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Another Ball Joint replacement ?

Redsnake

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Tulsa, OK
So I'm pretty sure I need to replace my drivers side front ball joints due to the popping that's started to get a bit more pronounces the past couple months. Every time I back out of my driveway and hit a bump, driving/turning thru parking lots, etc I get a pop that sounds and feels like it's coming from the front drivers side wheel area.

Going to lift my XJ and do the pry-bar under the tire check to just confirm and make sure it's not coming from somewhere else before ordering a new set of ball joints.

I'm pretty confident in the How-To, but I'm still at a bit of loss on which brand of ball joints to use AND should I change out both front wheels or just the one that's bad (if it's bad)? My '01 XJ has 171K miles on it and I'm pretty sure they're the original ball joints. My rig is not lifted and is a DD spending most of it's time on pavement.

Seems like the consensus is Spicer, Synergy or occasionally Moog brand. I'd appreciate your input and experiences. As one reads thru customer reviews on Amazon and various other parts places I see 5 Star reviews saying how wonderful a part is, then the next review gives it 1 Star because it lasted a month... I'd really only like to do this job once so I don't mind paying for the part that will last. Thanks.
 
I'd be highly suspect of something in the trackbar or controls arms. Ball joints rarely make noise under those conditions.
 
I'd be highly suspect of something in the trackbar or controls arms. Ball joints rarely make noise under those conditions.

Thanks. Trackbar was my other suspect... I've replaced my front Upper and Lower Control Arms withe HD arms ~ 1 year back and they appear to be in great shape.

My other thought was I have a frame crack somewhere but can't seem to find that if it exists.
 
Also check your trackbar mount along with your steering box shim. Who's control arms do you have?
 
Did you replace the upper bushing in the axle? Also make sure everything is "torqued" to spec!
 
Lower control arms are: TeraFlex 1615700. Upper Control arms are: Metalcloak. I did not replace the OE upper control arm axle bushing as it looked ok. Arms were torqued to spec as best I can recall and I've even gone back in and double checked to make sure they didn't come loose. Also, they're all greased up on their joints/bushings.

I've torqued the hell out of the trackbar mounting bolts several times and as best I could tell, they were never loose. I have not replaced the OE Aluminum Steering Rack spacer... could that cause this popping noise?
 
Front sway-bar can make noise, too. Loose shock or front axle bearing assemblies. My passenger side front axle bearing assembly was loose and would make a knocking noise when I made right turns. I thought it was the front u-joint; but they were fine. I replaced the front u-joints and the axle bearing assemblies on both sides and problem solved.
 
More info: I'm pretty sure I've changed out both front hub assemblies (I've had to do it on 3 different jeeps and my sons ford sportrac) but I can't say for sure I've swapped them on my current '01, but think I have. I'm not getting the symptoms of popping while turning or bearing noise that goes along w/those. This pop is a bit different. I've also replaced my sway bar bushings and endlinks w/poly bushings and they're in good shape.

This weekend I lifted the front end and supported it w/ jack stands. I put a pry bar under my tires and lifted and jerked and couldn't find any play in the ball joints whatsoever. While prying on the different suspension parts I did finally get a pop that I was able to replicate coming from the drag link on the steering knuckle (?) end, not the pitman arm end. It would 'pop' and 'clank' a bit if I pushed back on the pitman arm. I assume that's NOT supposed to happen correct? :) The only real upgrade to my front steering is a solid tie-rod bar from a Grand Cherokee (common upgrade).

So I guess my next question is what brand drag link would be a good part to replace my current one with? I guess I'll replace one part at a time until I get this fixed. The current drag link doesn't seem to have any wobble or up/down movement but the end joint (not sure what that's called) has enough play that it makes contact w/the knuckle when enough pressure/force is applied.
 
Update: I replaced the Drag Link (longer hub end) w/ a Moog part this weekend. While taking it apart I realized I should have got both ends as the tie rod that's attached to the pitman arm has a busted grease boot and it's a bit 'wobbly' and loose. After backing out of my driveway the Pop was still there, but didn't seem to be the same. I think the inner tie rod is now the problem. Or at least part of the problem.

Question: Does swapping out the pitman arm tie rods effect my front end alignment? I was thinking not, but wanted to double check here. Jeep tracks straight down the road after my work but that doesn't mean I didn't effect toe-in/out a bit. Don't want to prematurely wear out my tires. Thanks.
 
The only effect would be the "centering" of the steering wheel.
 
The only effect would be the "centering" of the steering wheel.

Thanks. That's what I thought, but wanted confirmation from those in-the-know. :)

Now I just have to find the part # for the inner pitman arm balljoint. Seems like the ones I'm finding have an 18mm thread vs the 22mm thread that's needed. Rockauto is usually my go-to for parts if I don't need it asap and their listings aren't showing what I need. Or at least I can't seem to find it. :/
 
You got to look under "draglink".
 
Another followup:
Replaced the Inner Tie rod on the Drag Link assembly. It seems to have helped some, but I'm still getting that pop in the drivers side front end.

Everything seems tight but I'm going to go back over the typical bolts that come loose w/my impact just to make sure things are snug. It almost feels/sounds like a busted front shock. Those were replaced ~ 1-2 years back w/a nice set of Bilstein's so I'm hoping that's not the issue. It could also be one of my bump-stops hitting I guess as I replaced those old busted rubber ones w/ a set of poly stops that I had to cut down in order to fit. Maybe I need to cut another 1/2" off those... guess I'll add something to mark the bottom of the bump-stop and see if that's it.

I'm going to keep at it until I can hopefully find and fix this issue. Seems like once you fix 1 think on an XJ it exposes 2 other things that need replaced. :/

Again, I do appreciate the input here.
 
If you do wind up replacing the Ball joints spring the money for the Spicer parts and make sure you get the type without the kurling on the ball joint you want it to be smooth. The non spicer joints with the knurling will eat up the knuckles over time.
 
If you do wind up replacing the Ball joints spring the money for the Spicer parts and make sure you get the type without the kurling on the ball joint you want it to be smooth. The non spicer joints with the knurling will eat up the knuckles over time.

Thanks for the info. I'm starting to think the Ball joints aren't the problem. I had jacked up my XJ and placed a large pry bar under both front tires, couldn't get any movement or pops or even wiggle when doing this. Still could be the ball joints, but I'm not sure. I just hate throwing parts at a problem, only to not fix said problem. If I need to spend the money I will but it'd be nice to know for sure the issue and just fix it. :)
 
Can you have someone else wiggle the wheel while you listen and feel for the pop?

I would also bet on track bar mount to frame, unibody rail cracking, steering box mounting, or possibly a worn ujoint in the steering intermediate shaft, rather than a balljoint. I think RCP Phx is right on that.
 
Can you have someone else wiggle the wheel while you listen and feel for the pop?

I would also bet on track bar mount to frame, unibody rail cracking, steering box mounting, or possibly a worn ujoint in the steering intermediate shaft, rather than a balljoint. I think RCP Phx is right on that.

Steering box shim... is that the OE Aluminum part that typically breaks apart on these rigs? Is there any way to check that without removing it? I'm going to see if I can get my wife to crank on the wheel while I'm under checking things. It only seems to happen when I'm backing and hit a few bumps. Not like bump steer, just a pop sound and you can feel it in your feet ... hard to describe but I appreciate the ideas here.
 
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