98 cherokee balljoints?

[irocmike]

so i was home last week and hit an ice mound...knocked my junk out of alignment and the wife took it to have it repaired...however they tell me that i may have bent an axle tube but they aren;t sure...and that i need to replace the lower balljoint with a corrective balljoint for 351 clams...

personally i understand i'm no genius when it comes to this kind of stuff but i have never heard of a corrective balljoint...

anyone know a better way to fix this? it has 100k miles on it and i was gonna replace all the bushings and stuff this summer anyhow so...

if it matters it is lifted 4.5 inches with a rough country lift and has 31's on it...

[Kodiak Spirit]

I dunno how they could say you 'might' have a bent axle tube, you either do or you don't. It sounds like a load of :poop: to me. They talking front axle tube? I dunno dude. If you have a 4.5" rough country lift then I would be talking to rough country for the replacement parts. for $351 you should be able to replace all yer bushings and throw a junkyard housing under that XJ (if it's really bent) :2: it sounds to me like the trackbar is screwed up, I'd look really hard to see if yer trackbar bent or shifted, that would mess up the 'linement...

[GP4Play]

X2 What Kodiak said.Get a 2nd O and make sure.Never heard of that kind of balljoint before.

[FishPOET]

Run from that repair shop.

Jesse was right on about the axle. Its either bent or its not. If its bent replacing a ball joint won't do you much good.

The only adjustable ball joints I know of change caster up to 3.5° to get back some of the positive caster lost by lifting.

[RAT]

Run from that repair shop.

Jesse was right on about the axle. Its either bent or its not. If its bent replacing a ball joint won't do you much good.

The only adjustable ball joints I know of change caster up to 3.5° to get back some of the positive caster lost by lifting.

And these things are CRAP! Don't let them put these in your junk. Not worth it!

[irocmike]

so i find the real issue at hand and repair that...sounds like a good idea to me...

i'm definitely getting a second opinion...and was gonna rebuild the front end anyhow with new bushings and whatnot...

thanks guys...

[CRASH!]

I 2nd what Kodi' said.

Is it an LP D30? (I forget what year they switched) You can find those for free in some cases, as most people swap to an HP D30. OR you can upgrade to one yourself if you have to do it anyway. Check out the JY or your local NAXJA chapter where you might score one cheap.

You may be able to find a whole front end for less than $350.


~C!~

[RAT]

I was just cleaning out the old Jeep box (pronounced Junk box) and found one of these dreaded off set upper ball joints. It's new. Anybody want this POS? If not she's going to be melted down and made into rebar.

[irocmike]

will track bar bushings cause this same issue...i had a second opinion and the track bar bushings are worn...they said they found no other issues...other than typical brakes and such...

[fun4wheelerguy]

so i was home last week and hit an ice mound...knocked my junk out of alignment and the wife took it to have it repaired...however they tell me that i may have bent an axle tube but they aren;t sure...and that i need to replace the lower balljoint with a corrective balljoint for 351 clams...

The part that you said "they aren't sure" says to me that they do not have experience with Jeeps.
There is such a thing as offset ball joints to correct castor and camber depending on how it is installed in the housing.
If the housing is truely bent, you should find a good used replacement instead of polishing a turd.

[irocmike]

got the track bar replaced, straightened up the steering wheel but it does pull gently left.

soon as i get some money i will try to have it lined up...

recently lost my job so it may be awhile.

[Kodiak Spirit]

aw, sorry to hear that bro, good luck...

[OU812]

Sorry about your job mike. But if you have some time and no money... you should do your own alignment. Those $15000 laser guided alignment machines are useful with Independent Front Suspension trucks. But with our solid front axles, alignments are simple. Check out this like and give it a shot.
http://www.4x4xplor.com/alignment.html