Front suspension and steering parts

98 Jeep Cherokee XJ with 195,000+ miles.

One side has a bad sway bar end link that came loose (missing top bushing). Both sides have lots of rust and the bushing are worn and cracked. So I'm thinking of replacing both sway bars links and their bushings.

The Jeep has an OME 2.5 inch lift kit.The rest of the steering and suspension appears ok, no ball joint movement, etc.

Uncertain of the difference. I found bushings from Moog that are thermoplastic and Raybestos Professional, that appear to be rubber.

Moog K3172 Sway Bar Bushing
Moog K3174 Sway Bar End Link Kit
(Moog uses thermoplastic bushings)

Raybestos 545-1038 Kit
(Raybestos bushings appear to be similar to the OE rubber.)

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Are there any aftermarket suspension and steering upgrades for shorter lifts? I found upgrade parts for 3+ inch lifts.

You could go with polyurethane bushings. They're better for handling on the road but worse for articulation.

PaulJ said:

You could go with polyurethane bushings. They're better for handling on the road but worse for articulation.

Click to expand...

I read that somewhere. Do you mean rubber bushings become more flexible allowing less rigid movement of metal parts while under stress?

How does rubber produce better articulation than polyurethane bushings?

I think I might want to articulate better, since I'm usually more concerned about suspension movement and steering while off-road. I don't do much handling while driving on-road.

A Moog description:

MOOG® Thermoplastic bushings reduce noise, add strength and resist wear, salt, road grime and oils better than typical rubber bushings. In addition, they are less prone to splitting

There may not be that much difference between the Moog and Raybestos bushings.

Moog uses the terminology thermoplastic whereas Raybestos defines their bushings as synthetic.

Synthetic rubber is a type of thermoplastic or polyurethane. Thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) is sometimes referred to as thermoplastic rubber.

The most noticeable difference is the MOOG bushings are blue and the Raybestos are black. For off road it would be better to disconnect the sway bar altogether using something similar to JKS Quicker Disconnects.

Muddzz said:

I read that somewhere. Do you mean rubber bushings become more flexible allowing less rigid movement of metal parts while under stress?

How does rubber produce better articulation than polyurethane bushings?

I think I might want to articulate better, since I'm usually more concerned about suspension movement and steering while off-road. I don't do much handling while driving on-road.

A Moog description:

MOOG® Thermoplastic bushings reduce noise, add strength and resist wear, salt, road grime and oils better than typical rubber bushings. In addition, they are less prone to splitting

Click to expand...

rubber is softer. So it allows move movement and will be less harsh.

poly/thermo/synthetic is harder, will generally last longer and transmit more road harshness into the body.

and yes, disconnect the swaybar for the offroad. Now is the perfect time to upgrade. Disconnects will come with the new bushings for all of the end link stuff. I'd do rubber for the actual mount bushings.

The JKS links are a little more than I want to spend right now for a suspension repair. Perhaps when refurbishing the front suspension and bushings I will upgrade.

JKS has different sized links for the XJ with 0 to 1.5, 2 to 3.5 and 4 to 6 inch lifts.

I ordered the OE Moog links and will test them to see how well they work with an older mostly OEM suspension and steering. I'm using TJ OME front springs and OME shocks which are slightly longer. I'm not sure what difference OE sized links produce, perhaps more suspension tension and limit movement a little, unless they can be modified or adjusted for a ~2.5 inch lift. Perhaps some sort of spacer can be installed.

My experience when changing part sizes and materials, potentially has an effect on OE part wear and lifespan.

It was several years ago for the OME lift was installation, with some help from a professional off-road installer where I purchased the lift kit. Has a business that modifies vehicles for off-road, never recommended or suggested swapping out the links so i never worried about about them.

there are much cheaper options than the JKS disconnects.

The only thing the swaybar links do is locate it. Ideally you want the swaybar level, but it's fine if it's not. Get you some rough country ones for 3" of lift and call it good.

Ok, thanks I'll probably use the Moogs for now, until I can refurbish the front end.

I spend alot of time around salt water so any new hardware installed immediately starts to rust.

The Rough Country site, lists 3.5 to 6 inch disconnects. Their tech support said there are disconnects for a 3" lift, I think he said part no. 1105, but could not find the RC 3" lift disconnects.

Installed the Moog thermoplastic links, went on fairly smooth.

The thermoplastic bushings are more like rubber. Bottom bushing fits a little looser than OE. Torque specs for the OE links and rubber bushings is 27 foot lbs. top and 70 foot lbs bottom.

I'm having the same problem I don't do too much driving on the road would it be a bad idea to just take them out?

Regarding the sway bar bushings, measure your sway bar's diameter before you buy. There are several different thicknesses used throughout the years, often time with no rhyme or reason. My 2000 has a 26mm sway bar and therefore uses Moog K3171 bushings.