Reid Racing Steering knuckles

[Roky]

Thank you - you officially talked me out of it. I'll stop looking at Amazon ball joint puller kits now.

Question, are Jeep dealer techs up to doing it correctly or does it have to be a specialty shop?

Do it yourself..…. it’s not hard if you can follow instructions and follow along with a YouTube vid and have a ball joint press, which you can rent if need be…… you can pm me if you got any questions. After I did mine, I’ve done 3 more rigs since. You don’t have to open the FAD and if you have stock axle shafts and not RCVs it’s even easier since you don’t have to mess with that orange cover that barely squeezes through the knuckle……..anyway ……I’m pretty confident you’d have no trouble doing it…..

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[stino]

I consider myself very technically capable and able to upgrade/repair many things on my Jeep. Changing out the steering knuckles is not something I would undertake as a "driveway" mechanic. I had the shop replace mine when I re-geared/trussed/lifted it.

Thank you - you officially talked me out of it. I'll stop looking at Amazon ball joint puller kits now.

Question, are Jeep dealer techs up to doing it correctly or does it have to be a specialty shop?

So, I've done 3 knuckle/ball joint upgrades on JLs now, in the driveway with basic tools, some rented from oreilly's. I will say, it is an intimidating job, mostly because its not one that you finesse - but if you're okay sledge-hammering stuff off your jeep, it really isn't that hard. If you've changed out coils, to me, thats a much more strenuous and time consuming job. Im "mechanical" but like, certainly no mechanic. My experience working on cars is very limited outside of the upgrades I've done to this Jeep.

I think you should look at what's involved and assume it will be 5x as hard to remove you knuckles/unit bearings as the videos look. And understand that there is a point of no return and thats kinda stressful.

But its really not that bad, if I'm being honest, and the second time was a breeze.

If you have any questions, I'd be happy to help you through it.

 

[Headbarcode]

I have 2 different places for doing my installs. Things like rock rails and most recently a winch install get done at the house where I keep a decent amount of basic tools.

Bigger installs get done at my father's heavy equipment repair shop that I worked at from 6-36 years old. It's not at all sophisticated, as far as I'm still working outside and without any form of vehicle lift other than the typical jacks and stands. But it's a building with a much wider array of tooling.

One of these next Sundays, I'll be heading there with these knuckles, ball joints, rcv's, and aluminum steering linkages that all need to get done in one day, so I can drive the 50 miles back home for work in the morning. I don't think it should be a long days job.

 

[gato]

Do it yourself..…. it’s not hard if you can follow instructions and follow along with a YouTube vid and have a ball joint press, which you can rent if need be…… you can pm me if you got any questions. After I did mine, I’ve done 3 more rigs since. You don’t have to open the FAD and if you have stock axle shafts and not RCVs it’s even easier since you don’t have to mess with that orange cover that barely squeezes through the knuckle……..anyway ……I’m pretty confident you’d have no trouble doing it…..

I have stock CV axles (full time 4WD ones). I'm not sure why the synergy video shows them opening the FAD and pushing the collar over before removing the shaft. If I don't have to remove that FAD cover (which is now behind a Rock Hard skid) I'm slightly more inclined to try it.

Question on which ball joints to use? I don't want to use Dynatrac with all the boring out. So between Dana HD (cheaper and easy to find) and Synergy (I like the way they have the grease nipples). Any opinions?

 

[gato]

So, I've done 3 knuckle/ball joint upgrades on JLs now, in the driveway with basic tools, some rented from oreilly's. I will say, it is an intimidating job, mostly because its not one that you finesse - but if you're okay sledge-hammering stuff off your jeep, it really isn't that hard. If you've changed out coils, to me, thats a much more strenuous and time consuming job. Im "mechanical" but like, certainly no mechanic. My experience working on cars is very limited outside of the upgrades I've done to this Jeep.

I think you should look at what's involved and assume it will be 5x as hard to remove you knuckles/unit bearings as the videos look. And understand that there is a point of no return and thats kinda stressful.

But its really not that bad, if I'm being honest, and the second time was a breeze.

