What parts do I order?

Joffy

New Member
Joined
Jan 11, 2023
Messages
2
Location
Costa Rica
I have a 1995 wrangler. The alignment is out. The place that does alignments said I need new ball joints and pointed at maybe the control arms. Said I need to order the parts and the bring them in so they can do the work. A regular mechanic can order parts but they don’t seem to know anything about suspensions or steering…. So I’m hoping someone can tell me the exact parts I need so I can instruct the mechanic on what to order.

It’s all rather backwards but I’m giving it a shot. Any help is welcome.

Thank so much!

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A few things. You do not have control arms, you have a leaf spring suspension. If you want it to handle better, ditch those long leaf spring shackles and get some stock ones instead.

Ball joints don’t affect alignment. If they’re bad, replacing them is the way to go, but new ball joints would return the alignment back to how it’s supposed to be if the bad ball joints were what caused the alignment to go bad in the first place.

The only other adjustment to make would be the toe-in angle on the tires. As long as the toe-in is in the right range then it should be fine. An alignment report will tell you that. Those wheels you have that stick way out increase the scrub radius which means you need to add some extra toe-in to prevent toe-ing out from dynamic road forces like braking and driving.

What actual issue are you having with how it handles?
 
Thank uou
A few things. You do not have control arms, you have a leaf spring suspension. If you want it to handle better, ditch those long leaf spring shackles and get some stock ones instead.

Ball joints don’t affect alignment. If they’re bad, replacing them is the way to go, but new ball joints would return the alignment back to how it’s supposed to be if the bad ball joints were what caused the alignment to go bad in the first place.

The only other adjustment to make would be the toe-in angle on the tires. As long as the toe-in is in the right range then it should be fine. An alignment report will tell you that. Those wheels you have that stick way out increase the scrub radius which means you need to add some extra toe-in to prevent toe-ing out from dynamic road forces like braking and driving.

What actual issue are you having with how it handles?
A few things. You do not have control arms, you have a leaf spring suspension. If you want it to handle better, ditch those long leaf spring shackles and get some stock ones instead.

Ball joints don’t affect alignment. If they’re bad, replacing them is the way to go, but new ball joints would return the alignment back to how it’s supposed to be if the bad ball joints were what caused the alignment to go bad in the first place.

The only other adjustment to make would be the toe-in angle on the tires. As long as the toe-in is in the right range then it should be fine. An alignment report will tell you that. Those wheels you have that stick way out increase the scrub radius which means you need to add some extra toe-in to prevent toe-ing out from dynamic road forces like braking and driving.

What actual issue are you having with how it handles?
Thanks for your reply! It needed to be certified (done here every year). The alignment was fine. Then, it went to a mechanic who changed the break pads. When it returned (certified) the alignment is out. The steering wheel needs to be turned about 20 degrees to for the jeep to go straight. I took it to a place that does tires and alignments today. They said they cannot fix it as it is stuck the way it is. With the help of google translate I understood from them it needs new ball joints and (forgive me for not knowing the name of the parts) the 2 cross bars that look to hold the joints in place. In the short term. I’m just hoping to get the alignment corrected. So it can be driven. Thanks so much!
 
Thank uou


Thanks for your reply! It needed to be certified (done here every year). The alignment was fine. Then, it went to a mechanic who changed the break pads. When it returned (certified) the alignment is out. The steering wheel needs to be turned about 20 degrees to for the jeep to go straight. I took it to a place that does tires and alignments today. They said they cannot fix it as it is stuck the way it is. With the help of google translate I understood from them it needs new ball joints and (forgive me for not knowing the name of the parts) the 2 cross bars that look to hold the joints in place. In the short term. I’m just hoping to get the alignment corrected. So it can be driven. Thanks so much!
If the steering wheel is crooked when the wheels are straight, then the drag link needs to be adjusted. That can be done with a pipe wrench. Watch some YouTube videos, easy to do. It’s just the process of centering the steering wheel.

I don’t know why that would be bad after the shop that did the brakes did so. Brakes have nothing to do with that issue…..

As for ball joints, it doesn’t hurt to replace them and I’d highly recommend you go with the factory Spicer 706944X kit (2 of them). I don’t think they’re going to help the issue at all though. Ball joints barely affect alignment. The alignment issue with the steering wheel is as I stated, the drag link needing adjustment.