Will replacing bad ball joints help tighten up my steering?

[AndyG]

Let's hope this isn't the case. It's a 15 year-old Jeep, so I wouldn't be surprised. Overall, everything seems to be fine aside from the steering being slightly loose, so maybe this will fix it. It's at the shop now having these put on. Could I do it myself? Maybe... But at this point, time is money, and the shop cut me a pretty decent deal (IMO) on it (~$350) for parts and labor. I'll keep you guys updated.

Here are a couple of scenarios..
Overtime somebody does nothing then everything wears equally

Or they replace things as needed and then you end up with things that are very worn and things that are not

Or they go through the whole steering linkage and you're pretty fresh but people are usually reluctant to replace ball joints until they have to ... People just don't tackle that as a service item very often

So when you are dealing with these things you sort of getting to some variation of the condition you find them in.. and then you have the ones that are lifted and have all sorts of different brands of parts and things like that to sort out

I'm not being negative I don't mean that in any way I'm just being realistic as to what you typically get into ... I've seen some that didn't need hardly anything and it's been my experience if they have stock size tires everything seems to really hold up pretty good if they aren't beat on or see a lot of mud dirt and sand.

 

[pcrawfordpt]

Let's hope this isn't the case. It's a 15 year-old Jeep, so I wouldn't be surprised. Overall, everything seems to be fine aside from the steering being slightly loose, so maybe this will fix it. It's at the shop now having these put on. Could I do it myself? Maybe... But at this point, time is money, and the shop cut me a pretty decent deal (IMO) on it (~$350) for parts and labor. I'll keep you guys updated.

Hopefully the shop is a good one and they check everything out for you. The hubs have to be taken off in the process, so if they need to be replaced it’s no more in labor, just parts and they are about $75 each (Timken brand anyway). At the same time the axle ujoints can be inspected as they are taken out as well. There will be added labor to replace them. Those ujoints themselves are $40 each. My TJ was 23 years old and I have run 35 inch tires for many of those years. My hubs and ball joints were fine, but since I was tearing it all down to replace the axle ujoints, I figured for $250 more in parts I would be good for another 100k miles without having to tear it all down again.

 

[khakitj]

Hopefully the shop is a good one and they check everything out for you. The hubs have to be taken off in the process, so if they need to be replaced it’s no more in labor, just parts and they are about $75 each (Timken brand anyway). At the same time the axle ujoints can be inspected as they are taken out as well. There will be added labor to replace them. Those ujoints themselves are $40 each. My TJ was 23 years old and I have run 35 inch tires for many of those years. My hubs and ball joints were fine, but since I was tearing it all down to replace the axle ujoints, I figured for $250 more in parts I would be good for another 100k miles without having to tear it all down again.

I think it’s also a good time to do inner axle seals.

 

[Gollywomper]

You ball joints may be worn, I highly doubt all 4 are bad. Even more doubt they will make a noticeable difference in the free play in your steering unless they are “about to fall apart” bad.

 

[Breto31]

The shop changed the ball joints, but they didn't mention anything else. I swapped the driver-side u-joint and axle shaft myself, and everything went fine. My steering isn't any tighter, though - it still wanders some. I'm getting ready to do the ZJ tie-rod upgrade, and do a self alignment hoping some of those help the steering.

Other posts on the forum suggest the only real reason for steering wander is that the toe-in is off and out of alignment.

 

[Gollywomper]

The shop changed the ball joints, but they didn't mention anything else. I swapped the driver-side u-joint and axle shaft myself, and everything went fine. My steering isn't any tighter, though - it still wanders some. I'm getting ready to do the ZJ tie-rod upgrade, and do a self alignment hoping some of those help the steering.

Other posts on the forum suggest the only real reason for steering wander is that the toe-in is off and out of alignment.

Tire size and air pressure can play a role too. What size tires and psi?

 

[Breto31]

Tire size and air pressure can play a role too. What size tires and psi?

33x10.50, 15x8 steel rims - I'm running right at 30 psi.

The shop replaced all 4, but I honestly didn't know what I was looking for - I took their word for it. I think the main issue is stemming from the play in my steering wheel. I have about 1" of play (give or take), left and right, in my wheel before it engages the actual steering. That is making it a little harder to control when I catch a gust of wind or a dip in the road that leans me to one side. I personally think wheel-play is what is making it wander. I'm good up until about 60mph, then the wandering really starts. It's not so bad I can't control it, but it's definitely bad enough for me to be a little extra cautious on narrow roads. It sort of reminds me of my buddy's old '73 CJ5 in a sense. He was always "steering" his jeep, even when he was going straight, to keep in the lane.

For what it's worth, when I bought the jeep, the steering wheel was about 4" off-center. I drove it like that for over a year and it had a little wander to it, but not as bad as it is now. One day I decided to adjust the drag link to straighten it out, and I've really noticed it more since then.

 

[Gollywomper]

Try 25-27 psi. I know it doesn’t seem like much but it can make a huge difference. And it’s free to try. Lol

 

[CharlesHS]

Here are a couple of scenarios..
Overtime somebody does nothing then everything wears equally

Or they replace things as needed and then you end up with things that are very worn and things that are not

Or they go through the whole steering linkage and you're pretty fresh but people are usually reluctant to replace ball joints until they have to ... People just don't tackle that as a service item very often

So when you are dealing with these things you sort of getting to some variation of the condition you find them in.. and then you have the ones that are lifted and have all sorts of different brands of parts and things like that to sort out

I'm not being negative I don't mean that in any way I'm just being realistic as to what you typically get into ... I've seen some that didn't need hardly anything and it's been my experience if they have stock size tires everything seems to really hold up pretty good if they aren't beat on or see a lot of mud dirt and sand.

I purchased my '98 XJ 4.0L Sport new in '97 and greased the front end ball joints, tie rods, control arms and trac bar approximately every 6-8 months (or as required) due to the terrain and type of wheeling my Jeep was exposed to.
The trac bar, steering and tie rods, along with control arms were aftermarket, but the ball joints were the factory original.
Even after 21 years; the ball joints were still tight and alignment was right on.
Whether the ball joints lasted that long due to the maintenance or they were exceptional ball joints; I am not sure.