*HELP* Might need to take shop to court.

Hey...I need a little help verifying that my ball joints are wrong. I ended up breaking the yolk on my axle yesterday, it cracked around the u-joint, and it separated about 1/2 an inch. This got us looking at the front end, and one guy noticed the other side (driver) shook bad while I drove. Anyhow, we looked at it and noticed that the driver side axle yolk was bent down and the ring that usually sits at the end of the housing before the knuckles was angled out and there was a gap in it. So my buddy rob said the ball joints looked wrong. He measured them, and found that they were offset about 7/8 inch, whereas on his 87 it was 1/2 inch. So basically, because of the longer offset, it bent the axle yolk on both sides, and the added stress possibly broke the hub yolk. Anyhow, I just wanted to make sure this is right that it is wrong, cuz we are talking a lot of money here, I already paid $500 for the ball joints so I don't need to get screwed, and I don't think they are going to take the blame. Thanks alot...Christian

Basically his new ball joints moved his knuckle down so that his axleshaft and stub shaft are not aligning with the axle tube. He broke the stub shaft ear on the passenger side and the drivers side axle shaft is located below the center line of the axle tube. This is not right and I think the shop put the ball joints on wrong or put the wrong ones on.

Has anybody ever had a problem with this. We will get a new stub shaft and press that in sometime soon but I still can't figure out what they did wrong.

Do you have the paper work from the shop with the part number they used? If you have that part number go to a local parts store and have them look it up. NAPA is a great place for this because they have a s*** load of parts catalogs to check out. Also check with the dealer for the part that they use. Have the parts guy pull one for you and measure it out. Compare them with the one you have. I just went through this same type of thing, but mine wasn't as tight as it was supposed to be and the nut worked loose and the thing was all over the place. I just torqued it down but it was way loose. Just something to look at. Juice

Thanks for clearing that up Rob (FatXJ), I kinda get a little long winded and confusing. Anyhow, to juicexj24, I might try that, but I don't know if I can find the paperwork, it kinda got lost in the move up to college. If you think of it, have the time, and wanna be nice, could you measure them for me? Thank you so much...Christian

Not to flame bud, but how are you taking them to court without that paperwork?

Oh, I have it, it just wasn't where I usually keep it when I was at home, and I only had like 15 minutes to look for it, so I just decided to see if I had brought it up to school with me. I really don't want to take them to court, cuz they seem like good people, it is just that because it has been a while (like 5or 6 months). But that seems like a decent wear out time for the yolk, cuz I never drive it far.

I believe that your first step is to do a little of investigating (looking up parts and so on).... then you pay a visit to the shop and explain things to them and give them a chance to make things right. If they are "good people" as you say, they will fix things up for you at no charge (if they do, have someone inspect their work)..... if they are not, THEN and only then you can take them to court..... if you took them to court before hand all they have to say when they get called is that they would have made things right for you and you are SOL.... btw, small claims courts are a major PITA and the fact that you win, doesn't mean that you will collect any $$... I have a shop (well..... they closed down) owing me over $1500 for close to 8 years now.... I even turned it over to a collection agency and I told them, it's all yours if you want it as long as he doesn't have it..... still no go...

Kejtar

Oh yeah, I was most definitely going to give them a chance to rectify the situation. I dug out the papers from the repair, and am going to call them tomorrow. I have a 12,000 Mile warranty on parts, but the labor expired after 3 months, and it was done on april 21st. The only problem is that they are like a 10 hour drive for me cuz I am at school, so I don't know what I will do. Since the shop is part of a chain called Wear Master, maybe I can find one near me, and have them look at it. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks...Christian

Okay, so I called the place today, and they said that they really can't do anything until they look at it, and they are 10 hours away, so they told me to have some place else look at it and then call them. They said that there is only one size of ball joint for the 88 Cherokee axle, and they really couldn't fit another size. So...I don't know what I should do about it, does this sound correct to you guys? I am kind of up in arms because they are so far away. Anyhow, PLEASE help me out and know what you think. Thanks, Christian

for now you gotta play the game by their rules..... so find a local price that will check it out for you...

oops... price = place with a good price

Chris maybe Bondo at Dan's would look at it for you? I will ask Adam to check on that. Otherwise I would take it to Keweenaw Automotive they seem to be the best around.

Were there part numbers on the bill? If so post them so I can do some checking or give me a ring.

One of the XJ ball joints (and forgive me for not remembering if it's the upper or lower) has a screw-in seat that comes loose in the package. There is a speciofic depth that it must be set to, and to find that info you have to look thgrough several different books. If the person who did the job didn't set that correctly, that could be part of your problem.

I'm not at home and don't have access to my manuals, but there was a discussion about this a couple of months back and the depth was posted. Try a search.

I could use that info, I just did the passenger side balljoints and did not set depth. Oh well, any info though?

The thread Eagle is referring to is here: http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6907

Specifically the info I posted was about the threaded split ring sleeve that threads into the bottom of the knuckle. It's very important to thread these in to match the taper of the ball joint stud. They thread in so that the boss depth (the raised parts of the split ring) measures 0.206 (5.23mm) to the flat of the seat on the knuckle. These split rings serve as a means of adjustment to balance/equalize the knuckle within the yoke that it pivots in.

This split ring basically matches the knuckle to the axle yoke. The idea behind the measurement is to cause both ball joint tapers to engage equally and not cause distortion to the axle yoke, preventing damage to the ball joints or yoke.

Not only did I find that measurement in a Haynes manual but I also verified it in the '88 FSM.

HTH,

Mark