Jeep Wrangler Forum banner

Adjustable ball joint question

12K views 18 replies 9 participants last post by  WBN3 
#1 ·
My son's '99 TJ has 33's on aftermarket wheels, and we noticed that the front tires are wearing unevenly (cupping on the inside). We had the front-end alignment checked at our trusted shop and they said the stock ball joints with over-sized tires are causing negative camber which cannot be adjusted. They recommended adjustable ball joints, but we couldn't afford what they wanted for the job.

We have replaced both front wheel bearings since putting the tires on the jeep, and they said the setup is going to continue to put strain on the bearings as well as wearing the tires faster. We don't know how long the bearings had been in there, but we bought the thing with 185k miles on it (with stock rims and tires). I'm not as concerned about the bearings (at this point), and I don't expect the ball joints to fix that problem, just the uneven tire wear.

We would like to do this job ourselves provided we can find the right parts. What do folks here recommend? I find Moog to be referenced in several posts, and I found them when doing a basic search online.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.
 
#2 ·
Do you have your print out or results from the alignment they tried?

Ive done some research on here about adjustable ball joints my self. You really shouldnt need them unless something some where is bent, axle, knuckle etc. Some shops really are not good at aligning solid axle, lifted, over sized tire rigs. Your camber would have to WAY out to NEED adjustable ball joints. Caster isnt to be corrected with adjustable/off set ball joints.

The info I found on this site was mostly from member:UnlimitedLJ04. Hopefully he will find this post for you.
 
#3 ·
I found the post that you quoted, but I wasn't confident that the comments were applicable to a TJ. I trust the shop we use, but wanted to verify their input, which is why I decided to post a question here. There is nothing bent on the front end, and both sides have approximately the same amount of negative camber. We didn't get a print-out because they were only doing the work on the bearing replacement.
 
#4 ·
Before I looked into it, really before I looked into anything when I first bought my Jeep...shops told me they couldnt get it to align. With in a month of owning it I had replaced ball joints, axle u-joints, all TREs and swapped to the ZJ tie rod. I had done basically a bunch of "front end" maintenance that was overdue. After that it aligned just fine at a local "mom and pop" garage that a member on here works at.

I hope some one with more knowledge on the subject jumps in to help you. If not maybe PM unlimitedlj04.
 
#7 ·
The only things that will effect camber are bent axle, bent steering knuckle, really bad unit bearing, or bad ball joints. 33" tires are not going to effect camber any more than stock tires. Camber specs on our Jeeps are -.25° +/- .63°, so between +.38° to -.88°. If your camber falls within those specs, it is fine. To check ball joints, slightly jack up one wheel at a time and use a pry bar under the tire to see if there is any movement in the joints. A print out of your alignment numbers would be really helpful. How was your toe-in? What tire pressure are you running on your 33's, and how are your shocks and control arm bushings?
 
#8 ·
I had mine on the lift today, and was told and shown where my ball joints were loose and needed replaced. What else should I consider swapping out while it's apart?
 
#11 ·
Front end alignment numbers

Okay, did some more work on this trying to get a straight answer (pardon the pun)...

Went through the front end and checked all tie rods, control arms and track bar for slop... there's none. Everything is tight, but I did notice one of the front shocks appears to need replacement (slurping sound when rocking the front end up and down on the springs). Did not jack it up to test ball joints, but did have a second shop, which I was referred to by someone I trust, check the alignment. They said the same thing about adjustable ball joints. Got a printout from them (attached).

Things I forgot to mention that may be meaningful: it has a Rough Country 2.5" suspension lift, put on 2 years ago; wheels and tires were put on about 18 months ago; replaced both unit bearings in the last 6 months, which may also explain the tire wear.
 

Attachments

#13 ·
Thanks for the feedback. An axle swap is a bit outside the scope of what we're going to be into... between the unit bearings and the toe-in, I do agree that the cupping is probably not going to be a long-term problem. Uneven wear from one side of the tire tread to the other will be, and my most likely solution appears to be the adjustable ball joints as suggested by both shops. What would you recommend for those?
 
#15 ·
Okay, just to update this thread - I'm hard headed but I get the message. After looking into this more, the front axle tube is definitely bent. I measured ground clearance from bottom of the axle tube at various points and was able to get as much as a quarter inch difference on level, flat concrete. Took it to a 4x4 shop who confirmed just by eyeballing it. Looking into acquiring a good (i.e. straight) used front end, but in the meantime will probably just have Discount flip the tires on the rims to even out the wear.
 
#16 ·
Update - fixed camber, but still has a minor issue

After much pain and agony, swearing and a bit of cost, we have completed the front end swap with another stock D30 that was straight. Replaced upper and lower ball joints with stock (non-adjustable) and replaced UCA bushings on the axle as well.

The attached alignment sheet shows the negative camber to be reduced back within spec. My son says the jeep tends to "wander" while driving and he's finding the need to steer it more just to keep it straight... it's not really pulling to one side, just seems to float around on the road and every bump and imperfection in the road pulls it around. To some extent, I say this is just what you get when you drive a jeep - it's not supposed to drive like a Ferrari. However, this is a noticeable change from before the axle swap.

I've read elsewhere that caster can have an effect on "return to center" in the steering. The lift puts us just out of spec on caster, but we were advised we didn't need adjustable LCA's (or longer ones) with a 2.5" lift. Would like to get feedback from folks here on this issue. The alignment shop said that they have seen "spec" toe alignments drive worse than "out of spec" when I asked about the wandering.
 

Attachments

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top