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my wj knuckle research

userbmx1315

userbmx1315

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Dallas, NC
i'm gettin my list of part together so when i get the money i can get the wj set up.

so far ive read so many different ways to di this.

other then the steering linkages.
this is what i've came up with. . .
jks 1/4 spacers.
2000+ xj/tj unit bearings.

whats the difference between the wj ball joints and the xj ball joints?
why do i need the 2000+ unit bearings? is it the depth of the mounting?
how much wider will this be compared to a stock hp30?
other then the 5on5 whats the diff between the wj bearing and an xj (2000+)
how can i move my swaybar mount out of the way?
 
userbmx1315 said:
whats the difference between the wj ball joints and the xj ball joints?
why do i need the 2000+ unit bearings? is it the depth of the mounting?
how much wider will this be compared to a stock hp30?
other then the 5on5 whats the diff between the wj bearing and an xj (2000+)
how can i move my swaybar mount out of the way?
Click to expand...

-WJ lowers have a different taper, uppers are the same
-00+ unit bearings properly locate the outer axle shaft/u-joint
-A hp30 with wj stuff is .05" wider (thickness of the spacers)
-outer axle shaft/u-joint location
-extended sway bar mounts or ditch the sway bar all together.
 
I used unit bearings from an unknown year, but I KNOW they were pre-95ish - no where near 2000. But I did find different width ones at the junkyard, who knows, maybe they were replaced with newer ones... Just double check your spacing.

I did used new XJ balljoints, and I had horrible death wobble (not the, I think I might, is this DW? kind - it was the shake your front end so bad your truck falls apart and it won't stop until you come to a complete stop and you think you are going to die kind!!) I kept it subdued with a steering stablizer, but I suspicion the ball joints were the issue because everything else was new.

In addition to your list, I had to use washers to get the caliper spacing correct. Redrilling the WJ rotors was cake with a drill press, I just c clamped the XJ calipers to them for a template and drilled away....

Excellent mod if you have the coin. I picked up a broke in half WJ axle from the junkyard that had good outers. After the mod, I could lock up my 33" TSLs on gravel at 20 mph.
 
so the 2000+ unit bearings help space the rotor out.?
the JKS spacer puts the u joint in the correct alignment with the balljoint..?
correct me of i'm wrong. i'm thinking i got this figured out just not 100%
 
Sounds right to me :thumbup:

you'll want to cut your swaybar mounts off and weld on extended ones - I believe JKS makes those too. not sure if this is required, i think it depends what type of steering you end up going with - heims vs offset TREs (the WJ ones).

depending on which rotor you use (redrilled WJ vs Ford Explorer sport trac) you may need to use some .05" spacers (washers) on the lugs to properly space the rotor so that it is centered in the caliper bracket.
 
Last edited:
If you use sport trac rotors, they are about 0.1" shorter ("hat" height) so you need to use the washers - 0.05" thick - on each lug. so the washers will go between the hub and the rotor.

I would use redrilled WJ rotors though, just for simplicity.
 
Agreed with Nickel, just tranfer the wheel bolt pattern from your XJ rotors to the WJ rotors and redrill them. Took me less than an hour to do this.

HP D30
2003 TJ Hubs
JKS weld on flange/spacer
WJ ball joints
WJ rotors-redrilled to 5 x 4.5" bolt pattern
WJ Akebono calipers
 
I think only people that have done the swap should give out the information, because I see some stuff here that seems wrong.

That being said, I haven't done it yet, but I would never put washers or any sort of spacer in between my hub and brake rotor. I think the only spacers that should be used are the JKS spacer for the hub and some washers on the caliper bolts to space out the caliper, if needed.
 
got most my parts. i'm most likle going to be running the draglink over the knuckle. so i'm going to be needing some spacers. were did everyone get thiers?
i got my heims from balllistic, any cheaper places? what size? (3/4-16 heims)
also rustys (forbid the name) has the unit bearing spacer foe 20 so thats cheaper then jks.


anyone got any pics of their sway bar mounts? i'm trying to get an idea on how to do mine.
 
userbmx1315 said:
got most my parts. i'm most likle going to be running the draglink over the knuckle. so i'm going to be needing some spacers. were did everyone get thiers? JKS

i got my heims from balllistic, any cheaper places? what size? (3/4-16 heims) probly not
also rustys (forbid the name) has the unit bearing spacer foe 20 so thats cheaper then jks. just buy JKS


anyone got any pics of their sway bar mounts? i'm trying to get an idea on how to do mine.just cut off the mount, get the steering situated and then mount them
Click to expand...
 
JKS has the swaybar mounts that you'll need or JCR, as far as I have read you only need the spacers when you use your regular hubs if you go with the TJ hubs I guess they have the correct offset... I too have been liking into this and I have th parts currently sitting in my garage as I gather all the rest of the parts to make this swap possible, I think you also need an over the axle trackbar mount and trackbar.
 
This swaybar relocation is new to me, and since I plan on eventually completing this.... what nessecitates it? I plan on running the stock WJ steering, does this not clear the sway bar link mounting or is this only needed if you start modifying the steering setup?
 
pics of my swaybar setup:
_TLM4419.jpg

Picture012.jpg

Picture008.jpg

Picture009.jpg
 
Last edited:
That doesnt look like the stock setup...so forgive my ignorance in asking it you take it off the WJ and bolt it on the XJ will you need to modify the sway bar mounts?
 
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