Surprising Amount of Wear on Steering after 18 Months

[FreedomFur]

Build is a 2022 JLU Rubicon XR, 3.5” MetalCloak Game Changer (w. Rocksports), and 37” BFG K02s. It is weighed down by full belly steel skids, and steel front/rear bumpers. It has a ProRock 44 fully built front axle with 4.56 gearing (RCV shafts, Dynatrac rebuildable ball joints, etc.). It has also has a Rusty’s steel tie rod and drag link.

The lift kit went on at 2-3K miles with the K02s, then the ProRock 44 went on around 5K miles. I am now up to just over 29K miles 18 months later.

Went in for my inspection and got a few surprises.

1) The factory pitman arm is loose (nut is fully tightened), indicating that it has worn out prematurely.
2) The Dynatrac ball joints are shot already after about 25K miles (100 miles off road through moderate to hard terrain). The drivers side has more play front and back. The play is not in the fitting that were pressed into the knuckles, thank God, but now need to be rebuilt.
3) Tie rod end and the tie rod on the driver’s side are also shot. With the jam nut fully tightened, you can flex the tie rod where it threads into the end, indicating the threads are wearing out.

I am honestly really surprised by #2 and #3 above. I invested in quality components hoping they would last longer. Kicking myself for deciding to run 37s instead of 35s. Buying a house this summer, I haven’t been out off roading since the spring, and even then, it was maybe a total of 15 miles.

Reality check me here, should I anticipate that every 12-18 months, I am going to be dropping $800+ on a new tie rod, ball joint rebuild kit, and other steering parts running 37s? Again, maybe 100 moderate-hard, off roading miles (maybe 25% as true rock crawling) with 25K of commuting road miles.

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[word302]

Build is a 2022 JLU Rubicon XR, 3.5” MetalCloak Game Changer (w. Rocksports), and 37” BFG K02s. It is weighed down by full belly steel skids, and steel front/rear bumpers. It has a ProRock 44 fully built front axle with 4.56 gearing (RCV shafts, Dynatrac rebuildable ball joints, etc.). It has also has a Rusty’s steel tie rod and drag link.

The lift kit went on at 2-3K miles with the K02s, then the ProRock 44 went on around 5K miles. I am now up to just over 29K miles 18 months later.

Went in for my inspection and got a few surprises.

1) The factory pitman arm is loose (nut is fully tightened), indicating that it has worn out prematurely.
2) The Dynatrac ball joints are shot already after about 25K miles (100 miles off road through moderate to hard terrain). The drivers side has more play front and back. The play is not in the fitting that were pressed into the knuckles, thank God, but now need to be rebuilt.
3) Tie rod end and the tie rod on the driver’s side are also shot. With the jam nut fully tightened, you can flex the tie rod where it threads into the end, indicating the threads are wearing out.

I am honestly really surprised by #2 and #3 above. I invested in quality components hoping they would last longer. Kicking myself for deciding to run 37s instead of 35s. Buying a house this summer, I haven’t been out off roading since the spring, and even then, it was maybe a total of 15 miles.

Reality check me here, should I anticipate that every 12-18 months, I am going to be dropping $800+ on a new tie rod, ball joint rebuild kit, and other steering parts running 37s? Again, maybe 100 moderate-hard, off roading miles (maybe 25% as true rock crawling) with 25K of commuting road miles.

The ball joints should last longer, but it’s not unheard-of for them to need a rebuild after beating on them. The steering should absolutely last longer than that. The RK steering has serviceable joints in them that can be rebuilt cheap.

 

[FreedomFur]

Appreciate it!

 

[wibornz]

When traveling.... 6 to 8 months a year, we off road approximately 4 to 6 times a week. I needed to rebuild the Dynatrac ball joints after 70,000 miles. This is with thousands and thousands of off road miles and towing a camper. I run Steersmarts front steering components. After 65,000 miles, I needed new track bar bushings. No death wobble, but I could see that the rubber bussing had cracks in them. I went with the poly bushings when I changed them.

I would think that something is not installed right to see that much wear in that short of time. Heck I had 37s on my Jeep two days after picking it up from the dealer. I got about 40,000 miles out of the stock steering components.

 

[FreedomFur]

It seemed odd to happen this early, so here's hoping I don't have to do this maintenance every year.

 

[GATORB8]

1) The factory pitman arm is loose (nut is fully tightened), indicating that it has worn out prematurely.
2) The Dynatrac ball joints are shot already after about 25K miles (100 miles off road through moderate to hard terrain). The drivers side has more play front and back. The play is not in the fitting that were pressed into the knuckles, thank God, but now need to be rebuilt.
3) Tie rod end and the tie rod on the driver’s side are also shot. With the jam nut fully tightened, you can flex the tie rod where it threads into the end, indicating the threads are wearing out.

1. The pitman arm is loose on the sector shaft? (Not steering box play or mounting failure?)
2. What lube interval were you using?
3. Did you look at the threads? Although they exclude TRE's, I'd assume that really is in regard to the BJs, are they going to warranty it?

 

[word302]

I’m wondering if you ended up with the wrong length tie rod? There should be a minimum thread engagement spec. If the ends are adjusted out too far I could see this happening very early.

 

[FreedomFur]

1. The pitman arm is loose on the sector shaft? (Not steering box play or mounting failure?)
2. What lube interval were you using?
3. Did you look at the threads? Although they exclude TRE's, I'd assume that really is in regard to the BJs, are they going to warranty it?

Appreciate the thoughts.

1) Yes, it is loose on the sector shaft gear teeth. It isn't this steering box or mounting.

2) 100% on me, but I didn't know they needed greasing. The shop I had do the install only told me to grease the RCV shafts. No grease in the last 25K miles could be the issue. Curious what the interval should be.

3) Haven't pulled the threaded out, but I can feel the wobble. The old front axle took a hit in Jan. '22 with the passenger side tie rod end flexing. Wonder if the shop who inspected it missed this side which has since gotten worse. It is the correct size for a Rubicon axle. The flex is not at the joints of the tie rod ends but where it threads into the rod. Almost as if it was barely threaded in (which it isn't). Should Rusty's warranty this?

 

[GATORB8]

Appreciate the thoughts.

1) Yes, it is loose on the sector shaft gear teeth. It isn't this steering box or mounting.

2) 100% on me, but I didn't know they needed greasing. The shop I had do the install only told me to grease the RCV shafts. No grease in the last 25K miles could be the issue. Curious what the interval should be.

3) Haven't pulled the threaded out, but I can feel the wobble. The old front axle took a hit in Jan. '22 with the passenger side tie rod end flexing. Wonder if the shop who inspected it missed this side which has since gotten worse. It is the correct size for a Rubicon axle. The flex is not at the joints of the tie rod ends but where it threads into the rod. Almost as if it was barely threaded in (which it isn't). Should Rusty's warranty this?

I'd definitely ask Rusty's if they'll warranty, but maybe more important would be to see if they know what could have caused the premature wear.

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