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Raacerx
08-29-2004, 06:12 PM
The only reason I ask this question is that I was not under the impression anyone else with a ZJ and a Ford HP44 had or needed adjustable balljoints. However, with my HP44, it really seems neccessary. My camber is way off and the wheels point in, like this \--/ The balljoints are brand new Spicer, I cant get them to wiggle or move, they seem very solid. Correct sequence and torque on them. To be honest it doesnt handle bad and I dont have death wobble or anything, but Im sure its going to wreak havoc on my tires and the balljoints. Is this because of my caster? My balljoints are almost vertical, maybe back like 1-3 degrees but thats where I put my brackets and thats where the pinion angle is sweet.

Another thing is when I jack up one wheel at a time on the front and then let them down, it helps a little bit but I still dont see the BJs moving; only the tires. My toe is in a little bit also. The only other thing I could thing of is that Im running Chevy knuckles... Unfortunetly I cant find any pictures of the wheels being off camber.

Thanks.

http://www.fototime.com/{425FA78B-B6F0-456C-883D-D253F68236D1}/picture.JPG

EDIT: I just noticed that the outer stub shaft is slightly angled downward compared to the inner shaft.

Alaska ZJ
08-29-2004, 08:08 PM
You need to rotate your pinion DOWN about 3-5 degree's.......shorten your upper arms and leangthen you lowers and tell us how she looks and drives.

Raacerx
08-29-2004, 09:13 PM
You need to rotate your pinion DOWN about 3-5 degree's.......shorten your upper arms and leangthen you lowers and tell us how she looks and drives.

So should I not worry about pinion angle? I mean its a 231 and Im locked up front so I aint ever driving the thing in 4WD over 5 or 10mph, so should caster take precidence? I mean it drives ok. The other thing is then Im afraid my springs would start to bow. I sorta welded the brackets to the perfect pinion angle, not the perfect caster angle.

luvthejeep
08-29-2004, 09:30 PM
caster is important if you drive at all on the road, thats what allows the wheels to recenter properly along with the toe- 2wd or 4wd- adjust the caster to the apropreate setting, if the camber is still off- you neet to get adjustable sleeve inserts - those will offset the upper joints to the correct camber- on my setup it looked like i had huge amounts of camber- it ended up being my toe was off by alot- the tires still have a bit of positve camber but not so much to worry about

Raacerx
08-29-2004, 11:11 PM
caster is important if you drive at all on the road, thats what allows the wheels to recenter properly along with the toe- 2wd or 4wd- adjust the caster to the apropreate setting, if the camber is still off- you neet to get adjustable sleeve inserts - those will offset the upper joints to the correct camber- on my setup it looked like i had huge amounts of camber- it ended up being my toe was off by alot- the tires still have a bit of positve camber but not so much to worry about

Well to be honest, Ive been driving the ZJ on the highway for the last week and its fine. Room for improvement perfectly safe. I didnt have time to try to fix the caster but I put the toe out more.

Now comes the weird part. I was jacking up the pinion to get the pressure off the bushings to fuck with the caster, so I locked my hubs so that it wouldnt easily move. Anyways, I forgot and left them locked and then took it for a spin after I also adjusted the toe some more. All I know is, I was blown away. Down uneven and bumpy highway 1, the ZJ just cruised with 1 finger, no correction at all, beautiful. Better then most stock ZJs ive driven. However then I remembered that I had the hubs locked so I pulled over and unlocked them and I SWEAR it wasnt as stable and straight. Is there anything that could that? I dont have a front driveshaft. Am I hallucinating again? Its been known to happen...

ALSO! My front gears are new and have not been broken in. So like...how do I break them in with Partime 4WD? Can I lock my hubs and drive arounjd in 2WD and will that break them in? Do I still need to pull over every 45 minutes or so to let them cool? I also ask this because if the ZJ does feel better with the hubs locked, I want to leave it like that.

AprilzWarrior
08-30-2004, 11:41 AM
ALSO! My front gears are new and have not been broken in. So like...how do I break them in with Partime 4WD? Can I lock my hubs and drive arounjd in 2WD and will that break them in? Do I still need to pull over every 45 minutes or so to let them cool? I also ask this because if the ZJ does feel better with the hubs locked, I want to leave it like that.


:roll:

Alaska ZJ
08-30-2004, 12:13 PM
If the tires wear good and the thing rides to your liking....Leave it alone.

As for breaking in the front gears....locking the hubs is better than nothing, but there still is no load placed on them.

Put a driveline in and go wheel is about the only way to break in a front set.

Trancezj
08-30-2004, 12:14 PM
I broke mine in by putting it in 4x4 and leaving the hubs out. Prolly throws an ass ton of grease outtta the hubs. You can also go on a few drives down a gravel rd. I wouldn't run over 45 or so with it in 4x4. You will won't have any grease left.