Suspension components, ball joints, bushes etc

BassMunn · **Joined:** Fri Dec 07, 2018 5:08 pm **Posts:** 8

Hi Everyone
My first post on here.

Took my new to me 2007 3.7 KJ Sport 4x4 to a suspension centre today to let them have a look over and give me an idea of what needs to be done to stop my front clunking noise and the loose rear end.
The guy calls me into the workshop to show me everything as he didn't think I would believe him without seeing.

Basically every bush and ball joint is shot front and back.

So my questions are after looking through the RockAuto website and confusing the hell out of myself is what brands for suspension components are decent quality? I need a good price to quality ratio.
Moog seem to be good quality from what I've read but they are more expensive.
What about brands like Mevotech, ACDelco and so on?
And which outlet would be the cheapest where I can get all the components in one place as shipping plays a big part as well as I am from South Africa?

Car is stock at the moment, would like a small lift and nicer rims and tyres but need to get the important stuff done first. Car has 98 000 miles on it.

Thanks
Shannon

APC9199 · **Posted:** Fri Dec 07, 2018 6:27 pm

Save yourself time and ultimately money and buy MOOG for basically every consumable suspension component. Make sure you get greasable ball joints anywhere that you replace them. You have to grease them a couple times a year which can be a minor hassle, but its better than replacing the entire ball joint when they fail early like most aftermarket ones do. I'm not at home so I cant help much with part numbers or sources. I have no idea what is the best way to get parts in South Africa, either. I know RockAuto lists most of the parts needed for the suspension on the CRD and has very good pricing for the U.S. I would compare them with whatever other sources you have available there and just select the lowest overall cost option.

BassMunn · **Joined:** Fri Dec 07, 2018 5:08 pm **Posts:** 8

Thanks APC9199

The suspension guy I took the car to today said that parts would probably be cheaper from the US as we have very few aftermarket options here.
So looks like it will be Moog from RockAuto.
Thanks very much

u2slow · **Joined:** Sun Mar 11, 2012 7:26 pm **Posts:** 160

I haven't worn out a rear UCA balljoint yet. The bushings are another story, and a lift will often cause them to tear from the angle they the forced to work with. Moog's rear UCA bushings are also made offshore. I haven't had any problem with the cheapest UCA balljoint that rockauto sells (I replaced mine as a precaution, but didn't need to).

The real difficulty is pressing them out and into the UCA. The metal is thin and distorts easily. The 2nd set of bushings I replaced no longer had a press-fit. Had to tack weld them in. Unless you're really stubborn/creative it may be wiser to replace the whole rear UCA.

BassMunn · **Joined:** Fri Dec 07, 2018 5:08 pm **Posts:** 8

Thanks u2slow.

Was thinking of getting a whole new rear UCA, makes it much easier to do it myself.
Must say the Moog stuff sounds good but when all the parts are added up it gets darn expensive :shock:

This car is not my daily driver, it's a weekend car for towing my boat and a bit of off roading fun, but to make it safe I have to do the following:
Rear UCA bushes and ball joint or new UCA
Rear LCA bushes, but taking it to Jeep to see if I can get it replaced under the safety recall (my vin does show it is due, but no rust)
Front UCA both sides
Front LCA bushes both sides
Front lower ball joints both sides
Front stabilizer links both sides
Coil springs all round
Shocks
Struts
New Tyres
Transfer case switch
Full lube service front to back

So cost effective parts that anyone can recommend are very welcome :lol:

tommudd · **Posted:** Sat Dec 08, 2018 6:20 pm

BassMunn wrote:

Thanks u2slow.

