I have a 2006 Jeep TJ X. It now has just over 120,000 miles. The suspension is stock except for a 2" spacer lift. I am wondering if I should replace the Track arm bushings just because of the age of the Jeep. I assume over time the rubber gets hard with some cracking. My Jeep has had a light duty life, very little offroad use, no towing. Mostly driving it around town with the top off in the summer. I'm in New Mexico and have zero rust issues, not even surface rust. If Track Arm is the wrong term please excuse, I forget stuff. My suspension does not feel loose, the ball joints seem good and no slack in the steering, just wonder about dried up rubber parts.
Should I replace the track bar bushings?
- Thread starter Peter Panagakos
- Start date
Why just the track bar bushings? Wouldn't all the steer/suspension bushings be in the same condition? Easy way is to pull a few bolts and see what they look like. But more than likely they all could use a bit of a refresh.
X2 to what he said. The smart thing to do would be to replace all the rubber suspension bushings and give it a complete refresh.
As I figured, I used the wrong term. It's the Control Arm bushings I'm concerned with. I checked them visually and they look ok to me, the bolts are centered and nothing feels loose, but I thought time alone would cause the rubber to dry up and make my ride more harsh over the horrible paved roads we have here. Pits, bumps, cracks and pot holes every two to three feet. I also have load rated E tires which came on the MOAB wheels I put on it, so I don't know which would be worse, the tires or the older dried up rubber suspension parts.
Not_Invented_Here_
TJ Addict
If you're checking the suspension components like CA's under load, I don't know that you'll be able to detect the kind of "play" that you're looking for. Correct me if I'm wrong anyone but the vehicle would have to be off ground to actually verify this kind of thing, yeah?
I'm working my way through all the bushings I can get my hands on and definitely feeling a noticeable improvement as a result. Wouldn't hurt to refresh them - if you do go that route, I used the Crown CAK13 kit for all stock direct replacements. The front upper CA's have a bushing that you need to purchase separately and I used Moog for that.
When you replaced the control arms, did you have to have the front end up on jacks, or can you replace them with the Jeep on the ground? Seems like if you did one at a time it would not need to be off the ground, but I have no instructions for the procedure.
Not_Invented_Here_
TJ Addict
Haven't personally done the uppers and I'll likely just have the shop get into those. Lowers yeah one at a time for sure, keep a ratchet strap handy in case you need it to help you align bracket/bolt holes. I think you'd need an alignment too after the job
Having the axle off the ground will make the whole process easier. Take 1 off at a time. Then install the replacement. Then to the next one. It is a lot easier if you purchase a complete arm with bushings installed as opposed to having to push out and then install each bushing into the old arms. Not that much more expensive either.
