NW99XJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Gresham, Or.
Almost immediately.....
99 XJ DD & Weekend Warrior
- Thread starter NW99XJ
- Start date
bmikes
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- portland or
99 XJ DD & Weekend Warrior
Oh alright, you think it's all tie rod ends for me?
Oh alright, you think it's all tie rod ends for me?
NW99XJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Gresham, Or.
I looked at mine....as the steering was cycled, and I didnt SEE any movement at the ends....now that being said, that doesn't mean that the rod ends aren't worn to the point they're causing SOME of whats going on in my case.
As for your rig....honestly I'd have to see it in person to really get a good idea of whats going on.
As for your rig....honestly I'd have to see it in person to really get a good idea of whats going on.
bmikes
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- portland or
99 XJ DD & Weekend Warrior
It's weird, when I turn my wheel, it's almost as if the wheels are staying put and the body is moving away. Maybe if you do come over on Sunday we could take a quick peak at it?
It's weird, when I turn my wheel, it's almost as if the wheels are staying put and the body is moving away. Maybe if you do come over on Sunday we could take a quick peak at it?
NW99XJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Gresham, Or.
Almost sounds like a track bar issue Brandon....
We'll look at it this weekend though.
We'll look at it this weekend though.
bmikes
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- portland or
99 XJ DD & Weekend Warrior
Okay cool sounds good
Okay cool sounds good
NW99XJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Gresham, Or.
Meant to post this up with all the other pics and stuff:
Lower end of the Track Bar where it mounts to the axle:
Lower end of the Track Bar where it mounts to the axle:
NW99XJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Gresham, Or.
So the plan is.....
Once I get my replacement bushing kit from Rugged Ridge THROUGH 4wheel Parts ($8 shipped - should be here in 7-10 days) - I will reinforce the front of the mount with some 3/16" steel, and keep the larger hardware in there. That SHOULD keep things in check for longer than it has as-is.
Until then, I'm going to have to love with my pseudo-death-wobble.
By then I will also have a game plan as to what I'm going to do about the steering.
Thanks to a second set of eyes and ears, (awesomeXJ) ....the bad track bar bushing and the drag link end was determined to be bad.
Along with a tie rod end that is also on its way out,
this gives me a good excuse to ditch the system I have now, and do some 1/4" wall DOM tubing and 1-ton GM TRE's.
I will more than likely end up ditching the sway bar mounts as well, and going OTK....but i'm still undecided at this point.
(I have a solid model that I created which is basically the same thing as the goferit inserts)
The other option is to just ream the knuckles to the appropriate size and taper angle and skip the insert all together (the most logical choice when going to 1-tons)
I'll just have to track down the right tooling to do this.
In the next week or so I'll be ordering the tubing to make this happen, and check out the best place to get the TRE's from.
Thats the rough draft of the game plan so far.....
Thoughts/Advice?
Once I get my replacement bushing kit from Rugged Ridge THROUGH 4wheel Parts ($8 shipped - should be here in 7-10 days) - I will reinforce the front of the mount with some 3/16" steel, and keep the larger hardware in there. That SHOULD keep things in check for longer than it has as-is.
Until then, I'm going to have to love with my pseudo-death-wobble.
By then I will also have a game plan as to what I'm going to do about the steering.
Thanks to a second set of eyes and ears, (awesomeXJ) ....the bad track bar bushing and the drag link end was determined to be bad.
Along with a tie rod end that is also on its way out,
this gives me a good excuse to ditch the system I have now, and do some 1/4" wall DOM tubing and 1-ton GM TRE's.
I will more than likely end up ditching the sway bar mounts as well, and going OTK....but i'm still undecided at this point.
(I have a solid model that I created which is basically the same thing as the goferit inserts)
The other option is to just ream the knuckles to the appropriate size and taper angle and skip the insert all together (the most logical choice when going to 1-tons)
I'll just have to track down the right tooling to do this.
In the next week or so I'll be ordering the tubing to make this happen, and check out the best place to get the TRE's from.
Thats the rough draft of the game plan so far.....
Thoughts/Advice?
Last edited:
Demonoid369
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Salem, OR
what knuckles do you have, i've heard that stock with otk the rod can hit/rub the diff, might want to check and see if there are offset/angled tie rod ends. im pretty sure there are
crazymoose1990
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Beavertown
It will hit the diff cover, just turn out your steering stops. You can do offset tie rod ends. If you go to 1 ton Chevy ball joint. I tryed this myself, unfortunatly then you have problems with your pitman arm hitting your tie-rod.
Its a catch 22 for sure, and a PITA!!! I know I've tryed a few diffrent things trust me.
Its a catch 22 for sure, and a PITA!!! I know I've tryed a few diffrent things trust me.
NW99XJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Gresham, Or.
