WahooSteeler Posted October 28, 2019 Share Posted October 28, 2019 So my track bar fell off at the frame side, non-greaseable ball joint gave out. Fortunately I had picked up a heavy duty adjustable one a while back to upgrade with and/or if I went with more lift at some point. Anyhoo, I decided I may as well upgrade my tie rod and drag link to the beefier ZJ V8 and later Cherokee units while I was replacing the track bar. I also had picked up a ZJ sway bar for cheap a while back that I had not put on yet, so only made sense to do it all. I crawled under yesterday to begin the process and noticed that my sway bar and drag link looked pretty stout. Upon measuring, I already have a 28mm sway bar and the drag link measured out the same thickness as the DS1238 I got to upgrade to a stronger piece. My steering has some play in it but not bad overall IMO, and I suspect a lot of that had to do with the worn out track bar. The ball joints have been greased regularly on the drag link so should I save $50 and take back the replacement or just go ahead and replace the current one? I'm assuming the one on there now is not the OE unit because they were not this big on '88 models. I am only the 2nd owner so I guess the PO, who used it as his DD, replaced it at some point. I'm probably splitting hairs but was curious for opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted October 28, 2019 Share Posted October 28, 2019 28mm sway bar could be had and still can be I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WahooSteeler Posted October 28, 2019 Author Share Posted October 28, 2019 Interesting, had never seen anybody mention 28mm could be had "back in the day". My truck is a loaded out Laredo so not entirely surprised, particularly because it came with D44, tow pkg, heavy duty cooling, trans cooler etc. so somebody ordered it set up to tow and haul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WahooSteeler Posted October 28, 2019 Author Share Posted October 28, 2019 Crickets.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted October 28, 2019 Share Posted October 28, 2019 I’ll bite. I say if the sway bar is in bad shape like bent, warped or rusted then swap it. Otherwise it should last a life time unless you do a lift. The drag link should be replaced if there is excessive play in the joint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WahooSteeler Posted October 28, 2019 Author Share Posted October 28, 2019 LOL, thanks for indulging me........... sometimes I get caught up in saving a few bucks despite what truly makes sense because my MJ is only a weekend work truck and occasional DD when my son is home from college. Since I was left to ponder this on my own LOL (because it was a stupid question anyway) I thought it would be like putting 3 new tires on it but not a 4th just because it still has enough tread to pass inspection LOL. The piece of mind of replacing it all is worth it anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted October 28, 2019 Share Posted October 28, 2019 Lol no problem. Nothin like poking the old noggin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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