tbone in tx

I know this topic has somewhat been beat in to the ground, but....
I have a 2011 JKU with 28k miles, teraflex leveling kit, shocks and springs from a ruibcon. Procomp 15" alloys (that stick out quite a bit - don't recall the backspacing) and 33x12.5x15 BFG TA/KO

Took the jeep in to get an alignment and have the steering checked out because the steering is very loose and it drifts pretty severely to the right. An eyeball test indicated that I have a toe-out situation on my right front tire, so the drift that way made sense.

The shop checked it out and told me my ball joints were shot, that the tie rod end was flawed and advised that I go to the dealer for warranty work. They recommended a specific dealership known to do this particular repair under warranty without a lot of questions.

I called the dealership (never been there before so they don't know me / my jeep / my VIN / etc) and told them what the shop said, told them I have the leveling kit and bigger wheels / tires and asked them if they are going to take exception to any of this and possibly flag my vehicle and / or not warranty the repair. The service adviser told me "If you have accessories that aren't MOPAR then technically you could have an issue but I won't be looking for a reason to not cover it".

So my questions.....
1) I can get a set of takeoffs for ~$300 to throw on there for when I take it to the shop (and then sell them later for close to what I paid). If this was your jeep and you wanted this repaired under warranty, would you do this?

2) Knowing that the factory ball joints are crap, would you just go ahead and pay to have them replaced with better aftermarket ones and not screw with the warranty at all?

3) 4 wheel parts quoted ~$1100 to replace them and do an alignment. They didn't say which aftermarket ball joints they would use but either way, this seems high. If the best plan is to just go ahead and replace with aftermarket, which brand would you buy and how much should I expect to pay to have this done. (Disclaimer - I do most of the work on my jeep and could do this as well, but I'm having neck surgery shortly and simply don't want to take the time to deal with a jeep project right now!)

4) Regardless of going aftermarket or warranty with the ball joints, I have an opportunity to go back to a wheel with more normal backspacing (since I'm not real crazy about how far my tires stick out, being 90% a daily driver). Would you suggest doing this to avoid future ball joint issues?

Thanks as always for all of the great insight from this forum!

planman

Just install a set of Synergy/Poly ball joints and call it a day. They are $200 shipped and take 4 hrs max to install.

Use a different shop than 4 Wheelparts. There are a few reputable shops in the DFW area. Where in TX are you?

Then, you could either buy a take-off stock tie rod from someone who has upgraded, or go with a Synergy/Poly tie rod.

It is a waste to replace the factory ball joints with OEM, and it doesn't make sense to buy replacement OEM tie rod parts when the aftermarket doesn't really cost that much more.

If you wheel backspacing is 3.5" or more, you should have problems with Poly ball joints, but your unit bearings will wear out a little faster than they would with 4.5" backspaced wheels.

Tripletsi

$1100 for ball joints and an alignment! You're getting raked over the coals! I was quoted $400 labor + $200 for Synergy ball joints. That included welding in my C gussets!

AveryR

LOL 1100!!!! What a steal! My place charged me 2400 plus a balancing which was 300 but still with aftermarket ball joints. I think they are synergy. But yeah nah 1100 aint anything to what they got me for. Sounds fair to me.

tbone in tx

I'm in Dallas (Arlington actually). I have a local jeeper who has done this job before who offered to help, even though I still think I'm inclined to pay to have it done. If you know of a good shop in DFW let me know and I'll inquire with them. I'll look in to the synergy tie rod..