Best ball joints out there

[oceanblue2019]

Anyone tried the Apex Chassis ball joints? They look to be quality, at $300 for a set of 4. I demolished one of my stock ones today, and am trying to get going again without spending a fortune.

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.....

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[Headbarcode]

Thanks for that info. I will put a dial caliper on them when I do the repair. I was able to press these back in on the trail and ease home (with the top joint nut barely holding onto the broken stud). The holes seemed to be true. There wasn't any speed involved with the break, just a bad sequence of events trying to get the Jeep un-wedged from a couple of rocks, and out from in front of a tree.

Just the fact that the entire ball joint housings let loose from the axle bores is suspect. That they went back in on the trail without disassembly is very suspect.

This may be the perfect candidate for the Dynatrac HD joints with the knurled housings, which are meant for bores that will no longer provide a hard enough press fit. Yes they are pricier than others, but they are cost efficient to rebuild without disturbing the bores any further. Definitely triple and quadruple check the measurements of those bores. On top of reading the dimensions, the caliper will allow you to feel and confirm whether or not the bore is still flat or not. We'd just hate to hear about you having a possible reoccurring issue.

 

[Headbarcode]

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.....

And here I thought this was the 1st time I've seen factory ball joints slipping out of the inner C's on this forum. Would you mind a quick run down of what lead up to it and how it got back into operation?

 

[Old Dogger]

Dynatrac Pro-Steers....... Expensive, but are pretty much the gold standard for Ball-joints.

 

[Roky]

I have a question about Dynatrac Ball Joints. How long are they lasting between rebuilds?

TBD for me, only have 10k but so far so good…….

 

[Headbarcode]

I have a question about Dynatrac Ball Joints. How long are they lasting between rebuilds?

Being made of better materials and greaseable, they should last at least twice as long as the plastic lined factory ones.

 

[Renegade]

Now might be a good tome to replace those aluminum knuckles too. No extra work as long as you’re that far into it.

The work is the easy part. It’s the $$ that creates hurdles. I went ahead and ordered a set of the Apex joints. I’m evaluating whether to upgrade my current axle, or trade for something a little more suited to what I’m putting it through. This is my 3rd broken axle u-joint this year. Fortunately I was gifted a spare set of axle shafts by a friend who sold his JL.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Dynatrac all the way. The bang for the buck is the ability to rebuild them on the Jeep. Well worth the cost and there is no comparison between them and OEM.

 

[Renegade]

Just the fact that the entire ball joint housings let loose from the axle bores is suspect. That they went back in on the trail without disassembly is very suspect.

This may be the perfect candidate for the Dynatrac HD joints with the knurled housings, which are meant for bores that will no longer provide a hard enough press fit. Yes they are pricier than others, but they are cost efficient to rebuild without disturbing the bores any further. Definitely triple and quadruple check the measurements of those bores. On top of reading the dimensions, the caliper will allow you to feel and confirm whether or not the bore is still flat or not. We'd just hate to hear about you having a possible reoccurring issue.

We completely disassembled them, and pressed them back in on the trail. The Apex Chassis joints appear to be knurled.

 

[Headbarcode]

We completely disassembled them, and pressed them back in on the trail. The Apex Chassis joints appear to be knurled.

Ok, that paints a better picture of getting it back to drivable. Thanks.

Looking at those apex joints and that trail repair pic makes me appreciate one more thing about the Dynatracs. They all have radial slots cut for snap rings. Only the upper location on each side allows use of them, but the redundant retainer is a nice addition.

Although, I can't seem to find a knurled version of them. I was mistaken, and probably thinking of Dana.

I just revisited apex, and they also sound like a great product. I've always been a fan of the use of bronze in bearing surfaces, and same when it comes to rolled threads vs cut type.

 

[Rangemaster]

We completely disassembled them, and pressed them back in on the trail. The Apex Chassis joints appear to be knurled.

Man that looks like your between and rock and hard place for ball joint replacement. I am in the process of collecting front end parts so this does not happen to me.

 

[Renegade]

Man that looks like your between and rock and hard place for ball joint replacement. I am in the process of collecting front end parts so this does not happen to me.

It was the broken u-joint, and me not immediately taking it out of 4wd that caused the ball joint separation. If I had stopped immediately, the separation would not have occurred. I've learned my lesson on that...

 

[Renegade]

Ok, that paints a better picture of getting it back to drivable. Thanks.

Looking at those apex joints and that trail repair pic makes me appreciate one more thing about the Dynatracs. They all have radial slots cut for snap rings. Only the upper location on each side allows use of them, but the redundant retainer is a nice addition.

Although, I can't seem to find a knurled version of them. I was mistaken, and probably thinking of Dana.

I just revisited apex, and they also sound like a great product. I've always been a fan of the use of bronze in bearing surfaces, and same when it comes to rolled threads vs cut type.

I do like the idea of the snap ring. I was wondering why that isn't standard...

 

[AZRubicon]

I am going with the Apex. Recommended by my guy at LetzRoll. Just put on new wheels, 37x13.5x17 Cooper STT Pros. Going with 4.88/ RCVs/full front truss system. While it's all apart may as well take a bit to switch out the ball joints. They have a lifetime warranty so I trust my installer and the background he brings. Will post it all to my YouTube channel. Starting front built March '22

 

[BeachPilot74]

I am going with the Apex. Recommended by my guy at LetzRoll. Just put on new wheels, 37x13.5x17 Cooper STT Pros. Going with 4.88/ RCVs/full front truss system. While it's all apart may as well take a bit to switch out the ball joints. They have a lifetime warranty so I trust my installer and the background he brings. Will post it all to my YouTube channel. Starting front built March '22

Nice rig. What is your YT Channel. ? As soon as my 2022 gets delivered, I will have my stuff up on my channel as well.

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