CR-Snow

My initial plan for this month has changed. I was going to get a Detroit Truetrac have it installed with my cash, but instead, im going to rebuild the front end. I'm getting a slight wobble from the front left at 60-70, and I have a bit of play when grabbing the tire at 12 and 6 and giving it a shake. All my TRE's are leaking too. And my truck rides pretty harsh.

So here's my list:

Bilstein 5100's front and back
Timken wheel bearings
Alloy USA ball joint upper and lower
Spicer (unless you guys have a better) u joints
ZJ tie rod
Moog ZJ TRE's

Questions
Is this a good list?
Does moog make u joints?
Do I need bar pin eliminators and will they affect my shock length decision?
What size socket do I need for the axle nut?
And the big Q: am I missing something that I should take care of while I'm doing all this.

Trying to get all this done in one go so I don't have to get it aligned more than once.

Thanks

SatiricalHen

If you're going to do all the steering why not upgrade to a 1 ton kit while you're at it?

The91XJ

That's a good looking list!

Alloy USA ball joints are good. Moog ball joints are awesome too.

Bar pin eliminators are not necessary, and yes they do slightly affect shock length. BPEs are more popular in the rear because of the stubborn upper shock bolts.

If memory serves the axle nut size is 36mm.

One thing I don't see on your list is the tie rod adjusting sleeve. Go with Moog on this as well.

If you're shooting for one alignment then you might as well replace the drag link and and drag link to pitman arm TRE as well. The drag link has an integrated TRE on the passenger knuckle.

Good luck!

JerNorm

This is awesome. I am having some vibes at speed as well. I will try to do everything on this list.

CR-Snow

Thanks for the input fellas.

1 ton steering, while being super beefcake and awesome looking, isn't a huge priority for me right now. My rig sees weekend warrior style light to moderate wheeling. But it mostly sees daily driving duties.

Thanks for the recommendation for the tie rod adjuster sleeve. Forgot about that little guy. As far as the drag link, I'm pretty sure it's the same part number for the ZJ and XJ but I do plan on replacing all the TRE's w ZJ ones.

So is the drag link TRE on the passenger knuckle not replaceable? I gotta get a whole new drag link to replace that end? That's a bummer. I wasn't planning on replacing the drag link. mine is in good shape minus the TRE.

SatiricalHen

I'm thinking about replacing all of my steering because of all of the tre being past their prime. But after adding it all up the 1 ton kit is close enough to justify it in my opinion. Also another advantage is most, if not all 1 ton kits the tre aren't connected so if one goes bad you don't have to buy a whole part just for the tre. May be overkill at the moment but how long does anyone's jeep stay small? And the drag link tre on the knuckle side is part of the drag link.

CR-Snow

those are very good points. I may have to look into a one ton more. Which ones are you looking at that are close to the same ballpark as ZJ steering?

Another reason I was psyched to go ZJ was that I could bring the old TRE's with me on the trail as backups. But having them integrated into the component doesn't make that possible. Not that anyone is breaking drag links out there but I suppose anything is possible.

Back to the drawing board a bit..

SatiricalHen

I mean either steering brand new is a good bit and the 1 ton kit I was looking at is the serious off-road utk kit. There's 2 options but the way I see it is you'll probably save money on tre's down the road, you will never have to worry about breaking your steering (well most likely you won't with the wheeling you described) and it's all brand new. That's the route I'm going to take if I'm going to have to buy all new steering anyway.

Fred/N0AZZ

The ZJ upgrade will be fine for what your running and best of all cost under a $100 and a direct bolt in using factory parts no mods required. It is many times stronger than stock and for most all that is needed for moderate off road use.

JerNorm

What are some recommendations on a 1 ton kit? I know ruffstuff makes one but it requires a lot of fab work and I don't have the tools required to do that. Does anyone make a bolt on kit?

Codenamefa

1 ton kits are never bolt on. If you are looking for something that will just require drilling and then bolting on the Serious Kit is the way to go. I suggest if you go this route, take the pitman arm and the knuckles to a local machine shop and have them drill it out for you, after that, put the inserts in, put everything together and bam your ready to go, also it takes 1 1/16" for 3 out of 4 castle nuts, the driver side castle nut is 1 1/8". Also the bar is 1 1/8 on the bar and the lock nut just use a big metric fits all or a pipe wrench. Literally after that it is good to go. You honestly won't need to worry about a TRE for atleast a couple years if everything is done properly, unlike I did the first time around.

thebyus

I'm in the midst of doing pretty much the exact same thing as part of an axle swap. Check Amazon for Drag link and TRE's. Moog parts and their prices are hard to beat.

The axle nut IS a 36mm. You can "rent" it from Autozone.

I went for Synergy ball joints. Everything I read said that Alloy was good, but Synergy was MUCH better. But I wheel mine pretty hard, whereas it doesn't sound like you do.

While you are tearing stuff out, check the bushings on the control arms and the sway bar. Easier to get in their once you have other stuff out of the way.

Good luck.

Cherospeed99

I have the exact Setup on mine except moot ball joints and mooch ujoints and it is a great setup for a daily and weekend wheeler.
I second the control arm bushings....wayyyy easier with everything out and fairly cheap.
The axle but is definately a 36mm and I would get a bag of new cotter pins too ....and on blaster your bolts for a few days

SatiricalHen

mine is a daily driver weekend warrior And my flex seems to be limited by my steering on the passenger side so it makes sense to go to a utk 1 ton kit. Better geometry so it can droop more. Just drilling and adding inserts or reaming and putting in tre not too bad. I don't know I just like way over kill maybe.

CR-Snow

Thanks guys. I think I'm gonna stick with a new ZJ setup for steering. I can't afford the one Tom right now. I'll be on 31's for at least another year or two so I think it will be fine.

Just replaced sway bar links and bushing too. I'd love to change control arm bushings but mine are aftermarket and I'm not really sure what size to get.

I'll look into those synergy ball joints too. Sounds interesting. Who knows, the whole front end might end up being all moog parts by the time I'm done lol.

Should I expect some creaking or anything for the first hundred miles or so while everything is breaking in?