Best ball joints out there

[gato]

Well done!! I had posted about this failure mode in another thread and several didn't believe it could occur. You are now another one of such an impossible failure.....

This has always bothered me on my JL. Since both ball joints are pressed from the bottom and there are no C clips or other retainers, when a wheel is up in the air with a heavy tire/wheel combo, what exactly counteracts gravity from simply pulling the knuckle/ball joints off the axle C? I know the axle/bearing are attached (at least while intact), but the axle/bearing can move down a good amount (prob enough to pull the joints out of the axle C). And of course if the axle breaks there is no more help from them holding things up.

Unless I'm missing something there is only the friction of the ball joint pressed on the Cs fighting gravity, right? How is that a good design?

(P.S. not very knowledgeable on ball joints - I may be completely wrong)

Sponsored

 

[sourdough]

Just to update an old thread about options. Teraflex is a solid option with a complete ball joint set @ $299. I wish I'd heard about them a couple months ago when I replaced my BJ's.

 

[Headbarcode]

This has always bothered me on my JL. Since both ball joints are pressed from the bottom and there are no C clips or other retainers, when a wheel is up in the air with a heavy tire/wheel combo, what exactly counteracts gravity from simply pulling the knuckle/ball joints off the axle C? I know the axle/bearing are attached (at least while intact), but the axle/bearing can move down a good amount (prob enough to pull the joints out of the axle C). And of course if the axle breaks there is no more help from them holding things up.

Unless I'm missing something there is only the friction of the ball joint pressed on the Cs fighting gravity, right? How is that a good design?

(P.S. not very knowledgeable on ball joints - I may be completely wrong)

The matched taper between the ball joint stud and the outer knuckle is the main holding point that keeps them together. The castle nut is just the retainer that prevents a shocking hit from breaking the hold of the taper. The milder the taper is, the stronger the hold will be.

Another nice design feature of the Dynatrac HD ball joints, is the OD snap ring and groove built into the design of their housings. They can only be used on the upper joints, due to how the not flat shape of the lower C affects the ball joint housings reveal, but they still serve as a redundancy.

 

[At Risk Ute]

Just to update an old thread about options. Teraflex is a solid option with a complete ball joint set @ $299. I wish I'd heard about them a couple months ago when I replaced my BJ's.

What brand did you end up installing? Dynatrac? Surprised by the price difference between the two, but wonder if you can also rebuild the Teraflex ones.

My plan is to wear everything out on 37s before going with upgraded BJs, Reid Racing knuckles, and RCV / Yukon axle shafts. Let the bank account recover and replace everything at once.

 

[CarbonSteel]

What brand did you end up installing? Dynatrac? Surprised by the price difference between the two, but wonder if you can also rebuild the Teraflex ones.

My plan is to wear everything out on 37s before going with upgraded BJs, Reid Racing knuckles, and RCV / Yukon axle shafts. Let the bank account recover and replace everything at once.

When I re-geared, I did all of that:

CrMo axles (RCV front and DS rear)
Dynatrac ball joints
Mojave steering knuckles
Artec trusses, gussets, and LCA skids (front and rear)

It was a hit, but I did not spend as much if I would have done it separately.

 

[Jeep’n Jay]

Just to update an old thread about options. Teraflex is a solid option with a complete ball joint set @ $299. I wish I'd heard about them a couple months ago when I replaced my BJ's.

I was just looking at these this week. For $299 I am very tempted to give them a try. Less than half the price of Dynatracks which no doubt are great ball joints. I run full teraflex lift and arms and think they build great products. I may give these a go this year.

 

[TeraFlex]

The matched taper between the ball joint stud and the outer knuckle is the main holding point that keeps them together. The castle nut is just the retainer that prevents a shocking hit from breaking the hold of the taper. The milder the taper is, the stronger the hold will be.

Another nice design feature of the Dynatrac HD ball joints, is the OD snap ring and groove built into the design of their housings. They can only be used on the upper joints, due to how the not flat shape of the lower C affects the ball joint housings reveal, but they still serve as a redundancy.

It's worth noting our HD ball joints actually have a snap ring as an extra precaution as well. With the upper ball joints on the JL/JT being a load bearing joint similar to the lower, the extra precaution is needed especially considering both our upper and lower joints are adjustable for joint preload.

 

[sourdough]

What brand did you end up installing? Dynatrac? Surprised by the price difference between the two, but wonder if you can also rebuild the Teraflex ones.

My plan is to wear everything out on 37s before going with upgraded BJs, Reid Racing knuckles, and RCV / Yukon axle shafts. Let the bank account recover and replace everything at once.

Teraflex would have been my choice, if I only knew. I installed Dana HD, the D44 doesn't deserve the cost or effort beefing it up IMO. My "replace everything at once" will be a complete, proper HD axle.