Was thinking of getting a whole new rear UCA, makes it much easier to do it myself.
Must say the Moog stuff sounds good but when all the parts are added up it gets darn expensive :shock:

This car is not my daily driver, it's a weekend car for towing my boat and a bit of off roading fun, but to make it safe I have to do the following:
Rear UCA bushes and ball joint or new UCA
Rear LCA bushes, but taking it to Jeep to see if I can get it replaced under the safety recall (my vin does show it is due, but no rust)
Front UCA both sides
Front LCA bushes both sides
Front lower ball joints both sides
Front stabilizer links both sides
Coil springs all round
Shocks
Struts
New Tyres
Transfer case switch
Full lube service front to back

So cost effective parts that anyone can recommend are very welcome :lol:

Fully understand the cost of parts, BUT cheap parts will not last long at all, buy the best you can

u2slow · **Joined:** Sun Mar 11, 2012 7:26 pm **Posts:** 160

If paying more makes you happy, go for it. It's probably a cheap part from the same offshore factory that makes them all. (A trend that's ever increasing.)

I take my chances with cheap parts and don't get burned very often. For all the money I save, I can easily spare some time to repeat the odd repair job a little sooner.

That's been my experience keeping up my own vehicles for 25 years. YMMV.

flash7210 · **Posted:** Mon Dec 10, 2018 1:50 pm

BassMunn wrote:

Rear UCA bushes and ball joint or new UCA get a whole new UCA and get a good one, the cheap ones wear out too quickly
Rear LCA bushes, but taking it to Jeep to see if I can get it replaced under the safety recall (my vin does show it is due, but no rust) yes, try to get them replaced under the recall
Front UCA both sides get good ones, they are a huge pain to replace
Front LCA bushes both sides honestly, I'd be surprised if they are bad, but just replace the complete arms, pressing in/out bushings isn't worth the effort
Front lower ball joints both sides get the best ones available with grease fittings
Front stabilizer links both sides I'd be surprised if these are bad but they are fairly inexpensive
Coil springs all round get the pre assembled "quick struts" for the front, makes it super easy

APC9199 · **Posted:** Tue Dec 11, 2018 12:47 pm

u2slow wrote:

If paying more makes you happy, go for it. It's probably a cheap part from the same offshore factory that makes them all. (A trend that's ever increasing.)

I take my chances with cheap parts and don't get burned very often. For all the money I save, I can easily spare some time to repeat the odd repair job a little sooner.

That's been my experience keeping up my own vehicles for 25 years. YMMV.

When it comes to MOOG's "Problem Solver" line, this is NOT TRUE. They use much higher quality elastomers (not natural rubber blends and chloroprene) which last much longer since they are chemically more resistant to dirt, water and oil. You can feel the difference as soon as you get one of them in your hand.

BassMunn · **Joined:** Fri Dec 07, 2018 5:08 pm **Posts:** 8

Hey guys thanks for the feedback.
I took my Libby to another place just down the road from my work (forgot they were there), they had a look at it and said that all 5 ball joints need replacing but the front lower control arm bushes look fine and the sway bar links are fine too. Back bushes are all shot and one of the steering ball joint thingies need replacing too, but they were much cheaper and I've had work done by them before with good results. I'm on leave from Friday so I think I will take it into them next week and let them have at it.

BUT, there's always a BUT :lol:

unless severe damage has occurred on the ball joints they repair them using a Teflon or Urethane injecting of some sort instead of replacing them.
Have any of you had any experience with this kind of repair?
I had it done on a 4x4 pick-up in the past but it was just to get it roadworthy to sell it so I never ran them for long, didn't feel any different to me.

Thanks
Shannon

flash7210 · **Posted:** Wed Dec 12, 2018 3:33 pm

BassMunn wrote:

BUT, there's always a BUT :lol:

unless severe damage has occurred on the ball joints they repair them using a Teflon or Urethane injecting of some sort instead of replacing them.
Have any of you had any experience with this kind of repair?
I had it done on a 4x4 pick-up in the past but it was just to get it roadworthy to sell it so I never ran them for long, didn't feel any different to me.