Didn't I JUST go thru this.....DS U-joint this time_(Jan-2013)
So as I was driving it home from work this afternoon, I heard my front axle have a temper tantrum, then watched as it ejected a cap from the drivers side U-joint, seeing it bounce down the freeway behind me at speed. GOOD TIMES!
I swear this frickin front end is cursed......UGH!
Yea something doesn't look right.....
Yup.....There it is....or isn't....whatever.....
Limped it the last couple miles home, go to swap in the spare I had and on the short shaft side......
And the caps just press right in by hand......that ain't right!!!.....
So panic mode sets in.....gotta work tomorrow, no other ride.
I make a call to my buddy with a TJ, he installed a super 30 kit this last spring, and kept his old stuff. I hit him up for one of his spare outters, and he was happy to oblige, THANKS FINGERZ!
An hour later I had a replacement shaft:
The one GOOD shaft he had was of course the PS....so I had to tear apart the assembly he dropped off to put on my DS shaft and the extra U-joint I had.
Everything went pretty well, all things considered.
Whats an impromptu Jeep project without a little blood letting?
At least I was able to get everything in and done, and have it back on the road for my commute in tomorrow.
I think some Chromoly Shafts are going to be on the short list now.
So as I was driving it home from work this afternoon, I heard my front axle have a temper tantrum, then watched as it ejected a cap from the drivers side U-joint, seeing it bounce down the freeway behind me at speed. GOOD TIMES!
I swear this frickin front end is cursed......UGH!
Yea something doesn't look right.....
Yup.....There it is....or isn't....whatever.....
Limped it the last couple miles home, go to swap in the spare I had and on the short shaft side......
And the caps just press right in by hand......that ain't right!!!.....
So panic mode sets in.....gotta work tomorrow, no other ride.
I make a call to my buddy with a TJ, he installed a super 30 kit this last spring, and kept his old stuff. I hit him up for one of his spare outters, and he was happy to oblige, THANKS FINGERZ!
An hour later I had a replacement shaft:
The one GOOD shaft he had was of course the PS....so I had to tear apart the assembly he dropped off to put on my DS shaft and the extra U-joint I had.
Everything went pretty well, all things considered.
Whats an impromptu Jeep project without a little blood letting?
At least I was able to get everything in and done, and have it back on the road for my commute in tomorrow.
I think some Chromoly Shafts are going to be on the short list now.
90xjblue
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Yakima, Washington
u shoulda just welded the caps on the new ujoint as a temp fix! =D
Crazy u have all these problems with your front end. fun stuff
Crazy u have all these problems with your front end. fun stuff
NW99XJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Gresham, Or.
I know RIGHT?!?!
And all within like 3 weeks of each other, AND....about 1 year to the week.
This time last year I was having steering issues as well, granted I wasnt battling u-joints, but still.....
bmikes
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- portland or
99 XJ DD & Weekend Warrior
What was it last year?
What was it last year?
NW99XJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Gresham, Or.
All the joints on my steering were failing all at once. (or so I thought)
Thats why I upgraded to the ZJ stuff.
Thats why I upgraded to the ZJ stuff.
bmikes
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- portland or
99 XJ DD & Weekend Warrior
I have all the zj stuff too, the only part that I have out on is the tie rod though. Ill work on getting on the rest of those things on soon
I have all the zj stuff too, the only part that I have out on is the tie rod though. Ill work on getting on the rest of those things on soon
NW99XJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Gresham, Or.
Lower Track Bar Bushing Replacement _ Feb 2013
The replacement lower track bar bushing came in yesterday, picked it up from 4wheel parts (because rugged ridge doesnt sell to the public.)
Took it home and got to work on the swap.
Pressed/pryed out the old....and compared it to the new:
The old bushings apparently got worn pretty quick, turned a little soft, and one edge got eaten away a bit.
Also the metal sleeve in the center had ovaled out, and the clearance hole for it in both halves was wallowed out as well.
With the old bushings out, I removed the rest of the track bar, and took it over to the vice to begin the installation.
The bushings were greased and pressed in: (sorry for the lack of focus here - but you get the point)
I wasnt about to install this new hardware into a mount with a wallowed out hole.
And since the old metal sleeve was so ovaled out, I couldn't use the larger hardware I had shoved in there on the new bushing/sleeve set-up.
With the smaller hardware in the mount it was like throwing a hot dog down a hallway....
SO I opted to do what I have seen done on other builds and re-enforce the front of the mount with a metal plate and a freshly drilled (smaller) hole.
I dont have stock piles of metal plate laying around, so I had to use some ol' fashioned ingenuity...
The cut up OEM control arm I had laying around would serve well enough to give me just enough metal to accomplish what I needed.
It was placed in the vice, and using my grinder with a cut-off wheel I removed the donor metal....
I then hammered, and clamped it straight, Viced it up one more time and drilled the new clearance hole:
(again, sorry for the lack of focus)
I then wire wheeled it clean, and trimmed it to its final shape.
