Tonedef131 Posted December 18, 2007 Posted December 18, 2007 I have thursday off of work so tomorrow night I am going to take apart the front end of my Jeep. I need to replace the driver side ball joints and front axle u-joints. I am also going to do the wheel bearings while I am at it since they are getting louder all the time. Autozone stocks either the whole hub assembly or just the cup and cone. If I have access to a press is there any reason I can't just replace the cup and cone and avoid the cost of replacing the hub? will I need anything else?
JeepcoMJ Posted December 18, 2007 Posted December 18, 2007 well you'll probably need to take apart the wheel bearings first to figure out if they can be saved.
Tonedef131 Posted December 18, 2007 Author Posted December 18, 2007 Well I will be replacing the wheel bearing cup and cone so I don't need to reuse it. But I have only heard of people replacing the whole hub, so I didn't know if it was more trouble than it was worth. Also, will I need a cup and cone for the inner and outer hubs or does each hub only take one cup and cone? Is there a hub seal? I have never taken any of this appart on my jeep and want to be sure I have everything I need before I start.
JeepcoMJ Posted December 18, 2007 Posted December 18, 2007 reason you need to take it apart is that it actually has a bearing race. frankly, I'm surprised that someones offering a bearing kit for them...it's really not something I'd risk rebuilding
Tonedef131 Posted December 18, 2007 Author Posted December 18, 2007 Well I will take it appart and look at it, but they have the whole hub assembly for $70 in stock. So if worst come to worst...
JeepcoMJ Posted December 18, 2007 Posted December 18, 2007 Well I will take it appart and look at it, but they have the whole hub assembly for $70 in stock. So if worst come to worst... check the brand on that and make sure it's backed by warranty...if $70 is the worst you can do, you're either lucky, or the part is cheapo
Tonedef131 Posted December 18, 2007 Author Posted December 18, 2007 It's got a 3 month warrenty, but the only other ones I have seen are twice the cost. Hopefully I will be able to just put the new bearings in though.
CWLONGSHOT Posted December 18, 2007 Posted December 18, 2007 I have herd that some people have done this...but I cannot imagion is a easy chore... For the time and trouble I just swapped out the entire unit bearing assembly. What jeepco means is there is a cheap chinese unit bearing out there thats in the price range your looking at. The consensus is spotty at best. There is another choice, its made by TRW unit bearing that will run you almost twice the $70 figure. Is it worth it?... Its your money, you take the gamble. I have used both. But there is an old antage that generally holds true... Pay now or pay later, either way its gonna cost ya. CW
Tonedef131 Posted December 18, 2007 Author Posted December 18, 2007 The timkin ones are $140 each, and special order. I guess I didn't realise they were a sealed bearing going into this, but it is probobly worth it so I never have to mess with it again. They do have some in stock at Napa for $125 each.
carnuck Posted December 18, 2007 Posted December 18, 2007 Word of warning! The replacement bearing is for the 2wd rigs only! The hub can only be disassembled with a press.
JeepcoMJ Posted December 18, 2007 Posted December 18, 2007 Word of warning! The replacement bearing is for the 2wd rigs only! The hub can only be disassembled with a press. ah, yes. in 87 the 2wd's went to a spindle type bearing. 86 had a hub just like the 4wd
Tonedef131 Posted December 18, 2007 Author Posted December 18, 2007 Okay, let me get this straight. I have a press, can I just replace the bearings in a 4WD model or do I have to buy the whole hub?
Eagle Posted December 19, 2007 Posted December 19, 2007 Well I will be replacing the wheel bearing cup and cone so I don't need to reuse it. But I have only heard of people replacing the whole hub, so I didn't know if it was more trouble than it was worth. Also, will I need a cup and cone for the inner and outer hubs or does each hub only take one cup and cone? Is there a hub seal? I have never taken any of this appart on my jeep and want to be sure I have everything I need before I start. MUCH more trouble than it's worth. You do need to replace both the inner and outer bearings. By the time you buy both bearings and the seals necessary to do the job, you're about 50 cents short of buying a complete hub assembly. If you have an 87 -89 you can rebuild the hubs -- if you're the masochistic type. The hubs changed in 90 (I think -- might have been 91). The newer style is NOT rebuildable, and does NOT interchange with the preceding style.
dragonrider477 Posted December 19, 2007 Posted December 19, 2007 4x4 is a hub assembly only.it is not repairable.also,don't use the cheap ball joints. they have too much friction when you turn so your steering will be "sticky" which will cause a lot of road wander.use the napa premium or moog premium.these quality aftermarket ones are at least as good as original or better.also,make sure you use a torque wrench to tighten the hub nut.(180 ft lbs i think).the wrong tightness on the hub nut will seriously shorten hub life.one other thing...when you go to put the axle back in,roll up some sheets of printer paper(kinda like a tube) and insert into the axle tube. this will keep all the crud thats been laying in there for years from being dragged in to the seal area at the diff end by the splined end of the axle.the last thing you want is to have to change that inner seal.no fun!!! btw,if you can't get the paper out don't fret.leave it in there.i've used this trick dozens of times and have had no problems.
