experienced wheelers.. what have you found to be the weakest link in the jku?

RoadRageJKU

RoadRageJKU

New member
i have a 2012 sport.. 3in lift and 35's.. ive been out a few times and so far i am really impressed with how she does work on the trails.. i want to start strengthening the weak spots and would like to know what you guys/gals with more trail time think is the best place to start or most important..

this is my daily driver but that wont change how i drive it... all my toys are daily drivers.. i am building a trail rig not needing a hard core rock crawler.

thank you for any help or guidance you can give..


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wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Steering stabilizer and tie-rod. Play on any rocks and you will trash your steering stabilizer almost from the get go and most likely at the same time as you bend your tie-rod. The good news is that you don't really need a steering stabilizer (although it's nice to have) and a bent tie-rod will give you a bit more clearance that you didn't have before ;)

Resetting your toe-in after the fact is pretty easy and you can straighten out your tie-rod with a cheap harbor freight shop press. After market stabilizers like a Rancho 5000 is cheap and really, all you need. The factory stabilizer is good too. I would stay away from expensive gas charged stabilizers as they will cause your Jeep to pull on the highway and really, are totally unnecessary.
 
RoadRageJKU

RoadRageJKU

New member
wayoflife said:
Steering stabilizer and tie-rod. Play on any rocks and you will trash your steering stabilizer almost from the get go and most likely at the same time as you bend your tie-rod. The good news is that you don't really need a steering stabilizer (although it's nice to have) and a bent tie-rod will give you a bit more clearance that you didn't have before ;)

Resetting your toe-in after the fact is pretty easy and you can straighten out your tie-rod with a cheap harbor freight shop press. After market stabilizers like a Rancho 5000 is cheap and really, all you need. The factory stabilizer is good too. I would stay away from expensive gas charged stabilizers as they will cause your Jeep to pull on the highway and really, are totally unnecessary.
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i have a Fox stabilizer as charged now.. lol.. guess i should have asked first.. but she runs nice and straight down the highway
 
RoadRageJKU

RoadRageJKU

New member
wayoflife said:
Okay. If you have it in the stock location, you will have a smashed Fox stabilizer. :crazyeyes:
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i edited my post a little..the brackets seem to have brought it up a little from stock location.. but i will be mindful of its location and watch out for it
thanks.
 
RoadRageJKU

RoadRageJKU

New member
OverlanderJK said:
I couldn't imagine buying a $200 plus steering stabilizer with as many factory ones as I've trashed. That would get expensive quick!
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i bought the lift and all the parts from a buddy who decided not to use it.. paid less than half of retail.. if anything happens to the stabilizer, it will get a much cheaper one trust me lol
 
TheStick

TheStick

Member
wayoflife said:
Steering stabilizer and tie-rod. Play on any rocks and you will trash your steering stabilizer almost from the get go and most likely at the same time as you bend your tie-rod. The good news is that you don't really need a steering stabilizer (although it's nice to have) and a bent tie-rod will give you a bit more clearance that you didn't have before ;)
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Wait. What?!? :crazyeyes:

I'll just add rock rails. I've gotten by with stock Rubi rails so far, but a good set of Evo rails is on the top of my list.
 
OJK12

OJK12

New member
I've noticed that my stock muffler seems to bend while on the rocks 😁😂. Dang stock parts!! I think a lot of the stock parts are actually pretty good but I did put 'C' gussets on my front axles and I have managed to bend a rear axle flange on my old jeep but otherwise the stock parts so far have been good to me, not saying I won't break them though.
 
RoadRageJKU

RoadRageJKU

New member
Buster3479 said:
I'm the weakest link. My Jeep will handle plenty of things that I look at and go, "not today".
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i know how this feels for sure..lol "luckily" i have a friend who honestly doesnt give a F about anything and he has already pushed me further than i thought i would ever go..
 
Mikead40

Mikead40

New member
RoadRageJKU said:
i have a 2012 sport.. 3in lift and 35's.. ive been out a few times and so far i am really impressed with how she does work on the trails.. i want to start strengthening the weak spots and would like to know what you guys/gals with more trail time think is the best place to start or most important..

this is my daily driver but that wont change how i drive it... all my toys are daily drivers.. i am building a trail rig not needing a hard core rock crawler.

thank you for any help or guidance you can give..
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Things I've broke and seen other people break as well...

