Well, Rock Auto seems to be pretty agreeable on the warranty replacement. They are saying I need to purchase a new one and then return the old one. They will credit shipping on the new one and I need to pay return shipping. All this without any receipt, but they have it in their computer. Kind of like Auto Zone, they track everything.
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onset of death wobble?
- Thread starter md21722
- Start date
Well, Rock Auto seems to be pretty agreeable on the warranty replacement. They are saying I need to purchase a new one and then return the old one. They will credit shipping on the new one and I need to pay return shipping. All this without any receipt, but they have it in their computer. Kind of like Auto Zone, they track everything.
New track bar is in.
Question about the torque specs,
The chart of torque specs quotes different values than the instructions. Instructions say 60 ft lbs for the frame side stud castle nut and 40 for the bushing. Chart lists higher numbers, like 92 and 74. That seems way too high for the bolt size. I thought even the 60 was high for the stud nut. Torqued bolt ends to 60.
What torque specs does everyone use?
Alignment tomorrow, steering wheel is off a bit now.
Question about the torque specs,
The chart of torque specs quotes different values than the instructions. Instructions say 60 ft lbs for the frame side stud castle nut and 40 for the bushing. Chart lists higher numbers, like 92 and 74. That seems way too high for the bolt size. I thought even the 60 was high for the stud nut. Torqued bolt ends to 60.
What torque specs does everyone use?
Alignment tomorrow, steering wheel is off a bit now.
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Driving this morning I was going through a construction zone and had a pretty good case of wobble. Coffee went splattering around. I had checked the steering last night and didn't see much play anywhere. I'm used to bad tie rods hopping up and down when they're shot. Only the driver side outer had the smallest of play, like 1/16" or less? It could be they are old and when jarred by the road they move around move than when just pulling and pushing on the wheels. I changed it (used NAPA Chassis) and it drives good now, but makes me want to replace the rest of my steering.
NAPA Chassis? Raybestos Professional? MOOG?
Any preferences?
I keep hearing bad things about MOOG. The NAPA Chassis part wasn't stellar. I had to work the cotter pin to get it in because the hole is farther down the stud than the original, but hey at least it fits real tight! NAPA says they are Dana parts. Are NAPA Chassis and Raybestos Professional pretty much the same?
For what its worth, the TRE's are factory original and 320,000 miles on them.
NAPA Chassis? Raybestos Professional? MOOG?
Any preferences?
I keep hearing bad things about MOOG. The NAPA Chassis part wasn't stellar. I had to work the cotter pin to get it in because the hole is farther down the stud than the original, but hey at least it fits real tight! NAPA says they are Dana parts. Are NAPA Chassis and Raybestos Professional pretty much the same?
For what its worth, the TRE's are factory original and 320,000 miles on them.
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Alaskan89XJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Alaska
Corrected my DW using parts from: http://www.kevinsoffroad.com/cart/death-wobble-cures-xj-cherokee-death-wobble-mj-19842001-c-42_64/
Upon purchase of my XJ, I immediately installed Rancho shocks, and steering stabilizer shock, just because. Then experienced DW after about 3k miles of ownership. (probably one reason seller sold vehicle, etc.). Gave away the 3k shock set to a more needy XJ, when I had Old Man Emu shocks, coils, leafs, etc. in hand.
Chasing down each individual part seemed to be a prolonged thing, (although cheaper costs perhaps), but no time for that. Searched this site, and ended up at Kevin's site, bit the bullet, and went for new front end components to defeat DW.
Beyond replacement parts of the tired OEM ones, (using Kevin's in-house parts inventory to correct the DW), was the additional bolt on mod. of a steering box brace which seemed to be a good idea to me at the time, to further solidify front end.
Kevin's old site had a hard to read, but easy to understand the reasons, and corrections to the DW issue. Now he has a new web site, and offers an expensive book on the subject which is probably great for a mechanic's shelf library, but a bit too rich for me to purchase as a one time use thing. (As an aside, it'd be great if he offered a five buck down-load model specific e-book, or whatever). Anyway, I went the route of suggested corrections, and have no DW since, or lol lately. My corrections were some 35k miles back.
Best repairs to 'ya
Upon purchase of my XJ, I immediately installed Rancho shocks, and steering stabilizer shock, just because. Then experienced DW after about 3k miles of ownership. (probably one reason seller sold vehicle, etc.). Gave away the 3k shock set to a more needy XJ, when I had Old Man Emu shocks, coils, leafs, etc. in hand.
Chasing down each individual part seemed to be a prolonged thing, (although cheaper costs perhaps), but no time for that. Searched this site, and ended up at Kevin's site, bit the bullet, and went for new front end components to defeat DW.