Using the mounting hardware for the track bar I clamped it in place
.....and did my best impersonation of someone who knows how to weld.
Satisfied with my ability to grotesquely tack two pieces of metal together, I spray painted it for protection, and called it "good enough."
I know its ugly as sin, but that metal ain't goin' nowhere.....
It'll more than likely all end up getting cut off eventually anyways for when I do a steering upgrade,
and have to modify the track bar, and mount it higher up on the axle.
The road test the next morning proved to be a much better ride than in recent past.
MOST of the wobble is gone, but I can still feel the degradation of the TRE's....they're next on the list.
The replacement lower track bar bushing came in yesterday, picked it up from 4wheel parts (because rugged ridge doesnt sell to the public.)
Took it home and got to work on the swap.
Pressed/pryed out the old....and compared it to the new:
The old bushings apparently got worn pretty quick, turned a little soft, and one edge got eaten away a bit.
Also the metal sleeve in the center had ovaled out, and the clearance hole for it in both halves was wallowed out as well.
With the old bushings out, I removed the rest of the track bar, and took it over to the vice to begin the installation.
The bushings were greased and pressed in: (sorry for the lack of focus here - but you get the point)
I wasnt about to install this new hardware into a mount with a wallowed out hole.
And since the old metal sleeve was so ovaled out, I couldn't use the larger hardware I had shoved in there on the new bushing/sleeve set-up.
With the smaller hardware in the mount it was like throwing a hot dog down a hallway....
SO I opted to do what I have seen done on other builds and re-enforce the front of the mount with a metal plate and a freshly drilled (smaller) hole.
I dont have stock piles of metal plate laying around, so I had to use some ol' fashioned ingenuity...
The cut up OEM control arm I had laying around would serve well enough to give me just enough metal to accomplish what I needed.
It was placed in the vice, and using my grinder with a cut-off wheel I removed the donor metal....
I then hammered, and clamped it straight, Viced it up one more time and drilled the new clearance hole:
(again, sorry for the lack of focus)
I then wire wheeled it clean, and trimmed it to its final shape.
Using the mounting hardware for the track bar I clamped it in place
.....and did my best impersonation of someone who knows how to weld.
Satisfied with my ability to grotesquely tack two pieces of metal together, I spray painted it for protection, and called it "good enough."
I know its ugly as sin, but that metal ain't goin' nowhere.....
It'll more than likely all end up getting cut off eventually anyways for when I do a steering upgrade,
and have to modify the track bar, and mount it higher up on the axle.
The road test the next morning proved to be a much better ride than in recent past.
MOST of the wobble is gone, but I can still feel the degradation of the TRE's....they're next on the list.
Last edited:
XJHUGHES
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Vancouver Washington
With your bad luck of losing u joints have you checked to see if your axle houseing is bent at all?
NW99XJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Gresham, Or.
Yea....seems to be straight.
I'm pretty sure it was the abuse the outters suffered on the original swap.
They got bent up pretty bad, and since, have seen tens of thousands of road miles, and more than a few wheeling trips. I think they just got stretched out.
I havent really bashed the front end anywyas to the point I'd be worrying about the housing.
Wheeled it? yes.
Thrashed it? no.
Also, the crappy "self-balancing" beads/sand/pellets/whatever goodyear put into my tires isn't working worth a sh_t..... So this weekend, I'm going to take it back down there and make 'em do it right. I think that been part of the problem too....the tires are WAY outta balance.
Well that and I have a couple TRE's that are on their way out.
I'm pretty sure it was the abuse the outters suffered on the original swap.
They got bent up pretty bad, and since, have seen tens of thousands of road miles, and more than a few wheeling trips. I think they just got stretched out.
I havent really bashed the front end anywyas to the point I'd be worrying about the housing.
Wheeled it? yes.
Thrashed it? no.
Also, the crappy "self-balancing" beads/sand/pellets/whatever goodyear put into my tires isn't working worth a sh_t..... So this weekend, I'm going to take it back down there and make 'em do it right. I think that been part of the problem too....the tires are WAY outta balance.
Well that and I have a couple TRE's that are on their way out.
NW99XJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Gresham, Or.
Parts ordered, confirmed, shipped and ON THEIR WAY!!!!
TO GO ALONG WITH THOSE....
THESE ARE ON THEIR WAY!!!!!
So hopefully by this time next week, I will be on 1-ton steering.
Total with shipping i'm out of pocket only 210.37 for everything so far.
The final part will be the track bar relocation bracket....
Which I may fab myself, we'll see.
TO GO ALONG WITH THOSE....
THESE ARE ON THEIR WAY!!!!!
So hopefully by this time next week, I will be on 1-ton steering.
Total with shipping i'm out of pocket only 210.37 for everything so far.
The final part will be the track bar relocation bracket....
Which I may fab myself, we'll see.
Last edited:
