Best Ball Joints

[Nokones]

I went with the Metalcloak because they are prettier and look cool on my 23 Wrangler Rubi 2 Dr. I just replaced them at 6600 miles on the odometer. I was considering the Dynatracs but since I have Metalcloak everything else, I stayed with Metalcloak.

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[WK2JT]

I did the American Iron ball joint “deletes”. Also rebuildable in place with the knuckle removed, but the rebuild kit costs way less than the others. I replaced them about 1k ago while installing Reid knuckles… so far I’m impressed.

 

[GATORB8]

Hopefully if you decided MC, you pulled the trigger with the Labor Day 15% off.

I went Dynatrac, somewhat due to the added cost, but also was looking to get them fast, and NR gets me stuff quick.

Like you, I tossed out all the non-rebuildable ones from my comparison.

 

[Westymike]

As mentioned the MetalCloak Baller joints are in fact rebuildable in the knuckle. I installed mine back in February and have put about 12k hard miles on them since (Moab, Canada, Baja, Rubicon trail (2x) and Oregon overlanding. I haven’t had to touch them.

 

[fourfa]

(The Metalcloak labor day sale excluded Baller Joints, didn't it?)

For what it's worth... when proper non-rebuildable joints are $300 and rebuildable ones are $700 + $157 per rebuild kit, it takes three rebuilds before you come out ahead. (sale pricing might change that a bit). As with many hobbies, you have to spend so much to save so little...

Though to be fair, if you have aluminum knuckles, eliminating the press-in/press-out could be worth more than money

 

[Pig-Pen]

(The Metalcloak labor day sale excluded Baller Joints, didn't it?)

For what it's worth... when proper non-rebuildable joints are $300 and rebuildable ones are $700 + $157 per rebuild kit, it takes three rebuilds before you come out ahead. (sale pricing might change that a bit). As with many hobbies, you have to spend so much to save so little...

Though to be fair, if you have aluminum knuckles, eliminating the press-in/press-out could be worth more than money

do the dynatrac/MC balljoints last longer than the non-rebuildable ones? if not, then yeah....not sure then. especially if you dont put a lot of miles on your jeep.

 

[dlong1119]

(The Metalcloak labor day sale excluded Baller Joints, didn't it?)

For what it's worth... when proper non-rebuildable joints are $300 and rebuildable ones are $700 + $157 per rebuild kit, it takes three rebuilds before you come out ahead. (sale pricing might change that a bit). As with many hobbies, you have to spend so much to save so little...

Though to be fair, if you have aluminum knuckles, eliminating the press-in/press-out could be worth more than money

Yes, Baller Joints were excluded from their sale when I looked.

Dynatrac joints with the install kit are on sale for $541 (and have been for awhile) at Northridge, so for you're only looking at 1 rebuild to break even on them at the moment, and that's not counting the extra work and wear/tear of pressing them in and out of the inner C. You still have to remove the knuckle to rebuild, but it's less work and has proven to be a pain in the ass for several people.

And they "should" absolutely last longer based on the design and lack of plastic cup that very quickly gets destroyed, so that's even less work if you only have to replace them half as often or hopefully less.

 

[JT1]

(The Metalcloak labor day sale excluded Baller Joints, didn't it?)

For what it's worth... when proper non-rebuildable joints are $300 and rebuildable ones are $700 + $157 per rebuild kit, it takes three rebuilds before you come out ahead. (sale pricing might change that a bit). As with many hobbies, you have to spend so much to save so little...

Though to be fair, if you have aluminum knuckles, eliminating the press-in/press-out could be worth more than money

The baller joints (and dynatracs to a lesser extent) prevent a broken front axle shaft and bad luck from removing your entire brake assembly and knuckle.

The giant hexnut on the metalcloak upper prevents that balljoint from pulling out of the inner C.

 

[fourfa]

based on the design and lack of plastic cup that very quickly gets destroyed

I assume we're only talking about proper aftermarket replacements with no plastic here, no OEM. Synergy, Apex, Teraflex for instance are all $300. (No idea what OEM costs)

Teraflex have positive retention rings (I think more of a circlip than a collar), if that's the main issue

I'll probably get MC when I do mine FWIW

 

[dlong1119]

I assume we're only talking about proper aftermarket replacements with no plastic here, no OEM. Synergy, Apex, Teraflex for instance are all $300. (No idea what OEM costs)

Teraflex have positive retention rings (I think more of a circlip than a collar), if that's the main issue

I'll probably get MC when I do mine FWIW

Gotcha, yeah, I was talking OEM, which I think are actually priced between the two categories we're talking about (~$100 each I heard but didn't verify). Honestly, I didn't even really look into those options much. For me, the price difference wasn't quite worth worrying about it. If I was only planning on 35s I'd possibly consider them a little more, but knowing I intend to go 37s before too long I'd rather just spend a little more now and know I'm 100% covered and can rebuild easily if needed.

 

[zouch]

not all of us. some of us buy stuff to work, not look at.
i actually often choose stuff that does *not* have bright colors underneath my J**p, and have been known to even remove labels and stickers to get a look that i think is cleaner. all cool if people want to build a clown wagon, but that's not me.

i went with Dynatracs; rebuildable, and well-established.

They’re very pretty that’s for sure. Isn’t that the reason we buy Jeep parts anyways?

 

[Eischman]

Dynatracs are on sale right now at Northridge (~$550), along with 20% off a lot of other stuff and you get a $150 gift card if you spend $1500 or more. A set of Reid knuckles, Dynatrac ball joints and a few other small items might currently be on their way to me right now! Total was $1500.19, couldn't have done better than that! Now I'll just have to decide what to spend the gift card and all the rewards points I've accrued on, lol.

They have been in my cart for a week!

 

[dlong1119]

 

[CableDaddy]

Dynatrac. No contest.

 

[dragoneggs]

They have been in my cart for a week!

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