Okay so I took the JK in to buy an adjustable front track bar last week and they offered a cheap little steering and suspension 20 point check....God am I glad I did it. It would appear that my ball joints are crap and I have to get them replaced. I didn't believe them at first but then the mechanic at the jeep shop showed me and it was bad. I mean they're bad....it's an 08 and the ball joints are stock as far as I know. I've had a little shimmy in my steering wheel for about a month and assumed it was my alignment, but it's definitely not death wobble although it certainly could be the start of something like that as my mechanic said the stock ball joints in jeeps are horrible and don't last long past bigger mods. I'm only running Cooper 33x12.50's now on 17 inch rims with a 2.5 inch lift so it's not horrible and a slug with my 3.73 gears. I still like to travel with regular traffic when I am in town or on the interstate. My question is this....once I upgrade to the aftermarket ball joints and grab that adjustable front trackbar next couple weeks....should I be looking for any other upgrades for my bigger tires and the weight they factor in to stock parts in some cases? I mean should I be comfortable with the Teraflex trackbar upgrade and Teraflex ball joints or should I go ahead and beef up the housing and axle with some aftermarket parts as well? I do some moderate trail riding (nothing crazy) and farm riding cause I'm a hunter and fisherman and I pull a trailer with a boat. Any suggestions? ......or am I good to go with upgrading those few parts as long as I don't hit the lottery and enter the JKX......

 

No, upgrading those two components does not mean that you need to add anything else. But, a lot of people like to do c gussets at the same time as ball joints.

For the gussets, or any further strengthening, best advice is just to do a lot more reading, call around for quotes, and then decide if you want any of it.

 

Yea I'd heard people will do c gussets as well and I actually have axle sleeves sitting in the garage I just haven't had time to get them in there. Might just have the shop do that too while they're in there for the ball joints. It would probably be worth it in the long run I think...

 

The reason people do the C gussets is because you have to put some heat into the C... balljoints don't like heat. You can do it, if you're really careful and allow for some pretty good cooling times between beads. BUT, it's a lot easier to just do it with the ball joints out. They are pretty cheap (80'ish dollars for upper and lower) but the install can be expensive, paying for welding like that. I'd ask the shop if they would be willing to burn them on for you.

Balljoints and C gussets, along with my Artec truss and control arm skids are part of my winter upgrade list.

 

Yea I'm definitely sliding the axle sleeves in there for sure next week however are the c gussets a "must" if I'm only running 33's? Your thoughts?

 

None of it is a 'must'. No deathwobble (yet), so theoretically you could wait on the bj's. Centering the front axle with that new adj trackbar isn't a must. Installing the sleeves you already bought isn't a must. In fact, many people here will tell you to skip the sleeves and add a truss instead.

It all boils down to your finances, and your personal opinion on how you will use it and just how weak you think that front axle is. Remember that people are bending/shattering these front housings with stock tires just hitting potholes and curbs onroad - while others say they are fine with big tires and beating on them offroad. My opinion, don't put a dime into a d30 and start saving for a replacement. But, you will get recommendations for a full upgrade with every single weld-on you can find. And yet others will say to go minimal with just gussets. Reading and research is what it comes down to, so you can decide what is right for you...

 

Must? No. It just makes sense to do it now, because you won't want to pay to replace those balljoints again if one gets damaged when you do decide to install the gussets. It doesn't really take much time to install them and there's plenty of companies that offer the gussets. If you plan on stepping up in tire size eventually it would be a good plan

 

Not that you do or don't- I put in gussets when I did my bj's since everything was out. I also run the 33" Cooper. It just seems like cheap insurance to make sure your camber doesn't get out of wack. I'm not concerned about cracking off a C or anything extreme, just cheap insurance.

 

Alright gentlemen I appreciate your input and will think this over next week before I pull the trigger on all this stuff at once.