Thanks
Shannon

Never heard of any kind of Teflon injection for ball joints.
From the factory, none of the ball joints have grease fittings, so I don't know how they would do that sort of injection.
You should definitely replace the front lower ball joints. When they wear out they will completely separate. Not something you want to have happen while driving down the road.

BassMunn · **Joined:** Fri Dec 07, 2018 5:08 pm **Posts:** 8

Couldn't find much on YT but here is a quick demo of what the job entails.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IGtRCp2SQc
If the metal parts of the ball joint are damaged it obviously won't work, essentially it replaces the worn out plastic cage inside the bush and makes it greasable at the same time. Dunno just thought it was interesting. Still think I will opt for new lowers though

GordnadoCRD · **Posted:** Wed Dec 12, 2018 11:23 pm

Quote:

When they wear out they will completely separate. Not something you want to have happen while driving down the road.

I think Geordi has pictures of this somewhere.

u2slow · **Joined:** Sun Mar 11, 2012 7:26 pm **Posts:** 160

APC9199 wrote:

When it comes to MOOG's "Problem Solver" line, this is NOT TRUE. They use much higher quality elastomers (not natural rubber blends and chloroprene) which last much longer since they are chemically more resistant to dirt, water and oil. You can feel the difference as soon as you get one of them in your hand.

I was unable to tell the difference between the Moog and Mevotech rear upper control arm bushings. Both made offshore.

I suspect 'problem solver' is Moog's default packaging. When they make an improved product, the regular one shows up in a different box (i.e. Moog 'Quicksteer').

JeepinJarhead03 · **Posted:** Fri Dec 14, 2018 1:38 am

Quick Steer is Moguls economy line

Problem Solver line is generally the highest quality - And that line of parts generally has parts updates or changes to the original design for the purpose of "Solving a problem" that was either with the original part edition, or caused by the original part edition. And they generally don't do it for just one checklist item, there's usually multiple things that were changed with the part prior to it being labeled into the PS line.

If you crosscheck the parts listing with FM, it'll actually specifically tell you what the generational change was to the parts.

u2slow · **Joined:** Sun Mar 11, 2012 7:26 pm **Posts:** 160

JeepinJarhead03 wrote:

Quick Steer is Moguls economy line

Problem Solver line is generally the highest quality...

I understand the intent, but marketing is marketing. There is no 'standard' Moog rear upper control arm bushing for the KJ. So a basic part is what comes in a problem solver box.

When I buy steering linkage and balljoints for my Dana axles (older Dodge and Ford), Quicksteer approximates OE quality, and problem solver is a higher grade ('gusher' bearing, etc.) Other offshore brands aren't even up to par with Quicksteer.

Thanks for the tip on checking FM's listings for generational changes.

Liberty for All · **Posted:** Mon Dec 17, 2018 5:45 am

Regarding the Rear Lower Control Arms... Jeep has a Recall on them for excessive rust and safety concerns. The local Jeep Dealership did mine in about 2 hours for free.

Regarding the Upper Rear Boomerang Control Arm... I used Jeep OE bushings and ball joint. A local shop did the fairly difficult unbolting and sent it to the local Machine Shop. $120. labor. He had to hand/machine press the old out and the new in. I watched and they were in very tight and not a do it yourself job punching out and putting in. If I had to do it again, I would just buy a new arm with everything installed.

Charged about $600. labor. Quieter now with no clunking. I hope I do not have to do it again.

WWDiesel · **Posted:** Mon Dec 17, 2018 1:12 pm

Liberty for All wrote:

Charged about $600 labor. Quieter now with no clunking. I hope I do not have to do it again.

$600 labor, wow.
You could have simply bought a whole new OEM Mopar boomerang arm (52088901AD) with all the parts already installed for much less.
$396.63 https://www.factorychryslerparts.com/pr ... 901AD.html

And if you want a buy it and forget it option, you can install the HD IronRock rear upper control arm using a custom mount that I can supply.

Suspension components, ball joints, bushes etc

Who is online