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Little Weekend Work

2K views 8 replies 4 participants last post by  byrnsie1122 
#1 ·
Finally had a chance to do some work on my Compass over the weekend. When I got my inspection done in December maybe November I don't remember lol, my buddy who works at the Jeep dealership told me my sway bar links are quite loose I might want to replace them soon.

So I did some searching and saw they are plastic and that's the creaking noise I've been hearing has been coming from. Ordered myself some Mevotech Links and got to work.

While taking the tires off I remembered I ordered Titan Wheel Spacers and never put them on. Perfect time since already taking the tires off anyway.

Boy oh boy do I wish my driveway was paved and not gravel. I did use my giant emergency blanket in my Jeep as a cushion but it just wasn't enough. Nothing like stones jabbing into your knees and back on top of the slight rain and snow that hit while I was finishing 2nd wheel.

I'm not mechanically inclined at all but watching a few videos and seeing the process I can definitely figure something out and how to do it. I had most of the tools I needed except a breaker bar so went and bought one. My god they are soooo much better than the 4 way wrench. The breaker bar was great for loosening up bolts and finishing them off with vice grips and my impact drill. The lower bolts was impossible to get the drill in so had to get a socket wrench to loosen fully with vice grips. Front passenger side the room is so small that I was tightening with the socket wrench 1 little click at a time. Honestly think it was a solid 10 minutes at least trying to tighten that damn thing lol.

Back driver side nut was rusted and seized so badly I ended up using my Dremel and cutting it off. It looked like someone replaced it with a old nut that rusted already, other 3 were no where near that shape.

All said and done it probably took me 5.5-6 hours to do the links and spacers. Someone with experience probably would have this done in an hour tops lol.

New Sway Bar Link
Wheel Tire Automotive tire Motor vehicle Tread


Before Wheel Spacers
Tire Wheel Car Vehicle Plant

Tire Land vehicle Car Automotive tail & brake light Vehicle


After Wheel Spacers
Land vehicle Car Automotive tail & brake light Vehicle Grille

Automotive parking light Tire Automotive tail & brake light Plant Wheel





Next thing is to make a low profile roof rack over the OEM cross bars and Thule roof basket I have ATM.
 
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#3 ·
Looks good. I plan on installing the same swaybar links, eventually.
Did you remember to install the zerk fittings on yours? In the picture you posted, it looks like the rubber plugs are still in place where the zerks install.
 
#4 ·
Looks good. I plan on installing the same swaybar links, eventually.
Did you remember to install the zerk fittings on yours? In the picture you posted, it looks like the rubber plugs are still in place where the zerks install.
Yea I realized after the 3rd one that I completely forgot to install them. Luckily being a somewhat small built I was able to get them in without lifting the Jeep back up.
 
#5 ·
Little bit I learned after installing these that you definitely need to know. Stock lug nuts are to long and hit the inside of the rim causing them to not sit flush. Need to buy "shorty" lug nuts that are M12x1.25x28.

Found out the hard way once all said and done. Went for a drive to Home Depot for a project. Steering wheel was slightly shaking and adjusting the side mirrors could see back wheels slightly wobbling. Even with every lug properly tighten and torqued, the wobble broke away part of the lugs connecting the spacer to the wheel hub.
 
#7 ·
Rims looked fine but stock lugs were slightly damaged. Lugs must be softer metal since the small bits that scrapped off were actually stuck on the inside of the rims.

Went to 4 different auto stores near me and between those they didn't have enough lugs. Ended up buying them on Amazon and were shipped and delivered the next day.
 
#8 ·
"...probably took me 5.5-6 hours to do the links and spacers. Someone with experience probably would have this done in an hour tops."

Man, that gives me flashbacks to so many of the jobs I did on my old Vdub....Sure, swapping out this sensor should only take about 1.5 hrs...if your eyeballs can maneuver around multiple corners to actually find it, you have boneless fingers on a 0.5" diameter forearm, and 3 other small things don't get jacked up and need fixing along the way, lol.

To this day I don't get too worried about going into a big piece of maintenance, but have low-key dread when I have a "quick and easy" task ahead 😅
 
#9 ·
It definitely would of been faster if I had the right attachment for my impact drill. Then I could of took nuts and bolts off a lot quicker after initial loosen with the breaker bar.

Honestly I spent almost an hour trying to reach the front passenger side lower link bolt. To small of a space to get my drill in there and trying to rig together 4 attachments to reach from under engine block and over I think the frame must of lost to must power. In the end I finally realized I could fit a ratchet wrench on the nut and use some needle nose vice grips on the back side of the link. Made sure to put some piece of cloth around it as to not damage the link.
 
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