cecyt1300

Hey guys

I have a couple questions regarding some front end stuff. I was driving my Cherokee on the highway and when it hit about 60mph and we hit some bumps we got some nasty left front wheel wobble. Pulled over and it stopped when I hit about 50mph. I couldn't see any problems but when we tried to continue on it happened a couple more times so we came home. The Jeep place said it needed a steering stabilizer, pitman arm joint (I guess he meant the part between the pitman arm and the tie rod? - because he greased the hell out of that spot. it feels crappy too, like there's no give to it) trac bar, and sway bar bushings. he only had the stabilizer so he put that on and balanced the tires. He said it'd be just over 400 bucks to do the trac bar, pitman arm joint and sway bar bushings.

Even if I put on a new pitman arm AND the tie rod end, plus the trac bar and sway bar bushings I can get all of that for around $150 bucks new. I figured maybe I would even add a transmission oil cooler and heavy duty shocks as I might pull a Cavalier when I move from Ohio to Texas.

So my questions are these:
What exactly is the pitman arm joint?
Is it hard to do the tie rod end?
Should I do this stuff myself or is 400 bucks okay for that amount of work?
Where's a good place to get these parts? Like Napa or Qudratec? I have Quadratec and 4WD catalogs but their part names seem to be a bit different and some things arent' listed for 97s.

I'd like to do it myself to get more familiar with the vehicle and save some money , but I'm a little leery since I'm taking it to Texas.

Is this stuff doable for someone who hasn't done anything with steering stuff before with just a Haynes book? And you guys of course

What're your thoughts guys?

BlueXJ

Gerr who is one of our vendors had a special that upgraded the trackbar, draglink(piece that attaches to pitman arm)Tie rod ends and it was all heavier than stock shipped for under $190. It is all easy to install but an alignment is needed afterwards. That only leaves the sway bar bushings. He (Gerr) can get those for you too. Check him out on the vendor page. He has a link and an e-mail addy.

okcjeeper

X2 what blue said also talk to him about the trackbar...I'd bet the pitman arm joint he's speaking of is the track bar itself not the actual pitman arm.. You can change the tie rods easily with a tie rod puller you can rent from a parts store or use a pry method.. sway bar bushing are easily changed as well. track bar easy as tie rods..Would make a good weekend project. After then go get it re-aligned and see how it runs and drives then..