Last year or so I got some Synergy Ball Joints from a neighbor and thinking of putting them on this Spring.

As long as I'm pulling off the wheels and brake assemblies, I wonder what else would be hella convenient to do while it's already tore down that far?

Grease the wheel bearings \ axles?

Thoughts or suggestions?

Thx

 

You have wheel bearing assemblies. They aren't grease-able.

Check the torque on all the suspension parts (track bar, drag link, tie rod, control arms)

Easiest way (for a home mechanic) to get the ball joints out/in is to rent a ball joint press kit from OReilly Automotive (or you choice of auto parts store) and have a good 1/2" impact wrench on hand. When using the press, unhook the shocks and droop the side you're working on as far down as you can get it. This will keep the press from hitting the coil spring.

If you plan on running large tires (or already are), this is a good time to weld on some C gussets while the ball joints are out.

 

Unit bearings are a sealed unit, ( wheel bearings ) are the axle u- joints in good shape ? Good time to change them out if not...

 

I did mine last year. If you scroll down in this album, I describe how I did it in the image captions ...

https://m.facebook.com/markddoiron/a...1858211877885/

 

The brakes on the front are too new too new to replace, I'm running 35's all around.

I already own these - Synergy Manufacturing 8009-12 Jeep JK/WJ Dana 30/44 HD Ball Joint Set

I see this on Amazon = Timken HA590242 Wheel Bearing and Hub Assembly

Are there some other brand and prices that are better in some way?

And for U-Joints: MOPAR vs AC DELCO vs SPICER . . . same question, is the mopar price worth the extra cost, is warranty a consideration?

What about the Synergy Manufacturing 8012-02 Jeep JK Front Dana 30/44 Inner C Gusset ? Keep in mind that I'm a camper, not a crawler.

Thx for the info!

 

How many miles are on the jeep? If there is nothing wrong with the hubs or u-joints I wouldn't really bother replacing them. Do the c gussets at the same time as the ball joints because you can weld them on and then change the joints and not worry about damaging them. But hubs and u-joints don't require knuckle removal, they really aren't that involved so only replace them when you need to.

That said, I don't have much specific experience with those brands/parts on jeeps but I have done a ton of hubs and u-joints (I work on trucks and construction equipment, from f-150s to freightliners) and I have never had any problem with Timken hubs. I typically like OEM when possible but I've used more than a few Timken hubs with no issue. For u-joints I like Spicer. The Mopar one may well be made by spicer, but if it is cheaper to buy spicer go that route, you won't find a better OEM style joint than them, and for what it's worth they made your entire axle assembly anyway.

 

Don't be misled by the Timken name on the box. They are the same ILJIN (Korea) bearings you have in the JK now. Moog is the same story.
From that, I can only assume all the JK unit bearing hubs come from ILJIN.

 

It's not really a hassle to do anything in the front end. I pulled my axle, wire wheeled the knuckles, painted them, and had the new axle in within 2 hours. If nothing's bad I wouldn't bother.

 

My Wrangler has 89k, I doubt these things have been done before. I hear odd knocking\knuckling that I can also feel in certain turns etc, a sense that something is wrong but I can't identify and that mechanics haven't determined.

I don't weld, and the guy I want to pay to help me get this done and done doesn't either.

Renting the additional tools from the parts store is cool, but idk about trying to get welding done so that might not happen.

I see a lot of logging roads, it just seems like the ball joints, bearings and u-joints would be the things to do.

Is there a wiggle wiggle wiggle test I should rely on?

 

Sounds like a bad front hub assembly. An easy way to check is to jack up the front and try to wiggle the tire/wheel up and down from the 12 o'clock to the 6 o'clock. If you find they're worn out its quite simple to replace. Remove the tire, 36mm socket for the axle nut, 2 21mm bolts for the brake caliper, I usually pull the rotor off with it together, then an Allen key for the speed sensor on the front side of the hub, it's probably still good so you can reuse it on the new hub and keep the one they give you as a spare, then just 3 12 point 13mm bolts holding on the hub. Smack it with a hammer to get it off and slide the new one on..... I know every bolt size on the entire underside of my jeep... That's pretty sad, lol.