 

[grimmjeeper]

It's worth noting our HD ball joints actually have a snap ring as an extra precaution as well. With the upper ball joints on the JL/JT being a load bearing joint similar to the lower, the extra precaution is needed especially considering both our upper and lower joints are adjustable for joint preload.

Is there anything about the Reid racing knuckles for the JL/JT that would be an issue with the TeraFlex joints? I'm planning to replace my aluminum knuckles along with the ball joints when I install my truss. Given the Mopar steel knuckles cost more than the Reid knuckles, I'm just going to go with the Reid.

 

[TeraFlex]

Is there anything about the Reid racing knuckles for the JL/JT that would be an issue with the TeraFlex joints? I'm planning to replace my aluminum knuckles along with the ball joints when I install my truss. Given the Mopar steel knuckles cost more than the Reid knuckles, I'm just going to go with the Reid.

I can't say we've ever tested our ball joints with the Reid knuckles ourselves, but given how our ball joints work in both the aluminum and steel Mopar knuckles, they should be compatible.

 

[grimmjeeper]

I can't say we've ever tested our ball joints with the Reid knuckles ourselves, but given how our ball joints work in both the aluminum and steel Mopar knuckles, they should be compatible.

Thanks. I'll give them a try and post up the results after EJS.

 

[gato]

The matched taper between the ball joint stud and the outer knuckle is the main holding point that keeps them together.

Thanks, but with an unloaded suspension and a wheel up in the air (jolted when the shock hits its extension limit) what force other than friction of the pressed balljoints into the axle C keeps it all from popping out (down)?

 

[Headbarcode]

Thanks, but with an unloaded suspension and a wheel up in the air (jolted when the shock hits its extension limit) what force other than friction of the pressed balljoints into the axle C keeps it all from popping out (down)?

The Dynatrac HD ball joints incorporate a machined snap ring groove in the portion of the housing that protrudes above the upper C. It's an added redundancy.

Another reason why I chose to go with the Dynatracs over others, is they are rebuildable with the need to disturb the press fit. Every time a press fit is disturbed, the parent bore in the C loses dimension. Not a lot, but you'd be amazed at how much .001" of loss will have on the holding strength of a pressed fit.

After seeing mine opened up, getting to feel both the factory ones coming out and the new ones going in, I'd be fully confident to remove my snap rings and fully rely on the pressing. At the same time, I've also seen a couple of posts about what you speak of happening. I'd say stacked tolerances are to root cause of those failures. Over the years, I've come across manufacturing tolerance ranges (.002-.005"+/-, were the most common that I saw) that in my opinion were too large for the application. I always opted to keep mine as tight as my mill and lathe could hold, which was .0005"+/-.

 

[gato]

The Dynatrac HD ball joints incorporate a machined snap ring groove in the portion of the housing that protrudes above the upper C. It's an added redundancy.

Another reason why I chose to go with the Dynatracs over others, is they are rebuildable with the need to disturb the press fit. Every time a press fit is disturbed, the parent bore in the C loses dimension. Not a lot, but you'd be amazed at how much .001" of loss will have on the holding strength of a pressed fit.

After seeing mine opened up, getting to feel both the factory ones coming out and the new ones going in, I'd be fully confident to remove my snap rings and fully rely on the pressing. At the same time, I've also seen a couple of posts about what you speak of happening. I'd say stacked tolerances are to root cause of those failures. Over the years, I've come across manufacturing tolerance ranges (.002-.005"+/-, were the most common that I saw) that in my opinion were too large for the application. I always opted to keep mine as tight as my mill and lathe could hold, which was .0005"+/-.

Yes, thanks. I know the Dynatracs avoid having to press new balljoints into the axle Cs, and they have C-clips on the top ones. I was more asking about the factory design. I find it amazing that when the wheels are in the air only press-friction keep the knuckle from falling off

On the Dynatrac ball joints, you still need to hammer the knuckles and pop them off the knuckle tapered fitting to rebuild them. On an aluminum knuckle how many times can you do that? And most people also pop the tierod and draglink off the knuckle when doing ball joints. That is 7 press fits coming off to rebuild the Dynatrac ball joints, right?

 

[Roky]

Yes, thanks. I know the Dynatracs avoid having to press new balljoints into the axle Cs, and they have C-clips on the top ones. I was more asking about the factory design. I find it amazing that when the wheels are in the air only press-friction keep the knuckle from falling off

On the Dynatrac ball joints, you still need to hammer the knuckles and pop them off the knuckle tapered fitting to rebuild them. On an aluminum knuckle how many times can you do that? And most people also pop the tierod and draglink off the knuckle when doing ball joints. That is 7 press fits coming off to rebuild the Dynatrac ball joints, right?

Dynatracs rebuild in place, don’t come out.

Sponsored