Search for a thread on it if they're loose - one person scored up the edges and had success. Hopefully it's a non-issue for you though.

 

Do what EricTheCarGuy did and weld them in lol.

 

I mean who even messes around with that stuff - when a ball joint goes bad the only proper remedy is to jump on quadratec and drop 3k on an axle assembly.