Rear Ball Joint Movement

[LibertyTC]

Was at the stealership having mobil1 and K&N installed ($109) CAN and after the work/inspection, was stated that the REAR ball joint had some movement and should be replaced. :^o
WTF ?? There is no noise/clunking should there not be some play from the ball joint? Was there a recall for 04 rear? They quoted about $300 parts and labour to replace it. If by chance it does need replacement, can someone recommend a quality after market one, that does not wear out at 30k miles?
-Thanks. Tim

 

[Marlon_JB2]

Never heard of a REAR ball joint having issues or a recall...

 

[JeepJeepster]

Tony replaced his and had a nice little write-up, should be around here somewhere. $300 seems about right for parts and labor.

I took mine out at around 20k and filled the little boot full of grease. Should be good to go for awhile.

You can crawl under the back of the Jeep and check it yourself. There may not be much play in it yet which is why you dont hear anything.

 

[KJ04]

Here's the link:http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33954

 

[Powerslave]

Link somehow didn't work, fixed it.

And on mine the balljoint itself wasn't broken, the rubber that holds the bj in place inside the metall housing was all dried out.

The rubber just keeps in the grease, and protects the ball-joint. I really hope you didn't think that the rubber holds the actual ball joint in place...

 

[JeepJeepster]

Hes talking about the rubber bushings that surrounds the joint, not the rubber boot over the joint.

He is correct.

 

[LibertyTC]

Time to get under and check it myself!

Thanks for all your help. First off I am going to get under and check to see how much movement is in there. Secondly I appreciate the linkidea.gif, sounds like it is going to eventually need replacement. Might as well do the rear shocks too.
Better get back to work and start saving for some more Jeep parts!!
I think I kicked the back end a bit going into a winter ditch, slid it sideways good, hit a log and had to rock it out. Sometimes it is tough, other times things break.sad2.gif
Tim.

 

[Dave]

Every time I do an oil change I am under the jeep anyway so I spray everything that moves under there. Havn't had any noise out of mine yet. Try it and see if it works for you.

Dave

 

[Murray]

Mine went at around 45 ks. . i pull on to the hiway and gave it the gas to pass another vehicle and it felt like i was sliding on ice (it was summer time) and when i pulled back in it went snaky again. It did it again and took it to the dealer and they replaced the bushings ,control arms and the balljoint in the rear . The covered it under a recall.

 

[tjkj2002]

Mine went at around 45 ks. . i pull on to the hiway and gave it the gas to pass another vehicle and it felt like i was sliding on ice (it was summer time) and when i pulled back in it went snaky again. It did it again and took it to the dealer and they replaced the bushings ,control arms and the balljoint in the rear . The covered it under a recall.

There's no recall on the rear tri-link balljoint.

 

[Murray]

There's no recall on the rear tri-link balljoint.

Well thats what they said but i don't care what they called it , i got it fixed and cost me nothing.

 

[LibertyTC]

Mine went at around 45 ks. . i pull on to the hiway and gave it the gas to pass another vehicle and it felt like i was sliding on ice (it was summer time) and when i pulled back in it went snaky again. It did it again and took it to the dealer and they replaced the bushings ,control arms and the balljoint in the rear . The covered it under a recall.

I have noticed lately, even though the front has been inspected by the stealership, that when I step on the gas at highway speed, the front seems to move right slightly as in "torquing to the right"
Would that be the rear joint acting up or balljoints/bushings in the front? I wonder if the newer models have the same design issues? Going 100 in my kj can feel a little dangerous around bends, wondering if it will recover on dry roads etc. Just a weird feeling after driving a full size car, that does not have the heavy top side, twitchy steering, and joint issues.

Are there after market ball joints and urethane bushings available for the 04 KJ that I can put in the front and rear? Am I stuck using the OEM parts? Only makes sense to replace parts when they need it, with stronger parts if available.
Really want to make the front and rear as tight as possible, without the use of the OEM parts.
I completed an alignment (was only slightly out) and have new Good Year Wrangler Silent Armor's that made tracking better, but we are not quite there yet.