BenDiesel's xj project

[asp]

Preloading the ball joint press then rapping on it with a hammer will save you from bending the c-channel of the press.

 

[MoparManiac]

Preloading the ball joint press then rapping on it with a hammer will save you from bending the c-channel of the press.

Would have been great if you learned that before you bent mine.

 

[asp]

Would have been great if you learned that before you bent mine.

Hey, I replaced it :wave:

 

[BenDiesel]

The bolt at the bottom is most likely the steering stop.

i was refering to the threaded insert with castle like in the bottom where the lower balljoint goes though


thanks for the input guys

 

[asp]

That's for D44's. They use the same size ball joint as D30's.

 

[dellstopjeep]

thats the preload insert. Goes on after you press ball joint back in but it needs a special tool and proper torquing. Not used on a dana 30 though so double check you have the right ball joints...

 

[jonesinxj]

Would have been great if you learned that before you bent mine.

hahahaha... i have to laugh, because it was mine that he bent:doh:

 

[BenDiesel]

the nice thing bout harbour freigh. no matter how bad their tool quality is they still have a life time warranty. i took it back and got a new one free of charge.

i got some picts of what im talking bout

so dose any one have a good write up on how to reinstall knuckles?

 

[asp]

thats the preload insert. Goes on after you press ball joint back in but it needs a special tool and proper torquing. Not used on a dana 30 though so double check you have the right ball joints...

FYI every D30 ball joint kit I've ever purchased has included them. And I went through 3 sets of ball joints in less than a year once :doh:

BenDiesel - I've never once seen a D30 use a preload insert. It almost looks like someone pressed in a female threaded piece to the knuckle so that it would accept a threaded preload insert. See the faint concentric line in the middle of the shiny part? I think someone has done some machine work to that. New knuckles are a dime a dozen - I think that's the route I'd choose.

 

[kastein]

wondering now if the knuckle from the 89 will fit on the 91. and which unit bearing i need to use as well. what have i gotten my self into......

keep the knuckles, bearings, and brake hardware as a set and you'll be fine. TBH I would use all the newer hardware because 91-99 parts are easier to find in the junkyards around here. Heating and beating on the unit bearings may have junked them though, where did you heat and what did you hit? If you hit the flange with the wheel studs in it with a hammer the bearings are probably now junk.

I also never thought I'd be swapping front axles or going bigger than 33's and now look what I went and did.

I know the feeling there

 

[BenDiesel]

FYI every D30 ball joint kit I've ever purchased has included them. And I went through 3 sets of ball joints in less than a year once :doh:

BenDiesel - I've never once seen a D30 use a preload insert. It almost looks like someone pressed in a female threaded piece to the knuckle so that it would accept a threaded preload insert. See the faint concentric line in the middle of the shiny part? I think someone has done some machine work to that. New knuckles are a dime a dozen - I think that's the route I'd choose.

it only looks that way due to the mud.


i only heated up the knuckle and it was warm to the touch at best. so how dose one go about installing the knuckles? i am going to use the knuckle form my 89 . i want to use the tapard roller bearings from the older axle. i have herd from a few more parts savvy jeep guys that they hold up better to bigger tires.


so on that note, how dose one go about installing the knuckle? how much torque on the nuts?

 

[asp]

I feel bad saying this, but this thread and these questions don't belong in this forum. You have done mostly assembly, nearly no fabrication. I suspect you'd also get better response in the mod tech forum too. There are a lot more people doing this sort of thing and posting about it in there. The crowd that reads this forum is too lazy to comment on what you're doing and the group that reads Mod Tech mostly doesn't comment on stuff in this forum. I hope I didn't hurt your feelings. It's just the internet.

Lucky for you, I'm feeling helpful.

If you say so, but I maintain that those knuckles are funky. I've never heard of any D30 using preload inserts for the ball joints.

Uh, to install the knuckle? You put the ball joints in the axle, slide the knuckle onto the tapers making sure everything is clean and tighten the nuts down. Idk what the spec is, but if you do it right and everything is clean before installation, they won't come loose. You could probably do 100ft lb or so... if you really want a # to put on it.

 

[BenDiesel]

Lol I hear ya on the advanced fabbing thing. But I got some things planned like bumpers rock sliders and tube fenders to name a few.

As for the preload from the reserch I have done 89 was the last year they did it. I'm just going to drill the knuckles out for the steering and install them lol what's the worst that could happen???? Lol

Thanks for the input mang

 

[BenDiesel]

so to save you guys from lots of picts of just bolting stuff on i just went ahead and did it.
today got the alignment done and dove it a bout 70 miles to visit a friend to compare jeeps

steering is really responsive. i can turn full lock to the right with no rubbing but not quite full left. she wonders a bit, need a steering stabilizer. got the front locker cable working well. just cant seem to get the rear cable to engage. the guy doing the alignment noticed that the pinion bearing in the front was going bad. got to figure that out too before i wheel to hard

 

[BenDiesel]

so i finally got around to doing some actual fab work. went over to a friend who had a magic fab machine

with his help and some help from a computer we managed to get a set of rear fender guards.

took us most of the day. gona paint them later tonight. and in a couple weekends we are going to do the fronts and weld on some tube fender flairs

 

[5-Speed XJ]

nice build so far