DeeJeep

I have a 1995 Cherokee, 160K miles, that needs ball joints on one side, so at 160K miles I guess it's best to just do both sides. My tires have been wearing poorly, feathering, & I need a wheel alignment, though it doesn't seem all that bad driving it, really. Is there anything else that I should think of replacing due to mileage/wear or checking for/doing while having this done, and before I get the front end aligned? Also, the stock (lower, I think?) ball joints have no grease fittings - should I get ones that have them? No real off-road driving here. Thanks in advance.

firebane

Wheel hubs... if its a 4x4 check axle ujoints.

PatHenry

I just did both sides on my 95 - when I did them I found the tie rod end on the driver's side had a ripped boot, so I had to make an emergency run the the parts store for a new one. If your are original, you could run into the same issue.
Firebane's advice on wheel hubs and U-joints is very good. I had just done one of my hubs within the last couple of months and intended to remove the hub/axle together, so I didn't replace the other hub.

I would highly recommend getting a pair of the axle oil slingers (the plastic piece that clips on the axles at the end of the tube. Mine basically crumbed apart on both sides.

If you're close to needing front brakes it's a good time to do new pads/rotors since you're taking that apart anyway.

The toughest part for me was getting the knuckle off the old joints. I live in the salty Northeast. I needed a blowtorch and a lot of hammering with a BFH. I was on the verge of cutting when my Dad jumped in to finally get them off.

PatHenry

I used the Moog joints (and tie-rod). They came pre-greased and the uppers had zerks, the lowers had a greasing "hole" but didn't come with zerks (and none of the random ones my Dad had laying around were even close to small enough), they did have cap screws.
You can get the Spicer joints on Amazon or Moog joints on Amazon for about $120 total.
I would have gone with the Spicer if I hadn't already ordered the Moog when I came across them.

PatHenry

One thing with the Moog lower joints if you go that route - the new castle nut was monstrously larger than the old joint's nut.
I ended up using a 33mm axle socket which fit a little looser than I liked (the SAE socket was worse).. but it worked just fine to torque the lower nut.
​I did consider using a smaller diameter castle nut from the hardware store (I want to say it was 5/8x18) but when I found the 33mm I just put the included nut on.​​​​​​

PatHenry

Sorry for blowing up the thread -

I just wanted to add that I had no drivability issues or abnormal tire wear. I did the ball joints because my trusted alignment/tire shop said they couldn't do the alignment because my uppers were bad (the boot on the pass side WAS ripped).
I'm taking it in for the alignment tomorrow.

DeeJeep

Forgive me if my questions sound..inexperienced, as I'm not a mechanic and not familiar with many parts. I want to get my parts ahead of time as much as possible, replacing old rubber pieces, bolts that are known to snap, things that should be replaced at 160K miles (no front end work done except shocks, alignment, brakes, ever - but no real off-roading either). Did you need to get a whole tie rod end, or just a boot for it? Also, are these axle-oil slingers (is that a name I can find in a parts list online?) and tie rod ends (or just boots?)- are they readily available at the auto parts stores? I have NAPA, Advanced, O'Rielly nearby, though none of them stock the Spicer(?) original stock ball joints, so I'll get them online.

PatHenry

I'm no mechanic myself, so no worries.
I replaced the whole tie-rod. I figured if the boot was bad the joint wasn't far behind.
Advance stocks Moog parts, but they're a lot more expensive than online (due to the lifetime warranty). To answer your question, YES - the tie-rods are readily available.
You should make sure you have cotter pins, even if your tie-rods are fine, you'll want new cotter pins to re-assemble with.
I'll get the part number for the oil slingers. That's a whole additional story - driving around for 5h, dealerships that didn't identify the correct part number... lol. So much easier to buy a couple even if you don't need them.

PatHenry

PatHenry

If that link doesn't work - search for Crown part number 4797769

Quadratec sells them for $3 each and refers to them as "Axle shaft inner slinger"

DeeJeep

Don't worry about that! I just joined this forum, and I am amazed and grateful - I did not expect such quick replies! I sincerely appreciate everyone's input. My friend/backyard mechanic is doing the work - never worked on Jeeps, so I'm (trying) to do the research & parts ordering. I plan on getting the Spicer ball joints as I read they were the best bet for a stock Jeep. Do tie rod ends have a limited lifespan? If I end up needing a tie rod end, I will probably end up with whatever NAPA or Advance Auto has in stock - is that okay? Or should I just assume it's gonna be bad - it is original I am sure - and replace it as part of the job, or, are they easy enough to replace (unlike a ball joint) that it's not that big a deal to wait for failure, if it's okay right now?

PatHenry

Tie rods do wear out, usually the rubber boots harden and crack and allow crap into the joint (technically they are basically ball joints as well.)
My TJ had over 200k before I replaced a tie rod.. with a 23 year old vehicle you never know.
I put Autozone brand tie rods (low price, sometimes low quality) on my Jeep and got 80k without any trouble, so you should be just fine with Napa parts.

PatHenry

Ball joints are not hard to do, just time consuming.
I will say I felt real old and out of shape after doing mine - I was really sore the next day from all the pushing and pulling on breaker bars.
Also I had trouble getting the upper joint to go in straight, even with the Dodge/Jeep adapters in the Advance loaner press.

DeeJeep

Thanks! Amazon still has them, $6.99 each, so I'll order them along with the ball joints (the "free shipping" is apparently built-in to the price!). Would you happen to know the size or part # of the cotter pins you speak of, or can I find it by googling...1995 Jeep tie rod end cotter pins?

PatHenry

I don't know the exact size off-hand, but the 2 that you'd need (the outer tie rods at the steering knuckle) are a bit smaller than the pin for the upper ball joint.
I would (and did) just go to the hardware store and grab a variety of sizes with an average of 1.5" lengths. The size doesn't have to be exact, it just needs to fit through the hole, but not pull through (meaning the straight end fits but the loop end is big enough to not.) with enough pin to bend sufficiently around the castle nut.
All of the new parts (ball joints, tie-rod ends) will come with the correct pin and a new castle nut.