now i'm F-ed LCA..jimmy joint is toast from sledge

[tstaples]

ok, now the laughs begin.. .but here's the story.

the guy that had the truck before me put in the rubicon express 4.5 inch lift.. problem is he put in the lower control arms backward and with the wrong bolts...

so

i went to turn them around, one of the bolts (at the jimmy joint end) was rusted into the jimmy joint. on the first one, i had to cut the control arm out of the mounting bracket and then use a sledge hammer and a couple sockets to smack the hell out of it until the bolt came out, eventually it did, i bought new bolts from ACE hardware (grade 8) and put the control arm back in the right way.

now, on the second, it didn't go so well

i cut the control arm out of the bracket, and then started to use the sledge hammer. unfortunately, this time, that bolt was going NO WHERE! so i kept hitting harder and harder until <SLAM!> <PING> <PING><PING>... what the F was that?? ohhhhhh F


the ring that allows you to service the jimmy joint popped out, i had banged it instead of the bolt a couple times and busted up the threads.... boned.

so now i need a new jimmy joint for my lower control arm. anyone got one?

i'm gonna have to place an order with rubicon, but now my daily driver is off-road (literally) till i get the part.

oh, and, how the F do i get the jimmy joint out now? trid slamming it with a sledge but there is what looks to be a compressed washer on one end, do i need a special pair of pliers to compress that and pull it out?

ug.. what a pain in the arse

[jps4jeep]

you need a bigger hammer.

you can get replacement joints (I believe they are called Johnny Joints)

I would have suggested a lot of PB blaster about a week prior to de-installation, and subsequently every day till you pulled the control arms out.

Now that they are out (sort of) what are you trying to remove? the joint from the control arm.. Should be threaded on. might be a reverse thread.

[tstaples]

trying to get the johnny joint out of the control arm. The threaded piece that holds it in is out, now there's plastic surrounding the johnny joint.... and another what looks like a washer on the other side with some sort of flext retainer ring around it.

[XfaCtoR]

same thing happen to my buddys rubicon. when you instail them again use some anti seze and youll be all set. youll need to get a rebiuld kit. you can get them right from RE

[tstaples]

i just bought a new flex joint (that's what they call it) and the tool to install it into my control arm.. what a pain in the butt.. hopefully it gets here soon so my girlfriend doesn't have to take me too work for too long

[jps4jeep]

Long arms = flex factor!

[tstaples]

i was wrong it's called a SUPER-flex joint

www.rubiconexpress.com/dynamic/mainpage.asp?folderid=788

[jerryhipp]

atleast now i know who has the tool when i have to change mine

[tstaples]

haha.. there ya go.. yea, once i get the tool i'd be happy to lend it out to any of you guys.. no prob

just sucks i had to buy it