Wrangler TJ Ball Joint Replacement

Kyle_W said:
Well from the vibes that ya'll have about unit bearings, i'll be replacing mine too since my Jeep has over 118,000 miles.

As I understand it, the unit bearing nut (the 36mm nut), needs 240ft/lbs to be torqued correctly?
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No that is too tight. It is 175 ft lbs if i remember correctly.
 
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Shout out to @mrblaine for the unit bearing removal tip using a 2 1/2" long bolt and turning steering wheel, easy peasy.

balljoint-2.jpg
 
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My Ball Joints are gone apparently so failed safety. Called around no one seems to carry the Spicer 706944X.

Ive got quotes for some Movetech Brand? As well as the Napa brand.

The Ball Joints are non- adjustable, correct? Because the parts guy asked if I need adjustable ones or not but I'm pretty sure they are not - suspension is bone stock on the LJ.
 
freebo86 said:
My Ball Joints are gone apparently so failed safety. Called around no one seems to carry the Spicer 706944X.

Ive got quotes for some Movetech Brand? As well as the Napa brand.

The Ball Joints are non- adjustable, correct? Because the parts guy asked if I need adjustable ones or not but I'm pretty sure they are not - suspension is bone stock on the LJ.
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Stick with Spicer. You can get them on Amazon if you are not in a hurry or at the local dealership.

edit: A good reason to stick with Spicer is that most aftermarket ball joints are knurled. You would install these and then end up returning to Spicer when they fail prematurely then realize the Spicers no longer fit. You would have to knurl the Spicer joints to get them to fit again.
 
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Thanks, yes i found them on amazon. However tell me, you guys believe this to be a bad ball joint?



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yes, the joint inside of what you are looking at has worn out. buy all four and do both sides...... get or borrow a ball joint press, not that bad, put aside a day to do it. also may want to do the unit bearings and axle shaft u-joints while you have it apart.....
 
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FireJeep said:
yes, the joint inside of what you are looking at has worn out. buy all four and do both sides...... get or borrow a ball joint press, not that bad, put aside a day to do it. also may want to do the unit bearings and axle shaft u-joints while you have it apart.....
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No, that upper ball joint is not worn out. They have vertical movement right out of the box. That is a perfectly acceptable amount of vertical play which is induced by the lower being very slightly worn which is does in a very small amount of miles. Since the lower is a ball in a socket that carries the entire weight of the rig on one side and endures the punishment from hitting potholes etc. at speed, it wears a small amount quickly. It also has the weight of the rig holding the ball in the socket when the tires are on the ground.
 
mrblaine said:
No, that upper ball joint is not worn out. They have vertical movement right out of the box. That is a perfectly acceptable amount of vertical play which is induced by the lower being very slightly worn which is does in a very small amount of miles. Since the lower is a ball in a socket that carries the entire weight of the rig on one side and endures the punishment from hitting potholes etc. at speed, it wears a small amount quickly. It also has the weight of the rig holding the ball in the socket when the tires are on the ground.
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Learn something new everyday..... I would have sworn it was in need of replacement.
 
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Chris said:
Why do they need to be greasable? They are sealed, which means they will keep dirt and debris out when you're off-road, unlike non-sealed greasable joints.

This is why many of us upgrade our u-joints as well, to the sealed, non-greasable u-joints.

Moog is just fine for the drag link end. I'm not even sure I've found a Spicer one. Moog makes good stuff though.

As for the stabilizer, it won't hurt to buy a new one if yours is really old. You won't gain anything from it though, and stabilizers have nothing to do with death wobble either.

The only other thing I might replace is unit bearings potentially.
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E.g.

Many keep saying they are sealed, I ordered SPICER BJ form quadratec and the lowers are not sealed, that boot slides off just like the uppers and you can see the ball an grease
 
To add my two cents, I initially ordered and installed the American Alloy HD ball joints that have the low profile zerk on the lower so you can grease as necessary...Mistake, yes the are knurled and the zerk was made of really weak aluminum that it twisted in half while installing...Quadratec was awesome about returning them and refunded me within 48 hours of them receiving the parts back. Ordered and installed Spicer ball joints with no issue. Yes out of the box the upper ball joints have vertical movement...the lowers, I can't attest that they are "sealed" the boots are removable and it appears that they are not sealed. I would highly recommend you remove all the boots during installation to prevent tearing them.
 
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I know this is an old write up but.....I started my front end project today which includes:
New ball joints(spicer)
new hub assemblies(tiemken)sp?
new ZJ tie rod to replace the TJ tube
New diff seals(spicee)
new ujoints(spicer)
power trax no slip

Well first off I have a HF ball joint press,,,what a pos....I had to quit because it got so bent I couldn't even use it anymore....still on the first BJ, so I checked here and found all the answers I needed,,,,,got on amazon and ordered the proper tools....now I feel at peace with the world.

Tools will be here monday....thanks guys for having an awesome site. Love it.
 
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jimsmith29841 said:
I know this is an old write up but.....I started my front end project today which includes:
New ball joints(spicer)
new hub assemblies(tiemken)sp?
new ZJ tie rod to replace the TJ tube
New diff seals(spicee)
new ujoints(spicer)
power trax no slip

Well first off I have a HF ball joint press,,,what a pos....I had to quit because it got so bent I couldn't even use it anymore....still on the first BJ, so I checked here and found all the answers I needed,,,,,got on amazon and ordered the proper tools....now I feel at peace with the world.

Tools will be here monday....thanks guys for having an awesome site. Love it.
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I did all the same things with all the same parts a month ago. Try autozone and rent their ball joint u joint tool kit for free. It worked perfect. It even had the angled attachment to press in the ball joint. You may have to check a few autozones as different locations may have different kits.
 
@Chris I need my ball joint adapters this weekend, but if you want to borrow mine until your finished you can. Its a night and day difference using them.
 
TimboSlice said:
@Chris I need my ball joint adapters this weekend, but if you want to borrow mine until your finished you can. Its a night and day difference using them.
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Me? I think you might have tagged the wrong person. I promise you I don't need any, I've already got a set ;)

Very nice of you to offer though!
 
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