AdmiralSavage

Hello guys, I need to overhaul my steering suspension parts for my WJ. So far I'm going to get the 4 tie rod ends, the two tie rod adjustment sleeves or drag links, whatever they're called. I want to know what other steering components would be good to replace at this time also. In addition, I also need to do my shocks and coils. I saw on IRO a 2 inch coil lift. I dont know if that's worth it or if it will cause any issues. Let me know. Thanks

dave1123

There are a few other parts you'll want to check; control arm bushings, track bar bushings, steering box play, steering column coupler where it connects to the box, sway bar end links and frame bushings, ball joints and wheel bearings. If you're going with a 2" lift, you'll want upcountry shocks. Also adjust the front driveshaft at the center spline joint to be a touch longer. The way the WJ is set up, you won't need longer brakelines. Maybe for the rear.

If the control arm bushings are shot, save yourself some aggravation and buy complete arms, not just the bushings. The axle end of the uppers need bushings pressed into the axle brackets, bought separately. The axle end of the lowers are self adjusting and are usually the ones that go first and are hard to replace, if they can be. IDK. I bought complete Moog units for mine. They are guaranteed for life - keep the receipt!

AdmiralSavage

Alright, I checked on rockauto. There's 4 different types of control arms on rockauto from moog. How many of each are needed? Also I can get the track bar from moog on there unless that's something that doesnt really go out.

dave1123

There are 2 upper and 2 lower control arms in the front, and 2 lower and 1 upper in the rear. The upper rear is a triangular one with a ball joint on top of the diff. If the lower rear arm bushings are bad, she'll wag her tail like a dog at speed. This feels like she's darting left and right when you hit road heaves and bumps. This has to do with the track angle shifting. I think there is a rear sway bar also, but that really doesn't do too much except reduce body roll in cornering. You may not need all of these, but my WJ has 253K miles on it and I've replaced everything, front & rear, over the time I've had her.

The front track bar is the most important thing. Make sure the mounting bolts are tight and stay tight. If they loosen up, the bolts will wear the holes in the mounting brackets oversized and allow the axle to shift side-to-side. The holes can be fixed by welding washers to the brackets to eliminate the clearance. Use heavy washers one size smaller than the bolt and drilling them so the bolt just barely fits thru. This usually only happens on the end that doesn't have the weld nut on it. I think this is just on the frame end, but I may be mistaken. If you replace the control arms, do one at a time. Otherwise you will be fighting the spring to align them. I've heard of guys who had to use jacks and come-alongs to get it back together. If it's up on a lift, you can use a long prybar instead.

On the ball joints. The lower ones support all the weight of the jeep and when they wear, the knuckle rides on the axle horn increasing the steering effort and causes squeaking when turning at low speeds.

AdmiralSavage

Alright, so far I have the tie rod ends, the tie rod sleeves,2 upper front control arms, 2 lower front control arms, 2 lower rear control arms, the upper rear control arm, pitman arm, steering damper in my cart. I will add the front track bar. All these parts are moog brand. Anything else I might be forgetting or might need?

dave1123

If I recall correctly, the tierod is just a straight hollow tube with threads inside and they get rusty. One end of mine started slipping and changing the toe-in, which started my whole replacement sequence. The drag link that connects the pitman arm to the right front wheel is a forging with adjustment sleeves and has a bend in it.. To adjust it's length, you loosen the clamp sleeve and rotate the sleeve with visegrips or whatever. The tierod is adjusted by loosening both end clamps and rotating the entire tube. I've been told, although I haven't check it out, that the tierod for the V8's is a heavier gauge tube, but uses the same ends. If you're planning to offroad, this might be worth looking into. I only found out about this after replacing mine with a normal one.

The thing that started my debacle with the tierod was glancing off a rock with the left front wheel, causing the end link to telescope into the tube. After readjusting the toe-in, it wouldn't stay set since the threads were stripped. By the way, this hit only scratched the aluminum wheel slightly! Didn't hurt the tire either.

AdmiralSavage

I should be fine then since all that stuff will be replaced. Once that's done then I'll do the lift.