Tired of the shakes

[JTNCHRIS]

Ok, driving my CJ5 I have noticable wheel slap/wobble and a very annoying vibration in the passenger side front tire. A mechanic friend of mine did the lift and shake test and said it has bad bearing and ball joints. How easy is this to change out for a novice mechanic with Limited tooling? should I just send her to a shop or do it myself? also having trouble identifying axles and tranny/diff. any help would be appreciated.

 

[IOPort51]

If you don't do it yourself you will allways be a novice mechanic. If you don't feel good about it pay some one to do it. the wheel bearings are a walk in the park, the joints , not so much.

Ok, driving my CJ5 I have noticable wheel slap/wobble and a very annoying vibration in the passenger side front tire. A mechanic friend of mine did the lift and shake test and said it has bad bearing and ball joints. How easy is this to change out for a novice mechanic with Limited tooling? should I just send her to a shop or do it myself? also having trouble identifying axles and tranny/diff. any help would be appreciated.

 

[Old Dog]

^^ what IO said^^
You should have a Dana 30 front axle, An AMC20 rear axle and a Dana 300 Transfer Case .

 

[tomgrigsby]

Ball Joints etc. can be done at home, but it is a somewhat difficult and involved job and very important to get right. It is going to take bigger tools than you probably have. This is a safety issue because you certainly don't want a ball joint or a wheel bearing to go while you're driving. I recommend you take it to a trusted mechanic and get it done right and quickly. If it is something you think you'd like to attempt, get a manual if you don't already have one and read through the steps. In any case, it should have a front end alignment once the ball joints are replaced. On my MGB I can do the alignment myself, but I'm not sure about your CJ5 . Let us know what you decide!

 

[JR74CJ5]

Personally I would do this myself. If i didn't have the right tool I'd buy it, if i didn't know how I'd research it...

That being said I plan on a lot of 4 wheeling, and breaking stuff from time to time, and know even though its expensive to buy tools, time consuming to learn how etc, after a few times that tool / knowledge coming in handy will be well worth it.

Now all that being said I looked up parts, tools, and instructions on re-building my T-15 tranny, and decided I'd rather take to the shop and pay a few extra $...

Like IO said, "the wheel bearings are a walk in the park, the joints , not so much" but still doable man...

 

[JTNCHRIS]

OK so I took your advice and had some help from a canadian friend, was just the wheel bearing, so replaced both sides, ball joints are just fine, almost a brand new ride. Have also replaced alternator and got a great deal on a brand spanking new aluminum radiator. Next we are gonna tackle the timing issue, is set fine to run wide open, but is hard start when hot. any suggestions on that one?

 

[BusaDave9]

OK so I took your advice and had some help from a canadian friend, was just the wheel bearing, so replaced both sides, ball joints are just fine, almost a brand new ride. Have also replaced alternator and got a great deal on a brand spanking new aluminum radiator. Next we are gonna tackle the timing issue, is set fine to run wide open, but is hard start when hot. any suggestions on that one?

Congradulations on fixing your Jeep. That's how you do it: just dive right in. Nice to have someone with more experience help.
Next it sounds like you may have too much advance on your timing. Check the timing and see if it starts better.