Steering/Suspension Advice

[Rooster92]

I have had my MJ for a few months now. It is the 4.0 straight 6 with 4WD. I have only done regular maintenance jobs on it, no major modifications or repairs. I am not very experienced working on vehicles but I have done minor jobs and helped friends over the years. 

 

Lately the steering has been off and will pull to the right when I brake hard. I suspected a warped rotor, but took it to a mechanic for an alignment and to inspect and to inspect the brakes. He said the brakes were fine but recommended I change the following parts:

 

upper control arms

lower control arm bushings

sway bar links

steering damper

track bar

 

So I was looking online to buy the parts but saw a large difference in price between sites. Rockauto.com had good prices, mostly from a manufacturer called MOOG. On the site 4WD.com the prices were much more expensive. All considered it was the difference between $350 and $850. I do not want to go cheap on parts, but I also do not want to spend hundreds of extra dollars if its not necessary. Are the MOOG parts worth it or will they go bad on me?

 

On another note, I read on here that anything more than a 2" lift will turn into a money pit. I do like the look of a lifted truck though, so I am thinking I want to do the 2". The tires are pretty large too and will rub against the well when I turn too tightly. I want to give them some extra room. Is now the time to do that since I am replacing these parts anyway? 

 

Any advice or recommendations are greatly appreciated!

 

 

[eaglescout526]

Moog parts aren’t bad. Good quality. MoPar parts are still around and I recommend at least getting the control arms from MoPar. I believe there’s still some MoPar tie rods and such still left. Hell might as well change out the ball joints too if your gonna do the whole front end. 

[JMO413]

I have had good luck with Moog. 

[Jeep Driver]

No Moog for me. 

 

Plenty of expensive lessons to be learned. 

[Smokeyyank]

Rockauto all the way, theyll have some of the best prices by far. Moog is fine, just stay away from the r series stuff. Crown also is decent depending. If you are going to lift it you could also do adjustable arms even though they aren't necessary cost difference isnt that huge and most have rebuildable joints. Also if you don't want to do anything crazy with a lift could just look at upcountry coils, spacers or ACOS. I put the ACOS in mine to balance the rake and I like it.  

[ghetdjc320]

Moog parts have worked great for me. Rock auto will often carry oem Mopar parts as well

[54bobby]

Does Lemforder make suspension parts for our MJ's?

[Pete M]

I would replace the lower arms with WJ arms instead of stock.  same length but they are built with a curve for tire clearance.    plus better bushing design and are a fully boxed arm.  Just need to cut the metal bushing flush with the rubber bushing.

 

 

[Rooster92]

8 hours ago, Pete M said:

I would replace the lower arms with WJ arms instead of stock.  same length but they are built with a curve for tire clearance.    plus better bushing design and are a bully boxed arm.  Just need to cut the metal bushing flush with the rubber bushing.

 

 

 

This is great. What do you use to cut the metal bushing?

[ghetdjc320]

Just grab an angle grinder

[omega_rugal]

19 minutes ago, ghetdjc320 said:

Just grab an angle grinder

 

and keep it cooled whilñe you grind, you don´t want the rubber to melt

[AZJeff]

On 3/10/2020 at 6:45 PM, Jeep Driver said:

No Moog for me. 

 

Plenty of expensive lessons to be learned. 

I never have heard of bad experiences with Moog, and always thought of them as a "Tier One" aftermarket supplier of suspension parts.  Please give us a summary of why you think Moog isn't so good.

[scguy]

Moog has definitely slipped in quality over the last few years. We install Mevotech TTX stuff when we can now.

[thecodemonk]

19 hours ago, ghetdjc320 said:

Just grab an angle grinder

 

Angle grinder and a flap disc to smooth it out.  Amusingly, this is not one of those "precision needed" pieces.  So long as you are ballpark, you'll make up the difference when you cinch down the bolt.  It'll squeeze the metal down to it.

[dasbulliwagen]

If youre getting a pull only when braking, one of your calipers is locked up and not working. The Brakes may look ok, but that's about the only thing that would cause that issue. You should replace both front calipers and brake hoses in that case.