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Does this estimate sound right?

D

dieselenthusiast

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Zuni Mountains, New Mexico
I bought a 2000 XJ about three years ago with 168,000 miles on it. It now has 180,000 miles on it. After installing the 4” DPG hybrid Kit about a year ago, I started noticing that the Jeep wanders all over the road and it's gotten worse to the point that I don't want to drive it over 50 mph. I took the Jeep into Firestone for a quick look. Here’s what the recommend service was:

ES3095R IN. TIE ROD END
DS1326S ADJUSTIING SLEEVE
DS1238 OUTER TIE ROD END
REMOVE & REPLACE DRAG LINK
REMOVE & REPLACE TIE ROD &/OR ENDS.
ALIGNMENT SERVICE

Parts $429.53
Labor $235.19
Subtotal $664.72
Tax 54.73
Total 733.56

I just want the Jeep fixed to where I can drive it again. I'm sure the parts mentioned above are probably original parts, so I'm not surprised that they are worn and need to be replaced, but I hope that Firestone knows what they are doing. I don't want to drop a lot of coin into parts that don't need to be fixed. Thanks for any help in this matter.
 
Lessee.... Rockauto lists:

ES3095R: $26.99
DS1326S: $35.79
DS1238: $67.79

That's only about $130 in parts. Even considering markup & misc. shop stuff, that's pretty expensive, IMO.

Realistically, you should be able to replace those parts, and get it aligned close enough to drive down for a full alignment. GoJeep has a pretty decent write-up on doing a garage alignment .


 
What size tire are you running ? I have 3 XJs in the family, one on 33s,one on 31s and one stock 225s
The stock one has never had any of the steering replaced 240,000 plus
The one on 31s has TRE and drag link replaced almost every year with stock parts.
The one on 33 has a Currie system and is now on 4 years with out a part wear out.
For the cost of the Currie or other HD system,,you will be money ahead to up-grade
 
For $450 you could buy new Currie Currectlinc. That's heavy duty everything.
Caster will have decreased some with the lift, it will wander more than stock.
 
I was surprised when I got down to the prices. I expected them to be the other way around. $429 for labor and $235 for parts. That Goodyear looks like it runs low labor rates and makes up for it with a huge markup on parts.
Go get another estimate, Let them know you already have one estmate, don't tell for how much. Shops giving a second estimate tend to lower prices to get your business.
 
SleeperXJ said:
For $450 you could buy new Currie Currectlinc. That's heavy duty everything.
Caster will have decreased some with the lift, it will wander more than stock.
Click to expand...

THIS!


you could buy the currie setup (which is beefy as hell) and put it on yourself. driveway alignment is easy, if you're worried about it you can get it close and drive it to a shop to dial it in.
 
Most shops will charge about 2x parts store counter prices for parts, that's just the way it is. No sense getting pissed unless they're charging more than that. If you have the ability to change stuff yourself you can save a couple hundred bucks by just paying the shop to do alignment.
 
ChiXJeff said:
Lessee.... Rockauto lists:

ES3095R: $26.99
DS1326S: $35.79
DS1238: $67.79

That's only about $130 in parts. Even considering markup & misc. shop stuff, that's pretty expensive, IMO.

Realistically, you should be able to replace those parts, and get it aligned close enough to drive down for a full alignment. GoJeep has a pretty decent write-up on doing a garage alignment .
Click to expand...

Thanks for checking into those parts and posting them.
 
Wayne Sihler said:
What size tire are you running ? I have 3 XJs in the family, one on 33s,one on 31s and one stock 225s
The stock one has never had any of the steering replaced 240,000 plus
The one on 31s has TRE and drag link replaced almost every year with stock parts.
The one on 33 has a Currie system and is now on 4 years with out a part wear out.
For the cost of the Currie or other HD system,,you will be money ahead to up-grade
Click to expand...

I'm running 31's.

I'm not aware of the currie system? Do you have a link?
 
ChiXJeff said:
Somewhere on here: http://www.currieenterprises.com/cestore/categories.aspx?id=914
Click to expand...


Oh, very cool. I'll have to give them a call on Monday because I don't have a clue what to order.


