YEG

Hello, i recently brought my 2008 Rubicon 4 door to get a suspension inspection. I'm told i need new wheel bearings on my front end, a left upper ball joint, and a wheel alignment.
I plan on doing all the work myself with the help of some write ups.
They advised me that after i install my wheel bearing & hubs that i should come back to the shop for a sweep of my ball joints to see if i need a regular or cambered ball joint.
is this really necessary? My jeep does not have a lift of any sort, the suspension is all stock aside from the Rancho shocks i put in years ago (which were direct OEM fitment)
i also don't see why i would put a cambered ball joint in my left upper if my right upper does not need replacing.
I'm trying to save myself a bit of time & money by avoiding this "sweep" if possible as i will need to go back again after replacing my ball joint for an alignment.
I have read a few other forum posts stating that if the camber is out a bit its probably due to a bad ball joint and replacing the ball joint will fix it anyways.
I'm not a professional mechanic, although i have done 90% of the work on my jeep with the help of walk through's and online support. so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

resharp001

I know that cambered BJs do exist out there, but we just don't see anyone doing those. In fact, the only time I really see it come up is when Dirtman mentions them. My personal opinion would be to just replace BJs with normal non-cambered ones of your choosing, just like everyone else out there. If you went cambered, I presume you'll have very limited options to select from.

YEG

yeah that's what i figured, especially since i don't have a life i cant see my tires really needing much of an adjustment camber wise, i have 33' tires, that's it

Rednroll

I've never heard of a cambered ball joint or know what one looks like. The only thing I've heard of is knurled or unknurled ball joints. I did everything you described at one time, not sure why a shop needs multiple visits.

karls10jk

The alignment as the truck sits now will likely be off due to bad ball joints. They want to counteract the bad with offset but the reality is that unless your axle is bent, usually new ball joints will set you back to spec. A note on factory camber spec- there is a half of a degree, plus or minus, that's acceptable from off center. I saw an offset upper bj recently and those who haven't seen them would know it in an instant.

TheDirtman

Camber ball joints are also know as off-set ball joints and there are not a lot of options as far as brands. I know the JK crowd has to put the most expensive shiny component on that they can find. They are used quite a bit by good alignment shops to correct for bad camber generally due to a bent axle or inner C. They can also be used to correct some caster on lifted vehicles.

rsbmg

Even Stock vehicles can bend C's or axle housings so don't think its only a problem seen on modified jeeps. If you have bent C's or a bent axle housing offset ball joints are more of a band aid than anything in my opinion. As was stated above just buy some new ball joints and don't worry about your camber if its that far off by a new axle.

Rednroll

I'm sure glad I'm not a part of that group of losers.

YEG

Great, thanks for the help & Info guys.