New member needs advice

Rob F

Rob F

Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2016
Messages
32
Location
Cincinnati, OH, United States
Hey all. I'm new here and to forums so trying to figure it out. I've owned an 86 CJ7 w/Dana 60's, 35" swampers, 355SBC w 400hp and way more. A 91 YJ w/ Dana 44's, 35" Boggers, 350SBC, 03 Rubicon, 00 TJ and current is 03 Sahara. I'm in the process of ordering a lift, and I need ball joints. I know eBay stuff is usually junk but sometimes there are gems. Anyone ever heard of and have feedback for Detroit Axle ball joints? They are dirt cheap. Her's my ride!
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Nice ride! I would recommend getting OEM ball joints, more important a nice press. I replaced ball joints on my nieces tj with a "kit" from Amazon most was nice but the ball joints were super stiff and still haven't broken in yet and it's been 1500 miles. I did prelude them etc etc etc. so the old adage is true.....you pay for what you get. Just my two cents. Again welcome and enjoy!
 
Rob F said:
Hey all. I'm new here and to forums so trying to figure it out. I've owned an 86 CJ7 w/Dana 60's, 35" swampers, 355SBC w 400hp and way more. A 91 YJ w/ Dana 44's, 35" Boggers, 350SBC, 03 Rubicon, 00 TJ and current is 03 Sahara. I'm in the process of ordering a lift, and I need ball joints. I know eBay stuff is usually junk but sometimes there are gems. Anyone ever heard of and have feedback for Detroit Axle ball joints? They are dirt cheap. Her's my ride!View attachment 7928 View attachment 7929
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Very nice. Sahara's are awesome.

I am in the same boat as you too - I need to replace my ball joints/bushings after I realized that the slop and wobble in my wheel was a result of my 14 year old steering components.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
You can't beat Spicer, that's what comes on our Dana Spicer axles. The ball joints at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UTD76GY/?tag=wranglerorg-20 are a stronger and more durable direct replacement. They're what I installed into my TJ last year.

Avoid Synergy's junk like the plague.
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What if we can't "shake" our tires side to side when they are jacked up (symptoms of worn ball joints), but, at the same time our steering is shaky and wobbly while we are driving?

Would it be a good idea to replace them anyway and replace all bushings and steering ball joints?
 
Nashorn101 said:
What if we can't "shake" our tires side to side when they are jacked up (symptoms of worn ball joints), but, at the same time our steering is shaky and wobbly while we are driving?

Would it be a good idea to replace them anyway and replace all bushings and steering ball joints?
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How many miles are on your vehicle? If it's over 100k on the stock ball joints, yes, I would replace them just as preventative maintenance. Chances are you'd notice a difference with new ones installed at that mileage.
 
Chris said:
How many miles are on your vehicle? If it's over 100k on the stock ball joints, yes, I would replace them just as preventative maintenance. Chances are you'd notice a difference with new ones installed at that mileage.
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Yes sir it's over 100k. It's at 103,000.

I just remember that my passenger side is stiff, while my driver side was really sloppy, so I had a shop replace one of the ball joints to stiffen it up about a year ago.

Also, looking at my alignment specs from the last time I had it aligned, my camber was not spot on. I am curious if I should have eccentric ball joints put in to adjust for my camber first and then replace the rest of my ball joints?

(I bent my axle a year ago, and my Grandpa and me straightened it out with acetylene and a jack. Leading to the off-camber, I am assuming. So I also am curious if maybe I should replace my entire axle housing to correct my camber. Or, is off-camber something that you suffer from too and is just the nature of the beast?)




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Nashorn101 said:
Yes sir it's over 100k. It's at 103,000.

I just remember that my passenger side is stiff, while my driver side was really sloppy, so I had a shop replace one of the ball joints to stiffen it up about a year ago.

Also, looking at my alignment specs from the last time I had it aligned, my camber was not spot on. I am curious if I should have eccentric ball joints put in to adjust for my camber first and then replace the rest of my ball joints?

(I bent my axle a year ago, and my Grandpa and me straightened it out with acetylene and a jack. Leading to the off-camber, I am assuming. So I also am curious if maybe I should replace my entire axle housing to correct my camber. Or, is off-camber something that you suffer from too and is just the nature of the beast?)




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Oh yeah man, that's tough. You shouldn't need eccentric ball joints if everything is in spec. Absolutely no need for that. However, given the fact that your axle is probably still not 100% straight (which is likely the cause of your issues), I would replace the axle housing. Seriously though, if it was my rig, that's what I would do just to make sure everything was 100% in spec. Assuming it's just a Dana 30 front, you should easily be able to find a Dana 30 axle housing (make sure it's from a vehicle that wasn't wrecked in some weird way that bent the axle housing) for a really, really cheap price.

Anyways, to reiterate what I am saying and shorten it up, camber is not adjustable on a Jeep Wrangler TJ without special ball joints. However, you shouldn't need to adjust your camber whatsoever. So, the fact that you may need to adjust it means that your axle housing is likely still bent.
 
Oh no. [emoji1] That's not good.

I bought a replacement Dana 30 after I bent it, but my Grandpa and me seemed to straighten out my current axle enough - I could put it in 4 wheel drive without an issue - and the shop said that it was aligned correctly after they put that ball joint in so I stopped worrying about it! Plus.....long story short, I bought a crappy axle. Ring and pinion are in good shape thankfully but everything else on the axle is pitted away.....

But.....I'll take your word for it and look for another axle. They are supposed to be cheap but that POS other axle I bought was $600. Guess that's my bad. Where would you recommend I look for another one?


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