resharp001

Track bars will help get your axles centered underneath the jeep, but caster is always the biggest thing with your JKs. Your 2.8* is very low, and you want to raise that back up over 4*. Cam bolts are pos bolts that go in your axle's lower control arm mount. You have to knock out extra space in the brackets which is a big reason they suck.....and they just aren't safe in general for a vehicle that will likely see much more stress than regular street driving. Geo brackets will be a great near term solution. If you ever go adjustable arms in the future you can sell em. You do lose a bit of ground clearance with them, but you'll be thankful for the raised caster they will provide you.

Teraflex recently redesigned their BJs. Take a look at em....Probably the best $225'ish option currently. Not a fan of Synergys.....and likely you're not wanting to spend $500+ on the high end BJs........but if you are, look at Rare Parts.

nthinuf

Yes, to me, that draglink movement seems irregular. Some twisting motion is normal, but yours freely moves up/down as well? (twisting may be the wrong word, but grab it and it rotates as your wrist moves up/down. My guess is that the up/down is a bad bushing, loose bolt, something.

Anyway, just went out and checked mine. It rotates, and will actually clank when I rotate it down far enough, which I had not noticed before. But, it does not have the up/down movement at the joint that yours has. We'll see what other opinions come in on it.

resharp001

I have to admit….when I looked at the video last night, I was in the garage working on my jeep, and the few seconds the actual joint was on the screen was pretty short. Most people asking about DL movement are just showing normal misalignment in their vids. After watching that several more times, that does look a bit excessive, but it’s literally a couple seconds and hard to definitively say on video. If you are able to move that up and down while NOT twisting it at all, it’s toast. Even when I had a bad factory DL joint there though….could see it popping up/down while someone was turning the wheel….but not so bad you could do it by hand. If it is bad, I’d still lean towards BJ being the problem, and DL joint being beat up due to the wobble…and compounding issues.

I’m probably too far from you for you to take up the offer, but if you needed to replace your BJs, would be willing to help….and I have either a Moog DL end or another factory DL with <1k miles you could throw on for a minuscule amount. You’d get to learn a bit about your jeep in the process…. I'm up here on the west side of Fort Worth.

Ryan_AustinJKU

Ryan_AustinJKU

Above i attached what i hope shows a better angle and more detailed video of the motion in the DL/TR
Again minus that one shimmy my steering feels fine, but i think i could have caught something early?

And ill probably go ahead and replace front end ball joints probably with the teraflex adjustable BJ or USA alloy ones. Ill probably go ahead and do that in the next 2 weeks, do you think i could wait on doing the DR/DL kit about a month or is it going to compound the problem affecting other components? Also with swapping the DL/TR do you need jack stands to do? i don't have a whole lot of mechanical knowledge minus what i'm trying to learn about my JK from forums and you tube and friends with jeeps, saw one video looks pretty strait forward swapping them out and getting correct measurements. looked like maybe 4-6 bolts. i have full socket sets and everything, just no jack stands.

resharp001

In the first video….the clunk you get when you’re twisting it is not big deal. The twisting is just the misalignment, and the clunk is just the joint reaching max movement. You are really looking for up/down movement in the joint. If it’s bad, you should be able to sit in front, have someone turn the wheel back and forth in short motion, and you’d see the joint moving up/down (not twisting). At least that is my experience with bad DL end. Same with the TR in that first video. That twisting misalignment is there. Same thing, you’d be looking for the joint to have up/down movement.

Just looking at those last two videos.....they don't look bad just from your hand moving em....but again, have someone sit in and had turn the wheel while you watch. The extra load of turning with the tires going to help put more pressure on the joint, and bring little gremlin out of hiding more so than with hand....dare I say "job"

resharp001

You going to do the ball joints yourself? If so, you'll need jack stands. Look on Craigslist and pick up some used ones. Believe me, you'll use em a lot! Do you have a torque wrench? If not, get one, you'll use it a lot. Something that goes up to 200 ft lbs preferably and is 1/2" drive.

DL and TR swaps are easy, and actually best done on the ground. ...assuming you have clearance with your wheels. If you can remove old TR with wheels on, then do (DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING in the steering until new one is on), and install new one...adjusting it to fit exactly how your wheels are sitting....your alignment (toe) shouldn't be far off from before. DL isn't that big of a deal....cuz get it close, then you'll need to adjust/fine tune just to get the steering wheel straight again. Don't try to drive with the steering wheel c0ckeyed.

I would almost always describe a bad BJ as a "shimmy".....I'd lean towards the new TF design than the Alloy or Synergy. Just my opinion.

If you are going to do BJ's yourself....can give some pointers. little things that are aggravating to find out along the way....like needing a 13mm 12pt socket for bearing bolts. Most 13mms people have are only 6pt.

Ryan_AustinJKU

Thanks so much for the help ill run that second test with someone turning the wheel for me in a bit. As far as the ball joints go i was gonna order them myself (prob terraflex) and then have them installed at a local shop, maybe the jeep shop that did my lift, although he is a hour away he does great work. Do you think its a smart idea to just go ahead and upgrade to a adjustable track bar while i'm at it? get that axle aligned properly and then also add the lower control arm brackets. hopefully save some wear life on my tires and be good to go and move on to cool upgrades like bumper/tire carrier

resharp001

At that height, you should have an adjustable track bar up front, and a raised TB bracket in the rear (can still use factory TB back there). That will help get your front axle centered. Shouldn't affect your alignment much either way though.

Look at the Rancho control arm brackets. Nice 1-piece design. They cost more than the AEV or RE 2-piece sets, but less aggravating....and you can always resell em later if you choose, so it's not wasted money.

I'd think most shops in Texas will charge ~$200-$250 labor for replacing BJs. Might check what it would cost you. I always look at things like this.....if you're willing to do it yourself, that $250 turns in to tools that you'll have forever vs. labor that you have very little to show for it. I'm not saying it's a fun or easy job, but it's a job with which you would learn alot about your jeep if you do it yourself, and it's not rocket science. Can provide you with step by step instructions and tips basically, and lots of videos out there. At last consider it. If you were closer, I'd happily help.

If you can't get the TR or DL to test bad, there's no reason you have to replace those right now. Just keep em in mind for upgrades later on. Did you test the ball joints with a shovel like suggested. Definitely confirm for yourself those are bad....don't just rely on poor camber spec or shop telling you. See it with your own eyes so you can tell what a bad BJ looks like.

resharp001

Jeeps are a lot like BMWs and Motorhomes......if you can't work on em yourself, they'll send you to the poor house.

The support is definitely here/out there if you're willing. It's a steep learning curve you're jumping in to. It's nice to learn how to pull axle shafts and such in your garage so should you ever need to know how to do it out on a trail....you'll have all that stored in your head already.