DW experts... ASSEMBLE!

[Roky]

Have you had to rebuild yours yet? Just curious what kind of wear you’re getting out of them. My ‘21 is due for a fresh set.

I have not had to rebuild them yet, still nice and tight…. Only got 15K on them though…..

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[multicam]

First balance your tires if you have not.
Adjust drag link and check its joints? No movement?
Then maybe you need ball joints. Get teraflex and save your money.

I do plan on squaring away the tires as soon as I have time. But in the short term it appears the new track bar fixed or at least mitigated the problem.

Too late - I bought the expensive Dynatracs but I'm okay with the jeep being overbuilt since I plan on keeping it for many years. I also like the idea of rebuilding them rather than replacing them later.

 

[bkgray115]

I got 90k miles out of my ball joints in my 19 2dr rubi. Did you do the steering box recall? That got rid of my wondering wheel. if you have done a good bit of offroad then go ball joints. and check you tie rod ends thats next for mine. I alway use TeraFlex ball joints, you can't beat a joint you can tighten up after it gets worn down.

 

[multicam]

I got 90k miles out of my ball joints in my 19 2dr rubi. Did you do the steering box recall? That got rid of my wondering wheel. if you have done a good bit of offroad then go ball joints. and check you tie rod ends thats next for mine. I alway use TeraFlex ball joints, you can't beat a joint you can tighten up after it gets worn down.

I did do the steering box recall and it helped me too. Before that and before doing the Mopar LCAs the jeep wandered all over the place on the highway. It got much better after these fixes.

I'm going with the Dynatracs (already bought them) because even if my ball joints are still okay, I'm about to add larger tires and want this jeep to be rock solid. Over time I'll probably install a new tie rod and drag link too.

 

[AnnDee4444]

This has to be the most Ocean Blue JLRs present in one thread ever. There's 3 of us!

 

[roaniecowpony]

Thanks for the reply! I did exactly that, it took maybe 20 minutes total including two test drives and sure enough, the steering is perfect again! (well, perfect for a jeep. tracking straight and with a minimal dead spot).

I did actually purchase the Dynatracs. I'll install them in the next few weeks.

Be careful with the press when installing. The sleeve opposite the balljoint needs to have the angle of the knuckle yoke forging, so you don't force it in crooked (like someone posted).

 

[multicam]

Be careful with the press when installing. The sleeve opposite the balljoint needs to have the angle of the knuckle yoke forging, so you don't force it in crooked (like someone posted).

I'll definitely be careful to do it right!

With the giant caveat that I haven't yet studied instructions or watched videos to learn how to do this (which I intend on devoting significant time to before starting), I did decide to purchase this assuming it will make the install easier:

Will these help with what you're talking about? They were only $22 with shipping so I figured I might as well get them.

 

[multicam]

This has to be the most Ocean Blue JLRs present in one thread ever. There's 3 of us!

Yeah that's great! Lots of love for OB.

Just yesterday my friend and I were pulling into a Five Guys parking lot. There was a really clean, really nice OB JLUR parked near us and my friend was like "oh look - that jeep is just like yours. But that one's new." I said "no, it's not new... it's just clean." He's never seen my jeep that clean

 

[AnnDee4444]

It really is a cool color when it's clean, especially with the Rubicon red accents. I hope they bring it back so I can get some factory painted half doors.

I had a little bit of a pre-deathwobble shimmy starting at ~10,000 miles. Only got full deathwobble once. This was with Mopar LCAs, 2nd OEM damper (a recall), adjusted iron steering box... all OEM parts but not the original ones. I decided to try out the Metalcloak track bar brace, and the shimmy was completely eliminated.

Now at 36,000 I suspect my ball joints are starting to go, but the shimmy is still gone. There's a slightly concerning light thud noise if I go over a speed bump wrong...

 

[mwilk012]

Everyone is saying to adjust the drag link but you shouldn’t have to. The track bar should be set to the same length as the one you took off and shouldn’t affect the steering angle.

 

[Remorseless]

Everyone is saying to adjust the drag link but you shouldn’t have to. The track bar should be set to the same length as the one you took off and shouldn’t affect the steering angle.

Unless it was binding and not actually sitting at a relaxed position at right height. My stocker had a good amount of pressure release when I undid it the first time at ride height. Wouldn't be shocked if his suspension was sitting a bit different if someone or the factory had torqued it down not at ride height.

 

[multicam]

Everyone is saying to adjust the drag link but you shouldn’t have to. The track bar should be set to the same length as the one you took off and shouldn’t affect the steering angle.

I thought about that but adjusting the drag link ended up fixing the steering. I did try to match the track bars' lengths exactly, but there also may have been some inadvertent adjusting of the new one as I was installing it.

Unless it was binding and not actually sitting at a relaxed position at right height. My stocker had a good amount of pressure release when I undid it the first time at ride height. Wouldn't be shocked if his suspension was sitting a bit different if someone or the factory had torqued it down not at ride height.

This is what I noticed when I was taking the stock one off. There was some amount of stored tension as I took the bolts out and removed it. Since the pressure of the bolts was holding it in place, when I removed it I believe the axle moved slightly so that even if I perfectly measured the new one to match the old, there would be a difference once the new one was torqued down.

 

[blnewt]

Good thread, I'm just getting the onset of DW so will be getting a new track bar, and have planned to upgrade the Ball Joints around 50K (about 10k miles to go).

 

[mwilk012]

I thought about that but adjusting the drag link ended up fixing the steering. I did try to match the track bars' lengths exactly, but there also may have been some inadvertent adjusting of the new one as I was installing it.



This is what I noticed when I was taking the stock one off. There was some amount of stored tension as I took the bolts out and removed it. Since the pressure of the bolts was holding it in place, when I removed it I believe the axle moved slightly so that even if I perfectly measured the new one to match the old, there would be a difference once the new one was torqued down.

Of course adjusting the drag link would straighten the wheel, that is its only function. The overall effect here is that you shifted your axle to one side. It may be unnoticeable to the eye, or it could have been off center to begin with, but that is what happened.

 

[Wraif]

This has to be the most Ocean Blue JLRs present in one thread ever. There's 3 of us!

I’ll jump in here and make it 4. 2019 2-door Ocean Blue Rubicon w/manual. My question, not to hijack the thread but, I’m definitely out of warranty. I still have the aluminum steering box, would that recall still be something I can take advantage of when and if my steering gets any looser ? It really isn’t bad at all, or maybe I’m just used to it.

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