CE-9701 CURRECTLYNC® - TJ/LJ/XJ/MJ HEAVY DUTY TIE ROD SYSTEM
CE-9701DL CURRECTLYNC® - TJ/LJ/XJ/MJ HEAVY DUTY DRAG LINK (COMPLETE)
CE-9701TR CURRECTLYNC® - TJ/LJ/XJ/MJ HEAVY DUTY TIE ROD (COMPLETE)
CE-9701TRN CURRECTLYNC® - TJ/LJ/XJ/MJ HEAVY DUTY TIE ROD (NO ENDS)
CE-9701DLO CURRECTLYNC® - TJ/LJ/XJ/MJ HEAVY DUTY DRAG LINK ONLY
CE-9701DLR CURRECTLYNC® - TJ/LJ/XJ/MJ DRAG LINK END (LEFT HAND THREAD)
CE-9701TRL CURRECTLYNC® - TJ/LJ/XJ/MJ LH TIE ROD END FOR H.D. STEERING
CE-9701TRR CURRECTLYNC® - TJ/LJ/XJ/MJ RH TIE ROD END FOR H.D. STEERING
CE-9701DLA CURRECTLYNC® - TJ/LJ/XJ/MJ DRAG LINK ADJUSTER
CE-9701SB CURRECTLYNC® - TJ/LJ/XJ/MJ STEERING STABILIZER BRACKET KIT
CE-9701B RUBBER REPLACEMENT BOOT FOR TJ/LJ/XJ/MJ CURRECTLYNC® STEERING
CE-9037X XJ STEERING GEAR BOX BRACE
 
I can understand the worn steering components. The XJ never had what I would consider a robust tie rod assembly. THis is a ripoff for a quote. The other suggestions are spot on. I would shop around. You can easily beat thee prices. The assembly is easy to remove. The tapered portion of the joint can easily be popped loose by placing a two pound hammer on the back side of the casting and smacking the opposite side with a large ball peen hammer. Check out Frank’s setup at Serious Offroad. He has a heavy duty setup that looks pretty nice.

http://www.seriousoffroadproducts.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1231_1247
 
maybe not a ripoff, just expensive. Shops don't get their parts from Rock Auto, they get them from NAPA or Carquest (and likely not Pep Boys or Vatozone) and then mark them up from there. This is why it pays to do stuff yourself when you can. I was also thinking that maybe they were going to replace the drag link as well, RockAuto doesn't even list that...? Don't know why you would need to remove it unless you were replacing it, only thing I can think would need to be replaced would be the outer end but they didn't list that either.

In any case it is usually the tie rod that people refer to as being weak, I don't know if the drag link is equally weak as well, but if you want to stick with stock geometry I don't see why you couldn't buy a pickle fork and replace the stock tie rod with an aftermarket unit that is beefier for less money - *if* you are so inclined. Or just replace with stock parts if you aren't going to wheel hard and save even more.
 
Last edited:
I’m not a mechanic nor am I mechanically inclined. I typically take my vehicles to a local shop and they do all my work. I try to do my research, buy the parts, and take the parts to the mechanic.

I certainly don’t wheel hard. But I do drive off-road a lot (forest roads, old logging roads, etc). My back yard is a national forest, so I do light wheeling all the time. The biggest tire I’ll ever run is a 31-32” tire. I just want something that is going to hold up and last. The Jeep is also a daily driver. I’ll be driving it down a washboard gravel road 10 miles to work and 10 miles home, so that’s 20 miles of driving a washboard road. Even though I don’t wheel hard, the Jeep does take a daily beating. It’s very much a utilitarian vehicle and I tow firewood and brush with it.

33846874134_large.jpg
 
Buy the Rockauto parts, fly me to New Mexico and I'll install them for you. You'll still be ahead of the $733 quote.

Yeah, the other guys that posted are spot on.
 
dieselenthusiast said:
I’m not a mechanic nor am I mechanically inclined. I typically take my vehicles to a local shop and they do all my work. I try to do my research, buy the parts, and take the parts to the mechanic.

I certainly don’t wheel hard. But I do drive off-road a lot (forest roads, old logging roads, etc). My back yard is a national forest, so I do light wheeling all the time. The biggest tire I’ll ever run is a 31-32” tire. I just want something that is going to hold up and last. The Jeep is also a daily driver. I’ll be driving it down a washboard gravel road 10 miles to work and 10 miles home, so that’s 20 miles of driving a washboard road. Even though I don’t wheel hard, the Jeep does take a daily beating. It’s very much a utilitarian vehicle and I tow firewood and brush with it.

33846874134_large.jpg
Click to expand...


Were you getting ready to re-roof your house ?:laugh3:
 
with that kind of driving the currie steering setup will likely outlast your jeep. that is the way I would go and never worry about it ever again.
 
While the Currie set up is nice I would stick with stock replacements.

The Currie joints do wear out and they are expensive to replace and you can't get them at a local auto parts house.
 
karstic said:
While the Currie set up is nice I would stick with stock replacements.

The Currie joints do wear out and they are expensive to replace and you can't get them at a local auto parts house.
Click to expand...


Even if they wear out they are still cheaper then having his shop replace the factory peices.
 
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