Tonedef131 Posted December 19, 2007 Author Posted December 19, 2007 Well thanks for all the info everyone. I am definitely going to buy the hub assy, partly because no one in town has the seals for the hub in stock. So I am going to grab the $125 hubs from Napa. As for the ball joints I just got the ones that autozone had in stock, but they were pretty cheap. It looks like Napa also has cheap ones or ones for like $50 each. Perhaps if they have those I will pick them up, since I certainly don't want to ever replace those again. My torque wrench only goes up to 150 lb/ft though...
Tonedef131 Posted December 19, 2007 Author Posted December 19, 2007 Well I am just going to go all out and do this properly. With the Napa premium ball joints and greasable u joints this will cost over $400, but that beats ever having to do it again.
Eagle Posted December 19, 2007 Posted December 19, 2007 Greasable u-joints? For the axle shafts? Don't bother. There isn't enough room for the Zerk fittings, so if you get the greasable ones you'll grease them once, then remove the fittings and reinstall the plugs to put them into the vehicle. To me it makes more sense to get the pre-lubed ones and be done with it.
JeepcoMJ Posted December 19, 2007 Posted December 19, 2007 Greasable u-joints? For the axle shafts? Don't bother. There isn't enough room for the Zerk fittings, so if you get the greasable ones you'll grease them once, then remove the fittings and reinstall the plugs to put them into the vehicle. To me it makes more sense to get the pre-lubed ones and be done with it. are you kidding? I run greasable EVERYTHING. you can leave the zerk fittings in there and they work just fine...it's the way I've run my trucks for years and haven't seen an ounce of damage. remember, greasable can give you more years of use, it's your decision how long they last, depending on the upkeep you're willing to do
Tonedef131 Posted December 19, 2007 Author Posted December 19, 2007 I really like the idea of a greasable u-joint, I don't see why you couldn't get to it. Especially since I plan to be taking it on more trails in the near future.
JeepcoMJ Posted December 19, 2007 Posted December 19, 2007 I really like the idea of a greasable u-joint, I don't see why you couldn't get to it. Especially since I plan to be taking it on more trails in the near future. to grease it you almost have to have it up on jackstands and turn the wheel. BUT if that's the worse you can do for an extra 20,000 miles, it's worth it
Eagle Posted December 20, 2007 Posted December 20, 2007 to grease it you almost have to have it up on jackstands and turn the wheel. BUT if that's the worse you can do for an extra 20,000 miles, it's worth it You mean if my factory u-joints had been greasable they would have lasted 280,000 miles instead of crapping out at a measly 260,000? Dayyum, I sure wish I'd a knowed that.
JeepcoMJ Posted December 20, 2007 Posted December 20, 2007 to grease it you almost have to have it up on jackstands and turn the wheel. BUT if that's the worse you can do for an extra 20,000 miles, it's worth it You mean if my factory u-joints had been greasable they would have lasted 280,000 miles instead of crapping out at a measly 260,000? Dayyum, I sure wish I'd a knowed that. 95% of people don't have ujoints last that long. my last ones only lasted 40,000 and it's because I didn't grease them regularly. and I buy expensive ujoints too it's all in what the vehicle is used for. if it's offroaded alot, replacements are common (due to breakage or getting dirty inside). street use may last that long. did you have the vehicle all it's life? did you offroad much? maybe you baby your vehicle more than an average person (i.e. clean meticulously)? it's just obvious that greasable is better, if there are any chances of it failing, you can grease it and save time by not having to tear it apart. and, as I pointed out, you do not have to remove the zerk fittings.
comancheon33 Posted December 20, 2007 Posted December 20, 2007 Mine are greasable in my 91 and will be in my 88. I do oil changes on my hoist and use a long needle greaser to make it easier on myself. Plus my 91 mostly gets wheeled only, so after a long weekend of wheelin I like being able push any possible crap out of the joints. Just my thoughts.
Eagle Posted December 20, 2007 Posted December 20, 2007 did you have the vehicle all it's life? did you offroad much? I bought it new in January of 1988. I don't wheel it every weekend, and once I started wheeling the MJ the XJ sort of got retired to primarily street use, but in its day it has seen multiple trails in CT (yeah, right -- all two of them), most of Paragon except for the real hard-core stuff, Old Florida road and nearby trails in MA, and a now-closed trail in RI a few times. Plus some back-country sightseeing in northern New Mexico. So it hasn't been just a pavement pounder. But I don't abuse it. I do not regard breaking something as evidence of a good day wheeling, I regard it as proof that I screwed up.
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