Beyond replacement parts of the tired OEM ones, (using Kevin's in-house parts inventory to correct the DW), was the additional bolt on mod. of a steering box brace which seemed to be a good idea to me at the time, to further solidify front end.
Kevin's old site had a hard to read, but easy to understand the reasons, and corrections to the DW issue. Now he has a new web site, and offers an expensive book on the subject which is probably great for a mechanic's shelf library, but a bit too rich for me to purchase as a one time use thing. (As an aside, it'd be great if he offered a five buck down-load model specific e-book, or whatever). Anyway, I went the route of suggested corrections, and have no DW since, or lol lately. My corrections were some 35k miles back.
Best repairs to 'ya
By the time I saw the KOR kit I had already started refreshing the front end. I started before I ever noticed wobbles, when I saw the LCA bushings were worn. Its been kind of an experiment to see how long some parts will last. At 320,000 miles and all original parts (except ball joints, replaced last summer) it was a good bet that everything could be replaced, but I was thinking, if they lasted 320, maybe they'll last 400... 
I think I'm going to go NAPA Chassis on this... they have lifetime warranty which means "recommended service life" whatever that means, but its got to be longer than the 2/24 offered by Raybestos for the same amount at Car Quest or about 1/3 off from Rock Auto. MOOG's warranty is the best at limited lifetime (as long as you don't use it as a commercial vehicle) but I was kind of disappointed in my MOOG track bar- Rock Auto was great to deal with on the warranty though. They were able to look up my order from 8 years ago and the replacement cost me $6.54 in shipping using their shipping label.
I think I'm going to go NAPA Chassis on this... they have lifetime warranty which means "recommended service life" whatever that means, but its got to be longer than the 2/24 offered by Raybestos for the same amount at Car Quest or about 1/3 off from Rock Auto. MOOG's warranty is the best at limited lifetime (as long as you don't use it as a commercial vehicle) but I was kind of disappointed in my MOOG track bar- Rock Auto was great to deal with on the warranty though. They were able to look up my order from 8 years ago and the replacement cost me $6.54 in shipping using their shipping label.
David4wheel
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Nashville, TN
Agreed with this guy. I'm a technician in an offroad shop so my daily life basically revolves around fixing/modifying jeeps. The best way I've found to check bad steering parts (tie rods, track bar). With the vehicle on the ground, have someone shake the steering wheel rapidly back and forth and get under it with a flashlight and any worn parts should show. The amount of resistance by the front tires being on the ground causes any wear in parts to show up. Ball joints and hub bearings can be checked with the tires off the ground, by shaking them up and down. Good parts won't allow you to tilt the tires inward or outward. As for caster wobble issues, track bar, ball joints, control arm bushings, and imbalanced tires are very common culprits. My daily xj has a tight front end, nothing worn, and has caster wobble at 60- due to tires. Also, I've heard tons of people blame caster wobble on a steering stabilizer. However, a jeep with a tight front end and correct geometry, won't need a stabilizer at all. I've driven numerous jeeps with no stabilizer and I can't tell a difference if the front end is good.
Thanks David, about the only thing I've done differently is perform most of the tests with the vehicle jacked up. I did have a buddy turn the wheel while looking at the track bar and noticed the ball end jump at the end of the steering so I changed it. Seems to be a more reliable method. Interestingly, even the drivers side wheel bearing seemed tight but had a burnt smell to it. No globs on grease either. I'm learning new ways to diagnose failed parts! I think the process is a bit different with high mileage parts. By the time one is bad enough to fail, the other probably has enough time/wear slop that it won't match up with the new part very well. A bit different if all/most of the parts were lower mileage.
- Location
- Golden, CO
Last time I bought TREs and ball joints, they were called NAPA Premium. I hope the high end parts they sell, still have steel liners like the NAPA Premium did.
I'm not sure what a steel liner is. NAPA told me they are made by Dana Spicer, which probably means they're the same as you'd get if you bought Raybestos Professional.
I bought the rest of the steering linkage today and put it on tonight. So far I like the NAPA steering linkage better than the dealer. I think dealer is TRW (all joints stamped "T"). The dealer parts were long lasting, but the TRE's by the wheels always seem to leak grease at the brake dust shield. The NAPA parts seem to leak towards the inside. The exception is the NAPA drag link, which is seems identical to the dealer drag link.
I bought the rest of the steering linkage today and put it on tonight. So far I like the NAPA steering linkage better than the dealer. I think dealer is TRW (all joints stamped "T"). The dealer parts were long lasting, but the TRE's by the wheels always seem to leak grease at the brake dust shield. The NAPA parts seem to leak towards the inside. The exception is the NAPA drag link, which is seems identical to the dealer drag link.
- Location
- Golden, CO
You probably have the better quality part.
The liner is the inner bearing surface that holds the ball. Some type of plastic liner has become the norm. They don't seem to provide the service life that steel liners do.