If you have any questions, I'd be happy to help you through it.

I'm the same way. Prior to this JL I only did things like changing brakes, and steering stabilizer relocation. On the JL I have done everything so far (lift, skids, winch, etc). I have all the tools except the ball joint kit, but have no problems buying it. I have never sledgehammered anything on any of my vehicles, though

How long did it take the first time to do the knuckles and ball joints? Start to finish from lifting the jeep to ready to test drive?

 

[stino]

I have stock CV axles (full time 4WD ones). I'm not sure why the synergy video shows them opening the FAD and pushing the collar over before removing the shaft. If I don't have to remove that FAD cover (which is now behind a Rock Hard skid) I'm slightly more inclined to try it.

Question on which ball joints to use? I don't want to use Dynatrac with all the boring out. So between Dana HD (cheaper and easy to find) and Synergy (I like the way they have the grease nipples). Any opinions?

The trick w the FAD is to put the Jeep into 4Hi (while the engine is running, I don't think the FAD will engage otherwise, could be wrong) before you go to pull the axles. That way the FAD collar will engage with both axles and it'll stay lined up. I fucked this up the first time and had to go into the FAD, second time it was a lot easier doing it this way.

 

[stino]

I'm the same way. Prior to this JL I only did things like changing brakes, and steering stabilizer relocation. On the JL I have done everything so far (lift, skids, winch, etc). I have all the tools except the ball joint kit, but have no problems buying it. I have never sledgehammered anything on any of my vehicles, though

How long did it take the first time to do the knuckles and ball joints? Start to finish from lifting the jeep to ready to test drive?

I was able to rent the ball joint press from my local oreilly's and it worked just fine.

I think the first set took me about 6-7 hours alone, but the 3rd set I installed ended up taking less than 2 with a helper.

The steps that hung me up were:

• Removing the rotors, if they are stuck: Get a rubber mallet (or something safe), stand with your back to the jeep, swing downward and hit around the edges of the rotor. It'll eventually come lose
  
  
• Getting the unit bearing off the old knuckles. Mine were really stuck and I spent way more time than I should of getting them off. Theres a trick, reinstall the bolts, partially threaded in and knock the bolt heads from behind with a mallet until they pop off. The other 2 installs they kinda just fell out.
  
  
• Getting the knuckles off. This part sucked for all 3 installs. There are tricks, but 4 of the 6 knuckles I removed I ended up using a pickle fork in addition to the sledge. Also, because oem knuckles are aluminum, I have no idea how you could remove them without fucking them up. So I just accepted that. It goes easier with each install because I knew what to expect
  
  
• Getting the balljoints out was pretty easy but my first attempt I used a (socket?) that seemed like the right size, but ended up making its way into the little groove around the ball joint. Just backed it out and used the one that originally seemed "a little to big"
  
  
• The fad thing that I mentioned in the previous post

Everything from there went pretty straight forward

Other than smashing your Jeep w sledge hammer, its pretty chill - nice to be sitting in a chair doing it instead of needing to lay on the ground for hours with rocks digging into my back like most of the other jobs I've done.

My advice, take it slow, pay close attention to what you're doing and follow the instructions/videos, and allot like 2 fulls days where your jeep can be on jack stands, just incase. Nothing worse than rushing for the sake of sundown or something.

 

[stino]

If you end up giving it a try, I'll DM you my number and we can text/call through any issues.

 

[Roky]

I have stock CV axles (full time 4WD ones). I'm not sure why the synergy video shows them opening the FAD and pushing the collar over before removing the shaft. If I don't have to remove that FAD cover (which is now behind a Rock Hard skid) I'm slightly more inclined to try it.

Question on which ball joints to use? I don't want to use Dynatrac with all the boring out. So between Dana HD (cheaper and easy to find) and Synergy (I like the way they have the grease nipples). Any opinions?

I wouldn’t use anything but dynatrac, so I’m not much help to you on your selection, sorry.