I know its been said, but I smashed my steering stabilizer. Like day 1 offroading with it. I compounded that by wasting money on a Fox ATS stabilizer :doh:

The rear axle flange seems prone to bending which causes a cricket-like chirp and a little wheel wobble.

My sector shaft broke the first time out with 37s. No problems since my JKS brace has been installed. However, most people will tell you that the braces are a waste of money, but my experience has been that it's worked well.

If you don't do something to add some space between the exhaust crossover and front drive shaft you will likely have some issues...I literally melted through my front drive shaft. Spacers are an easy fix, but aFe has a whole new Y-Piece that works even better but is much more expensive.

I've had a lot of problems with my rear factory locker - as have a few people I've run into, but being that you have a sport that's not an issue for you...

The factory ball joints will usually wear out pretty fast with larger than stock tires.

There's been a few other things that I've run into but I haven't seen other people have to deal with. All of the above, I know of at least 2-3 people I wheel with who've had similar issues. You think we'd learn from each other...:crazyeyes:

Things I've been running stock for some time without issues (which are things I've seen a lot of people spend money on)... track bars, skid plates, drag link, and no rear bumper. I was told I'd destroy the rear corner of my tub without bumper protection. Knock on wood...hasn't happened yet. Over a year later.
Hope that helps :beer:
 
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Rccrwlr

Rccrwlr

New member
Mikead40 said:
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If you don't do something to add some space between the exhaust crossover and front drive shaft you will likely have some issues...I literally melted through my front drive shaft. Spacers are an easy fix, but aFe has a whole new Y-Piece that works even better but is much more expensive.
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Wait. Hang on a second. You melted through your front driveshaft? It's not made of plastic. I've got to see a picture of this!!!!! Post one up!
 
wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Mikead40 said:
The rear axle flange seems prone to bending which causes a cricket-like chirp and a little wheel wobble.
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Don't get me wrong, a bent flange is far from a break and therefore, not really a "weakest link". Or, at least not in my opinion.

My sector shaft broke the first time out with 37s. No problems since my JKS brace has been installed. However, most people will tell you that the braces are a waste of money, but my experience has been that it's worked well.
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Don't know what you were doing when your sector shaft broke or more to the point, what you HAD been doing up until that time - but to say you just broke it the first time out with 37 is a bit alarmist and misleading. I have seen my fair share of JK sector shaft breaks over the last 9 years and even had one of my own break on me while running 40's, I've never seen where a sector shaft brace made a difference. But then, what do I know - I'm just a mall crawler who never wheels his Jeep.

If you don't do something to add some space between the exhaust crossover and front drive shaft you will likely have some issues...I literally melted through my front drive shaft. Spacers are an easy fix, but aFe has a whole new Y-Piece that works even better but is much more expensive.
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Exhaust spacers or even a new y-pipe is a cheap fix rather than a solution to a real problem. What you should be doing is installing a new front drive shaft especially if you have a 2012-up. Protecting the slip shaft boot on your front drive shaft only addresses one concern - the steep angle that your drive shaft will sit at will cause the CV boot at the output shaft to be in a constant state of pinch and that will cause it to fail sooner than later. Once compromised, it's just a matter of time before the bearings inside fail as well.

I've had a lot of problems with my rear factory locker - as have a few people I've run into, but being that you have a sport that's not an issue for you...
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The factory locker is definitely nothing to write home about and I went through 3 of them early on before finally upgrading to ARB's. That being said, it is FAR from being a "weakest link"

The factory ball joints will usually wear out pretty fast with larger than stock tires.
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This is for sure. Couldn't agree more but again, far from being a "weakest link". On my 07, I was able to get upwards of 60,000 miles out of them. On an old 2009 I used to have, they were shot in about 14,000 miles.

Things I've been running stock for some time without issues (which are things I've seen a lot of people spend money on)... track bars, skid plates, drag link, and no rear bumper. I was told I'd destroy the rear corner of my tub without bumper protection. Knock on wood...hasn't happened yet. Over a year later.
Hope that helps :beer:
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Yup, with you on all of this! Still running factory skid plates, still running factory track bars/drag links and no rear bumper and in spite of what the nay sayers keep telling me. :thumb:
 
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