Where did you get those?? I’m local to Dynatrac and I have not heard of ball joins that fit the JL axles. They only had them for the Jk last time I checked.
Here you go. They're actually on sale right now.
Right on!! I had no idea!! Anything branded Dynatrac is a solid choice!!!!
Let me know how they work out for you. Crazy that the factory stuff wears out so quickly!
I hear you. But the root of the problem is still the fact that Synergy cheaped out and did not produce a wide version of their tie rod like every other manufacturer did. No one had issues with the Synergy tie rod on the JK. On the JLR lots of people had problems, including experience youtubers (you know who) who had to re-install it. Why? Because the length is too close to the limit on a Rubicon. Any system that is error-prone will be installed wrong. A good design preempts that.
I already mde the decision that I'll change ball joints and Mopar iron knuckles together for that reason. On another thread I was asking question to see if I should tackle the ball-joint replacement on my own. Your story is discouraging me from doing it. I live in New England salt city USA.
Knowing what I know now, I would say that I have enough confidence to do it myself again in the future. But it did take a lot of trial and error (mostly errors) since this was my first ball joint change. The thing that made the biggest difference for me is this HD adjustable pitman arm puller. Literally nothing else worked. It took me 4 trips to AutoZone to finally find a tool that did the trick for me. With this tool, a little bit of heat and slight hammering (with a small hammer) once you have good tension will make the joints pop. It's pretty loud and scary but it works beautifully. Good luck with your project!
One other thought I forgot to share. Once the knuckles came off, the ball joints themselves were a piece of cake to press out and back in. I ordered the $12 kit that Dynatrac offers and used a rented ball joint press from AutoZone. A long breaker bar is all you need to get the job done.
Thank you so much for taking the time to post this. Did you have any problem reinserting the passenger side axle through the FAD colar? Did you have to open up the FAD? (that is my other "fear").
I’ve learned so much from this forum so I'm glad I was able to give back a little! To answer your question, I did have trouble putting it back in without opening up the FAD because the coupler slides out of place once you remove the outer shaft so there's no way to get it back in without opening the FAD. This is the part that all the YouTube people don't show you! But don't worry, it's very easy. Take the skid off, unplug and take off the four 13mm bolts and you're good to go. Just remember to put something below to catch the little bit of oil that comes out and go easy when you remove the back of the FAD so you don't damage the gasket.
If reusing the factory axle shafts, simply shift the t-case to 4h and the FAD motors shift fork will hold the coupler to where you'll feel the splines engage during reassembly. No need to remove the FAD motor unless you're also upgrading axle shafts.
Opening up the FAD isnt bad. Taking off the C clip is easier with small pliers.
The fact that people don't read/can't read is not Synergy's issue.
Because they had a cool thread pattern.
