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grimmjeeper

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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?
Tie rod/drag link ends are held in with a nut. No press fit.
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falcon241073

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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.
Worked fine together on my JK dana 44. And the Tera44 I switched to later
 

gato

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Tie rod/drag link ends are held in with a nut. No press fit.
True that - still need to be pounded out sometimes :) Tapered fit is more accurate.
 

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grimmjeeper

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True that - still need to be pounded out sometimes :) Tapered fit is more accurate.
Yeah, I've had some that needed serious convincing to remove. Up to and including a torch to get them hot enough to pop.
 

grimmjeeper

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Headbarcode

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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?
Don't underestimated a properly sized press fit. Often times, more strength and structural integrity can be achieved with a press fit vs a slip fit that gets welded in place, mainly due to avoiding the hardening heat that comes with a bead of weld.

A taper-locked fit is a completely different animal than a press fit. As long as the male and female tapers aren't damaged, like from unwanted movement causing it to become wallowed, they can be unseated/reseated numerous times.

And yeah, I wouldn't feel comfortable having to smack the factory aluminum knuckles off the tapers multiple times. I watched an install video where the guy was reusing that knuckle. He made the mistake of using a single handed sledge hammer to pop the tapers, and not surprisingly it took several hits to pop. The knuckle looked like a red headed stepchild, and I cringed just a little as he bolted it back up. It's always best to use a heavier hammer. I popped mine with one hammerhead at shoulder height swing with a 3' handled 10lber. Barely left a mark compared to the guy that love tapped the crap out of his. If I was gonna reuse my stock knuckle, I would've invested in a larger dead blow sledge hammer, which is much less likely to leave a mark.
 

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How often do you have to do that?
Don’t know, I haven’t had to do mine yet. I rebuilt some on other rigs, they had 50k on them, but I’ve also heard of some needing rebuild in 5k
 

cs2k

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Another candidate to throw in is the American Iron Off Road ball joint deletes

Its pretty much the same concept as dynatrac (rebuildable Heim in a shell) except its cheaper and people using their JK/TJ products seem to love it.
 

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gato

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Don't underestimated a properly sized press fit. Often times, more strength and structural integrity can be achieved with a press fit vs a slip fit that gets welded in place, mainly due to avoiding the hardening heat that comes with a bead of weld.
Thanks. So it seems like there is nothing to worry about unless the bore's get enlarged by multiple or improper pressings.


And yeah, I wouldn't feel comfortable having to smack the factory aluminum knuckles off the tapers multiple times. ... It's always best to use a heavier hammer. I popped mine with one hammerhead at shoulder height swing with a 3' handled 10lber.
Thanks. Never thought that a bigger hammer is actually better. I thought about having a 2lb hammer resting against the knuckle (or the problematic draglink pitman arm joint if changing draglink) and hitting that hammer with a separate 2 lb hammer. Is that a good idea (I don't have any huge hammers :).

(sorry for asking so many questions - I'm trying to compile all the information/tools to see if I will attempt my first ball-joint replacement ever on my own)

Either way I have invested in a ball joint puller tool and will be replacing the aluminum knuckles with the Mopar iron ones at the same time. So not worried about fracking out the aluminum one.
 

Headbarcode

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Thanks. So it seems like there is nothing to worry about unless the bore's get enlarged by multiple or improper pressings.




Thanks. Never thought that a bigger hammer is actually better. I thought about having a 2lb hammer resting against the knuckle (or the problematic draglink pitman arm joint if changing draglink) and hitting that hammer with a separate 2 lb hammer. Is that a good idea (I don't have any huge hammers :).

(sorry for asking so many questions - I'm trying to compile all the information/tools to see if I will attempt my first ball-joint replacement ever on my own)

Either way I have invested in a ball joint puller tool and will be replacing the aluminum knuckles with the Mopar iron ones at the same time. So not worried about fracking out the aluminum one.
It's usually not a good idea to use a hardened steel hammer head as a drift, because the 2 clashing together will amplify the bounce back. Also, I once saw a guy shatter a hammer head with that method, which sent shrapnel flying. Best to just whack the aluminum knuckle directly, since you won't be reusing it. And not worrying about holding a second item will let you direct your energy and attention on swinging that one hammer.

Whacking the knuckles will require more of a diagonal swing than straight down, so as to not hit the top of the inner C. I would recommend sitting on the ground, assuming the Jeep will be on jack stands and not a lift. This will help with both aiming and holding that striking angle, because you may end up having to take a long fast swing with that 2 pounder, and possibly several of them. I'm talking golf course swing, not putting range swing. Since there's no need to care about the aluminum knuckles, you can dial in your sitting position and distance and aim by starting with shorter swings and progressively ramping them up in intensity.
 

Roky

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It's usually not a good idea to use a hardened steel hammer head as a drift, because the 2 clashing together will amplify the bounce back. Also, I once saw a guy shatter a hammer head with that method, which sent shrapnel flying. Best to just whack the aluminum knuckle directly, since you won't be reusing it. And not worrying about holding a second item will let you direct your energy and attention on swinging that one hammer.

Whacking the knuckles will require more of a diagonal swing than straight down, so as to not hit the top of the inner C. I would recommend sitting on the ground, assuming the Jeep will be on jack stands and not a lift. This will help with both aiming and holding that striking angle, because you may end up having to take a long fast swing with that 2 pounder, and possibly several of them. I'm talking golf course swing, not putting range swing. Since there's no need to care about the aluminum knuckles, you can dial in your sitting position and distance and aim by starting with shorter swings and progressively ramping them up in intensity.
Just beat the living shit out of it, also very therapeutic……🥴
 
 



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