jeep-N-montero
Expedition Leader
I may actually have a few replacement bushings, do you need upper or lower?
Back in the saddle of a ZJ
- Thread starter stoneydude
- Start date
DarinM
Explorer
I bought my kit for my TJ from Wil at Sierra Expeditions (a forum sponsor). We talked about what my needs would be and he came in with a very fair price. Since then I've bought a few other things from them and they have always provided outstanding customer service. You might give them a call and see what they may recommend and can provide within your budget. I ended up spending a little less than I'd expected to for the lift so I had a bit more money to spend on other things. Good luck!
stoneydude
Observer
I need lowers and uppers for the axle side. I actually looked at sierra and all they have is the OME kit for $756+ shipping. I did the math and I can't spend more than $700 and be able to buy new tires and installation.
BlaZeJeep
New member
Are the bushings completely rotted/worn out? Is it affecting the handling...i.e. death wobble? The only reason I ask is you didn't mention any poor handling characteristics or issues on your initial posts, and it seems odd that all a sudden there are 3 out of 4 completely trashed. Mine don't look great with over 250,000 miles on my ZJ, but it still handles well and no death wobble with a F>R swap on 32's. At some point I may change the bushings or arms, but at this point, no harm no foul. My opinion the F>R swap is the cheapest way to lift your ZJ. BTW rockauto has new control arms with bushings for $23 each......
jeep-N-montero
Expedition Leader
Why not install it yourself? It really is that simple.
stoneydude
Observer
Sorry I meant tire installation. I plan on doing everything I can on this jeep and learning along the way.
stoneydude
Observer
It's been making noises while I drive and I was able to take it to a shop and the did a free inspection and gave me the opportunity to look it over on the rack. The front lower bushings are cracked through to the inner metal sleeve and the top ones are dried up and cracking. I might as well fix them now before I lift it and get death wobble right?
Well I did the math,
RC 3.5 lift-$380
IRO Double shear track bar-$190
BP elims-$60
New Moog upper bushings-$65
Total-$695
That's with shipping included. If I went with the IRO kit the total would be $702 and I'd have to replace all the control arm bushings and use the stock arms. So I'm still not sure which to get. The IRO has better shocks but stock arms, not to mention a lot of work changing all the bushings. The RC has crappy shocks but new arms that will save me time by only having to change the upper arm bushings.
I'm leaning towards the IRO kit because of the shocks and I'll save up for arms later down the road.
Well I did the math,
RC 3.5 lift-$380
IRO Double shear track bar-$190
BP elims-$60
New Moog upper bushings-$65
Total-$695
That's with shipping included. If I went with the IRO kit the total would be $702 and I'd have to replace all the control arm bushings and use the stock arms. So I'm still not sure which to get. The IRO has better shocks but stock arms, not to mention a lot of work changing all the bushings. The RC has crappy shocks but new arms that will save me time by only having to change the upper arm bushings.
I'm leaning towards the IRO kit because of the shocks and I'll save up for arms later down the road.
jeep-N-montero
Expedition Leader
Moog bushings are made cheaper than they used to be, Clevite makes a better bushing with more real rubber. I shredded a Moog bushing in one weekend last summer and have abused the Clevite on 2 trips to Moab with good results. Teraflex sells the Clevite ones on ebay or you can call them up, type in "Clevite TJ" on ebay to bring up the bushings. And yes, the TJ and ZJ use the same bushings. Make sure you have access to a press or bench vice to swap the bushings, they are a PITA. And I would stick with IRO for everything. If you had waited a month you could have just bought my old ZJ, it will be put up for sale soon and would have saved you time and money.
stoneydude
Observer
Aw man thanks for not telling me 2 weeks ago
stoneydude
Observer
Well the repairs keep on coming. I took the Heep in today to get a better idea on where the oil leak was coming from on the front of the engine. My first thought which might still be leaking is when the PO had the oil pan replaced they didn't seal it up all the way and it is leaking from the front main bearing. Today the mechanic I took it too also noticed the harmonic balancer has shifted about a .25" to .5" towards the block and is grinding down the timing chain cover and has made a hole. :Wow1: That scared the crap out of me, even more so when he told me it'll be close to $1000 to fix :Wow1:! I looked at his price sheet and the balancer is $150 new, and the timing chain cover is $324. I also asked him about installing the control arm bushings for me since I was unable to do it last weekend because I don't have all the tools or the ability to jack the Jeep high enough and he wanted $550 to do all 8 in the front. Well long story short I called around and Collins Brothers Jeep in Wylie, Tx (the place to go for hard to find Jeep parts) and they quoted me $400 to do the timing chain and balancer using used parts. I'll probably buy a new balancer so I don't run into this problem again. They also said they would do the bushings for $250. I guess I found my new go-to guys to get my Heep fixed. I'm starting to see the truth in the old adage, JEEP- Just Empty Every Pocket :beer:
jeep-N-montero
Expedition Leader
I have had 2 harmonic balancers come apart on me but luckily it only cost me a new belt and balancer, they were Autozone junk and will only buy new or good used OEM if it ever happens again. It may be a good time to buy a repair manual and start learning how to fix it yourself.
stoneydude
Observer
Ya I have a Haynes but my tool collection is limited to a few tools and I don't have much space to do work on my Jeep. While I'm comfortable doing most things like bolt on stuff and suspension but I don't want to mess up the engine on my DD. It's also 29 freakin degrees here in Dallas and wouldn't be very comfortable working outside.
stoneydude
Observer
I just got the Heep back from the shop In total I spent $1025.00 which was way more than I thought but I also got every issue that I know about fixed. New CA bushings, new balancer, timing cover, timing set, and the oil pan gasket replaced. I have to take it back in on Monday because something is making this rotational squeaking noise and I'm assuming it the balancer or something else which bums me out. All that's left now is new tires and an alignment and then I'm tapped out of money for a while
jeep-N-montero
Expedition Leader
Eek, that sucks man, gives you incentive to learn to do it yourself. That was only about $200-250 in parts.
stoneydude
Observer
Yup it was. With almost 226k on the clock I'll be saving for a new engine some point in the future. I'll probably buy it before I need it so I can work on it outside of the jeep and get it built up the way I want. Next week... TIRES! Yay finally something I want instead of something I need :wings: