Where do I begin?

Hey all,

I'll start by saying thank you in advance. There is a wealth of knowledge available here that I'm still sifting through and therein lies my problem.

While I'm not familiar with every nut and bolt on my Jeep, I'm definately not afraid of getting dirty to do things myself. That said, I don't have a garage nor do I have secondary transportation if something I'm trying to fix goes awry. I really do enjoy fixing stuff myself though.

Here's my problem; I have multiple "problems" or potential fixes that need to be done and I'd really really like to do them myself but after reading the boards for awhile, I don't know where to begin. Recently, I brought my Jeep to a sevice place I trust and they diagnosed a few things:

1) "Loose" axle u-joints
2) "Loose" LCA bushings
3) "Loose" tie rods
4) "Loose" trac bar

My current setup is a 2001 Sport, 4.0L, 5 speed manual, NP231 TC, NV3550 transmission, D30 LP front, D35 c-clip rear, 4.5" Tough Country SA lift, 275x70x16 tires.

After reading some (well...a lot really) and talking to others, maybe my problems stem from the fact that my lift is horribly stiff. Since it's a daily driver (for now) I can tell you where every crack on the roads I travel are. Could the lift be responsible for all the "loosening" of the steering and other components I mentioned? Would a LA lift with better shocks improve this situation? I realize that I need to replace the stuff I mentioned but what do I do first? New lift? Steering? Trac bar?

Sorry for the long winded post. I appreciate your advice greatly.

Danny

Well, yes, a lift can stress components and shorten their life span, but your ride is nearly 10 years of age.

Buy quality parts, unless you like changing them often.

TREs are no big deal and if you count the turns (threads) while unscrewing them you may not even need to adjust your toe when done, but always a good idea to check it.

What is "loose" on the track bar? Axle end bushing worn, axle end mount cracked, the frame side TRE, the frame bracket cracked or the hole egged out?

If the LCA bushings are shot you might as well plan on doing the UCA bushings as well.

There are plenty of write ups on for the axle u-joints--search and ye shall be rewarded.

If you have a Harbor Freight near by you can pick up the specialty tools cheap, or rent them from a chain parts store.

EDIT: what you are calling a "stiff" ride--would that be a "jarring" sensation from the front end? One of the charming aspects of SA lifts is the loss of suspension response when the control arm geometry is changed. CA drop brackets or a long-arm conversion puts things back in place.

You really need to think about where you plan to go with this rig. Do you wheel it? Do you want to improve the ride? What kind of wheeling do you do? And how much does ground clearance matter? What kind of diving do you do on the street? Hauling loads of stuff every where? Or is it just you? And most importantly, how much do you want to spend?

You may want to just buy some quality replacement stuff and get some lca drop brackets. If you don't have them. And try a different set of shocks. How ever, a new lift will come with allot of the parts you need to replace so that would help. Long arms will help the ride, but they can't make up for stiff shocks.

Look for people in your area that wheel and drive they way you do. It doesn't help a crawler to ask some one who only wheels in mud holes how to set up his rig. Ask them if they have used your set up and how it worked/ what they did to improve it. Also ask what they run now, how they like it, what they would change.

If you want to step up to a better lift now sounds like a good time. They question is, do you need/ want it. Or will fixing what you have and making a few changes and improving some stuff work better/ make more sense for you?

I hope it doesn't sound like I don't want to help, but I want to make sure you head in the right direction. Good luck and let us know what you come up with.

I pretty much suck.

Well, where to start,...

Replacing obvious worn components.

The lift didn't wear out the TREs, they're just old. While you're replacing the tie rod ends, you might want to consider an upgrade. The V-8 Grans Cherokee has a larger tie rod that bolts in place of the stock part. You buy 3 pieces, the 2 TREs, and the adjustment sleeve, and the assembly bolts in. Costs about 80-90 bucks form NAPA

The Control arm bushings are also a wear item, although the lift may have something to do with the wear on those. May want to check the anti-sway bar bushings while you're doing front bushings.

U-joints are a must before you go wheeling hard. If they're loose, change them. Conventional wisdom and hear-say is to use Spicer brand joints. They cost more, but they are stronger. They're not hard to change, but being in the mountains, you've probably seen some road salt. This can make the unit bearings hard to pull. You don't have to worry about breaking things too much, but you should set aside a full day to fight with them. Have a 36mm socket to remove the stub shaft nut from the hum, and do this before you jack up the rig and pull the tires off, and don't drive the rig around with the nuts loose - they hold the unit bearings together.

You'll have to determine if your track bar has a worn bushing, worn ball joint, or if the track bar mount is damaged in some way to determine what part needs replaced. At 4.5" of lift, if you still have the stock track bar, you might want to consider a replacement from somebody like JKS.

As far as upgrades go:
If you're not playing in heavy rocks, drop brackets for the control arms will improve the ride, and give you more suspension play/travel, and will greatly improve the on-road ride. If you're going for the rocks, you might want to consider upgrading to a long arm kit for better clearance behind the front axle. I'd stick with the short arms and drop brackets, but that's me.

Might want to look at your shocks. Worn out/blown shocks can make a HUGE difference in ride. They not only don't dampen, but they make the ride harsh.

Me,... I'd start with the tie rod, then the track bar, then the U-joints.
Decide what to do about drop brackets/LA kit before messing with control arm bushings.
Look into decent quality shocks - Old Man Emu for standard style monotube, Bilstein 5100 series (or 7100 series)if you want to blow some coin.

my advice: steering, track bar, u joints, then worry about ca bushings

Thank you all for your advice! Much appreciated.

As for steering, would you suggest going straight to an OTK package deal or just stick with something more "stockish"?

My plan is to eventually make it a trail only rig but for now, it's still a DD.

Gaidge said:

My plan is to eventually make it a trail only rig but for now, it's still a DD.

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Whats the fun in that? I plan on driving mine to Moab and wheeling it then driving it back to mork on a monday morning. And I live 1500 miles away!

FlexdXJ said:

Whats the fun in that? I plan on driving mine to Moab and wheeling it then driving it back to mork on a monday morning. And I live 1500 miles away!

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Current net income is a force to be reckoned with! lol

But seriously, by eventually I mean that I'm learning as I go. I want to learn how to do a lot of the stuff you guys do everyday but I currently don't have the space (off-street parking only and no garage), tools and know-how.