 

[Headbarcode]

I'm contemplating adding new unit bearing assemblies for my pending front end overhaul. I'm already going to be in there doing knuckles, ball joints, axle shafts, and steering linkages. With 53k on the odometer, maybe it's a worthy addition to avoid potentially spiking the ball at the 5 yard line. I'm also on the fence between Dana/Spicer and Moog. As always, any and all thoughts are very much appreciated! Thanks

 

[gato]

The trick w the FAD is to put the Jeep into 4Hi (while the engine is running, I don't think the FAD will engage otherwise, could be wrong) before you go to pull the axles. That way the FAD collar will engage with both axles and it'll stay lined up. I fucked this up the first time and had to go into the FAD, second time it was a lot easier doing it this way.

So you want the FAD to be *engaged* before you pull/reinsert the passenger axle-shaft? What happens when it doesn't line up? The shaft doesn't go in all the way or it does but the FAD gets messed up?

 

[APiratesLife4Me]

I'm contemplating adding new unit bearing assemblies for my pending front end overhaul. I'm already going to be in there doing knuckles, ball joints, axle shafts, and steering linkages. With 53k on the odometer, maybe it's a worthy addition to avoid potentially spiking the ball at the 5 yard line. I'm also on the fence between Dana/Spicer and Moog. As always, any and all thoughts are very much appreciated! Thanks

Do it! I did the same project (along with truss and locker sensor potting) all at once and decided to replace everything that came off with new/upgraded. I consider unit bearings wear items just like ball joints.

I have stock CV axles (full time 4WD ones). I'm not sure why the synergy video shows them opening the FAD and pushing the collar over before removing the shaft. If I don't have to remove that FAD cover (which is now behind a Rock Hard skid) I'm slightly more inclined to try it.

Question on which ball joints to use? I don't want to use Dynatrac with all the boring out. So between Dana HD (cheaper and easy to find) and Synergy (I like the way they have the grease nipples). Any opinions?

I'm assuming you're going with Reid knuckles since you're still in this thread. If so, no boring is needed. They go in just like the OEM knuckles, as do the Dynatrac ball joints.

 

[stino]

So you want the FAD to be *engaged* before you pull/reinsert the passenger axle-shaft? What happens when it doesn't line up? The shaft doesn't go in all the way or it does but the FAD gets messed up?

So basically, when the FAD is not engaged, the collar sits exclusively on the passenger-side axle shaft. So when you pull it out, theres nothing keeping the collar in position, it'll retract a bit into the housing, requiring you to open the FAD to orient it back into position.

When you have the FAD engaged, its positioned onto both the passenger side axle shaft and the portion that goes from the pumpkin to the fad - at the same time. You remove the passenger side axle shaft and it stays lined up because it's still half way on the other shaft.

This is a photo of what it looks like when it's disengaged, imagine the collar moving the direction of the arrows when it engages, and "joining" the two axle shaft sections

That make sense?

 

[gato]

So basically, when the FAD is not engaged, the collar sits exclusively on the passenger-side axle shaft. So when you pull it out, theres nothing keeping the collar in position, it'll retract a bit into the housing, requiring you to open the FAD to orient it back into position.

When you have the FAD engaged, its positioned onto both the passenger side axle shaft and the portion that goes from the pumpkin to the fad - at the same time. You remove the passenger side axle shaft and it stays lined up because it's still half way on the other shaft.

This is a photo of what it looks like when it's disengaged, imagine the collar moving the direction of the arrows when it engages, and "joining" the two axle shaft sections

That make sense?

Thank you so much. This is an awesome explanation and totally makes sense.

Very helpful, even if I decide not to do it myself, I'll tell the shop to put in 4HI. But knowing that I can avoid opening the FAD is huge if I do it on my own.

 

[gato]

I'm assuming you're going with Reid knuckles since you're still in this thread. If so, no boring is needed. They go in just like the OEM knuckles, as do the Dynatrac ball joints.

I'm sorry, but I have been a leech on this thread, asking questions and offering little in return. I'd do 392/JT Mopar Iron knuckles - for ease of install and avoiding an orange red flag during warranty work.

It's just that this is the best thread on knuckle/shaft/ball joint replacement. People here really know the answers.

I hope to contribute back something useful in the future to others. Thanks for you patience and education.

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