TheTerminator

Also, this morning I did soak both BJ's in WD40. I seriously doubt it did anything, given the amount of heat the upper BJ required.

CCTEX84

I read some reviews about lesser presses that had bent. If you can find the brand oem purchase I believe is 160$ or rent at autozone 100$ and definitely heavy duty

Incognito

Terminator, if you bought that at HF&T, they have a lifetime warranty on their hand tools and will give you a new one.
Which I'm surprised it bent and didn't crack.

TheTerminator

Yes, I bought it there. Not sure if I can find the receipt now though.

TheTerminator

I finished the install. Only the passenger side. I'll leave the driver side (which is solid for now anyway) for some other time, as I'm not too excited about doing it all over again just yet, lol. But anyways, I was able to get the lower ball joint in with my press, but forget about the upper. I spent 3 hours trying to get it to go down straight, then gave up, and went to get a new press. It went down on 1st try. So if anyone is doing it and your press is bent, don't waste your time, get a new one. I think it's a good idea to get 2 of them before you start replacing bj's, and return the 2nd one if you don't end up using it. Also need to start saving receipts

Now with new ball joints on 1 side, the Jeep feels significantly more stable and it doesn't feel anymore like the wheels are about to fall of, going over bumps. Amazing how you think it drives fine, until you replace something and find out that it used to ride considerably worse.

golfer97

Hmm...reading this thread is making me think my idea of renting a press and having buddies

yo_marc

Lots of good info in this thread... Thanks for following up on things

I am still running stock ball joints at 120K miles, but they seem a-ok when I go over them with the normal checks -- pushing/prying on tires while feeling or looking for play. I still cant help but wonder if I'm missing something.

What indications did your ball joints give that it was time for replacement?

TheTerminator

There was obvious play in the passenger side ball joints when prying on the tire. I didn't see any play on the driver side. After replacing passenger side, I definitely felt a difference in how it drove. Which confirms they were worn. I'm surprised yours are still good after 120K miles.

yo_marc

Thanks. Glad to hear I'm at least checking things correctly.

I am surprised they've lasted this long too... although, my JK hardly ever sees a dirt road let alone trails, and I'm running essentially stock sized tires on factory rims, so it's got an easy life.

JeepJeremy

Yo Marc,

My JKU see's an occasional trail a few times/year, but the rest of the driving is highway/street. I just turned over 44K and decided to replace the OE BJ's with Moog.
It didn't seem like there was much play, but I had the 'itch' to do it as I was putting on bigger tires (had been running stock sahara's). I was really surprised how
bad the lower BJ's were on each side. The threaded post on the lower BJ's just rattled back and forth. Glad I did it - but i'd definitely be replacing them by 120K.
Just my $.02.

Jeremy - Lincoln, NE