[Papakava]

So.. I am readying my XK for doing what will probably be a 25 mile trip, 3-5x's/week on rough, mountain forest service roads. This will continue through the winter..

A steel winch bumper is coming to boot, so I'm doing OME for springs/shocks/struts, and JBA for the UCA's. At this point, I figured... it is fully apart, why not go batty? (And since it has over 150K and everything is original) to replace anything that has bushings, front and back, with HD versions of the parts. (UCA and LCA on the rear, linkages, tie rod ends, bumpers, mounts, and spring seats, etc)

The problem I am finding, I hear about this clevis bolt, and the issue where attempting removal screwed up the clevis, etc. And, the parts do not seem to come with the bolts.

While I found most parts,, some bolts seem elusive. You think I should find and get new bolts before starting? If I run into an issue, are there bolts that can placehold from the local Auto Zone until the real deal arrives? And, of course, do you think doing the whole damn suspension is worth it?

The only things I plan on not replacing is the sway bars, as I can't find more heavy duty ones anywhere. I heard of swaybar disconnects that work with the XK - (I recall a "2001" part number... #neverforget) DOH! ;-)
Would these be recommended instead of a normal end linkage for it, for those in the know?

My only concern is, getting it up, taking it apart, and regretting not having a bolt, or nor being able to extract one, and that might cause it to stay immobile longer than I can have it sit.

So, I was also considering taking the parts and project to the local wheel shop (as I am getting tires there) and pay them to do the lift/rebuild so the problems are out of my hands, and I just eat the hourly fees

Thanks, cheers mates!
Your thoughts are much appreciated.

Warm regards,
Drewkowski

 

[dar124]

It never hurts to have all the parts in hand prior to starting the job. I spent a few days driving around looking for and attempting to pull parts that I needed (a few of which I didnt realize I needed until we got into it). The clevis bolts were available from Jeep, which I needed because one of mine was seized and broke. I had to cut it off and replace the bushing in the lower control arm.

My post below shows that a "simple" job of a few hours can take a week to complete!! But it's definitely all doable.

Shocks for Stock Commander

Reading back thru that post kind of makes me think I should have taken it somewhere to have the work done. But I'm glad that we worked on it and got it done. It took a lot longer, but I'm sure it saved me a bunch of money!!

 

[Papakava]

I am almost sure that when I have everything in hand, I'll take it in to a guy I have been going to for tire and wheel work since 2009, before I even moved into the area. But... I am going to have to do something myself. Maybe you can tell me if this is worth the trouble:
The LCAs are original, at over 150K, so they have to be dealt with. Frankly, and here is my bias, I think Moog is ****. They got their reputation when you got rid of a car at 100K miles, and have outsourced on top of that. *see below for my anti-Moog story/experience.

So, I was going to do a "tweener," not a $150 LCA, and not a $900LCA either. I came across Proforged, and read good things, and they run about $250-275 each. But...

If I take the existing ones off, steel-brush the **** out of them and refresh them with a POR15 treatment, then outfit them with the bushings from Jeeperf, I think I might be much better off in terms of the ride.

I figure the steel will stay put, and the bushings and joints are the more important part, and even the used steel from the ome part would be better than a typical Moog or Mevotech if all the joints were fresh as.

I was wondering about a good aftermarket ball joint for the LCA if going that route would be the better thing to do. But that's where I'd have to do it myself, because JJ at the shop is NOT going to take a couple days with the LCAs off to refurbish them.

I managed to get my hands on some Lemförder tie-rod end, but they don't seem to make the lca ball joint itself. I'm wishing I could go with that option as an "otc" brand, but it doesn't look like it.

Any thoughts on the rebuild vs. getting a total LCA assembly? It is going to cost me about $50 more per lca to redo them with the premium kicks.

Thanks for the good thoughts. Cheers!
Drewkowski

***My **** Moog story:

This was a couple/few years ago already, but - I had a friend buy 2 "Moog" ball joints at the auto parts store, one was a legit Moog, one had another company stamped on it, which I forget, but it was a bright-silvery plate that was sealed/ungreasable, and it had a plastic-lined nut for a lock instead of the star-crown nut. The steel was clearly shittier, although it was thicker at the base. You could easily tell by both the finish and the weight that the metal, and the product, was inferior in every respect.
He took it back, thinking someone swapped boxes, but nope. Turns out some other ball joints in their Moog boxes were the same Chinese ones with a generic/dorky name.
The store guy called his distributor, (because it even freaked him out a bit) who then called Moog. All those were in the most recent shipment. They basically said, "yep, we are buying from a shitty manufacturer and repacking it as our "Problem Solver" because it meets the same specs. Blah blah did research to see what companies bet fit our exacting standards (to make as much money as possible) and found that it is good, and it has the same warrantee, so go butt a stump. If you want to be sure you are getting something we actually manufactured, you are **** out of luck."
It was CLEARLY an inferior product, and a monkey could tell you.

Seeing that kind of scheisty behavior by their new owners, I have zero faith in their integrity, and I will avoid giving them business if at all possible.

So, that's my soapbox for the day. I hope it sheds a bit of light, though I'm thinking this forum is probably quite familiar with the situation already.

Cheers
AP