(almost) had enough with the ****** IFS

[hadtomer]

Hey guys- I have almost had enough with the front suspension. It never quits to fail. I have a 2006 kj v6. I have really gone above and beyond to make it offroad worthy cause i do a lot of overlanding. got a rear aussie locker, front DTT, 4.10 gears- a jba tommud lift+kk forks etc etc etc. I have owned the damn thing for 2 years and on almost every single trip something goes wrong- and its always IFS related.

I have really done my best to make the IFS as durable as possible- all the rubber parts are MOOG and some- like the bushings on the rear bumerang are poliurithane by superpro. also my front forks bushings are superpro. and yet- my KJ always rattles and squeaks. always. last offroading trip a noise started- it was the steering rack bushes. 6 months old. moog. replaced. before that the boomerang main bushing popped. last week we headed out to the desert and surprise- a terrible noise - the rubber bushing on my jba a arm tore and needed replacement (moog). I have also sone through balljoints and almost every other imaginable rubber part on the IFS. every 6 months. I keep everything tightened. greased. etc. I do not use low quality parts. only moog problem solvers- and when they perish - in go superpro poliurithane bushes.

A buddy of mine who ran a kj with similar specs (4 inch lift) just got a jl wrangler- when i talked to him about it he said "man...the kj has a ****** front end and that is why i could not stand it. the folks at moog think i collect these things like stamps".

Last visit to the shop after a hard offroading trip (much like your rubicon trail) i tore an a arm bushing (jba did not cover that)-got that fixed- took the kj for a drive....new noise! this time it was the rear boomerang. cause i wheeled hard and i have a SUPERPRO bushing set for the boomerang, one of the bolts that hold the boomerang in place came loose. sure....if the rubber bushing does not break - trust another close part to fail. i mean...what the f...? had me a yota and the only time my mechanic met me was on his birthday when i came in for a beer. And you can't say my kj is neglected. I am that
neighbour that wrenches every friday night instead of watching TV like a normal person.

Any ideas how to make sure my IFS wont give me grief? ? over here in Israel it is illegal to swap your front axle from IFS to a live axle. whenever i go offroading, all my buddies are like "man..get a toyota and be done with this crap".

 

[jeeplib05]

Without being able to swap to SFA I’d say your best bet would be to find something new to wheel
I don’t even off road mine and I’m replacing stuff left and right so I would’ve already done scrapped it if I took it off-roading and had as many issues as you have :happy175:
You can do some stuff with the IFS but it can’t take a repetitive hard beating like other vehicles can as I’ve read and seen
I wish I could be of more help but people will chime in soon and praise that it’s the best suspension in the world :emotions34:

Good luck!

 

[u2slow]

I'm not seeing anything special about moog's parts for our KJs.

Haven't felt the front end is that bad. But we don't push it very hard offroad. I do like it better than Chevy and Explorer IFS 4wd suspensions I've dealt with in the past.

GF's father still runs his '97 4runner. Factory 5speed with a rear locker. Doesn't seem to quit even though its rusting away.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

I've had bad luck with Moog problem solver crap too. Mine eats UBJs every other year and I had a few sets of Moog sway bar end links crap out in under a year. Replaced with OReilly's house brand (it was Christmas Day) and it's been great for 3 years now.

Still rocking factory LCAs with 184k on them. I have bad Moog steering rack bushings too. I actually can't name one Moog part I've bought that hasn't failed...and I always get their highest line. I think they are riding on a reputation they created years ago.

EDIT: My tie rod ends are Moog...haven't failed...yet. Now that I say that, they'll break on my way home tonight.

 

[boboborino]

I've had bad luck with Moog problem solver crap too. .

I am no longer buying Moog for the JK, for what it's worth. Sure, lifetime replacement warranty, but even that is no longer worth it for me.

Bert

 

[TomB985]

There was a time when Moog had an outstanding reputation, and was known for being a replacement it was better quality than the original.

I’ve heard a lot of bad things in the last 10 years though, I would look for better brand. What are your other options over there?

 

[ltd02]

Same here on the Moog issues. Just replaced one of the Moog tie rod ends after about 20k on my Ranger. The OEs lasted 150k. The "problem causer" lower ball joints on that vehicle don't look all that great either after about 25k.