The Ultimate Ball Joint Comparison!!!

[Deen]

100% agree! Our new 2025 Gladiator Mojave has Cast Iron knuckles. Designed to take the beating of the desert.
The Mojave package's front axle is the wide-track 3rd Generation Dana 44 front with 10mm axletubes, cast iron steering knuckles, 4.10 gears, and an open differential.

The diesel and 392 have the cast iron knuckles as well.

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[Deen]

MC has sales all the time anywhere from 10-15% occasionally a 20%. Check em at 4th of July, labor day and black Friday you'll find a deal.

MC hasn't put their Baller joints nor Black shocks on sale yet.

 

[ASSFROW]

MC hasn't put their Baller joints nor Black shocks on sale yet.

If they have to put something called Baller on sale, is it really baller?

 

[Deleted User 38384]

Someone in the comments asked. They said they didn't have them in time to include them in the video. I don't see the advantage over Dynatrac and the rebuild kits are more.

Really just depends on your setup. With my setup in particular these American Iron Ball Joint Deletes will last significantly longer for me than normal ball joints would.

As you can see, a kingpin style design is going to be much better for someone like me.

 

[ASSFROW]

Really just depends on your setup. With my setup in particular these American Iron Ball Joint Deletes will last significantly longer for me than normal ball joints would.

As you can see, a kingpin style design is going to be much better for someone like me.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but the Dynatracs are pretty much a kingpin design from what they look like. I'm also pretty sure the American Iron use a "plastic" race(for lack of a better word in my brain right now). I think the rebuild kits were also quite a bit more if I remember right. These are just my opinions and I might be totally wrong, please fill me in if I am. If the America Iron are significantly stronger they'll go back on my list, but I'm leaning towards Dynatrac when mine go.

 

[wibornz]

There are thousand and thousands of stock near stock Jeeps wheeling out west that have spent majority of their days on the trail for 25+ years. It is pretty easy to find an XJ with 300,000 miles on them being wheeled. You don't have to look hard to find TJs with 250,000 miles being wheeled that are close to stock or have stock axles on them.

 

[ASSFROW]

There are thousand and thousands of stock near stock Jeeps wheeling out west that have spent majority of their days on the trail for 25+ years. It is pretty easy to find an XJ with 300,000 miles on them being wheeled. You don't have to look hard to find TJs with 250,000 miles being wheeled that are close to stock or have stock axles on them.

Yeah, but, but, but, butt.

 

[Zandcwhite]

There are thousand and thousands of stock near stock Jeeps wheeling out west that have spent majority of their days on the trail for 25+ years. It is pretty easy to find an XJ with 300,000 miles on them being wheeled. You don't have to look hard to find TJs with 250,000 miles being wheeled that are close to stock or have stock axles on them.

I call bs as I've wheeled many an XJ into oblivion. The reason you see those near stock 300k mile rigs wheeling is poor kids like I used to be are buying grandma's grocery getter with 250k on it for $1500 and wheeling it for a few years before the unibody "frame" begins to disintegrate. The area around the steering box usually goes 1st just from trying to turn in the rocks and flexing that soda can back and forth until one day the box just pulls clean through the frame bolts and all. Spent a weekend on the dusy plating and welding mine back together. That xj would be a prime example of my point. Had 200k on it when I bought it. Started falling apart at 230k. That's 30k hard wheeling miles not 230k. The odometer doesn't reflect the reality of the actual wheeling. Look at how many times you've had to repair/replace parts of your brand new JL in 139k miles, and everything about it is super heavy duty compared to an xj or even a tj. The reason I wheel new Jeeps now definitely isn't because it's cheaper. It's because they hold up better. Everyone that wheels a high mileage rig is constantly working on them. At home, on the trail, missing planned wheeling trips because they found more failing parts days before. Show me 1 rig that has actually been wheeled hard for 200k+ miles. Now count the stock parts left in the drivetrain. Further seeing a high mileage rig on the trail with stock axles doesn't prove the were they factory ones. On pick n pull half price days you could pick up entire axles complete for $150. For us poor kids it was cheaper to swap an axle than to do a brake job and replace a broken axle shaft. I'd like to see 1 rig on its 5th set of ball joints, it's not a real concern.

 

[Deleted User 38384]

I'm not saying you're wrong, but the Dynatracs are pretty much a kingpin design from what they look like. I'm also pretty sure the American Iron use a "plastic" race(for lack of a better word in my brain right now). I think the rebuild kits were also quite a bit more if I remember right. These are just my opinions and I might be totally wrong, please fill me in if I am. If the America Iron are significantly stronger they'll go back on my list, but I'm leaning towards Dynatrac when mine go.

There's no plastic on the American Iron Deletes, nor is there on the Dynatracs

The real difference between the two lies in how the center shaft rotates. Dynatrac has a ball joint that rotates on a bearing sleeve. American Iron is simply a kingpin that rotates on a bearing sleeve.

Being that the Dynatrac is still a ball joint, it still has the normal failure points of all of the others. While it is designed much better and higher quality than a lot of the other brands out there that I have seen, it still needs to be greased and there is still a gap between the top of the ball and the cap in the housing. It's up and down movement is minor (a few thousands of an inch), but it's still allows movement up and down, which creates your common wear point amongst ball joints.

The AI Ball Joint Delete doesn't have that wear point.

When you look at how both of these can break or wear out over time, the issued with the American Iron Joint is the bearing sleeve seizing up and failing and the stem shearing in half (though I have never heard of a chromoly shaft shearing in half).

However Dynatrac is still a ball joint, thus it still has all the normal ball joint failure points. The biggest issue in my personal opinion is that because it's still a ball joint, the chromoly stem can still separate from the housing, leaving you stranded having to install a new ball joint on the trail. The AI joint won't separate because it's one solid shaft all the way through.

I think it honestly comes down to what kind of wheeling you do, what your wheel and axle setup is, and how long you plan on keeping your Jeep. Cuz if you're only going to have your Jeep for less than 10 years and you're not going to put 200,000 miles on it, and you're not doing hardcore rock crawling, what do you care replacing your ball joint 2 to 5 times over the 10 years (or less) you own the vehicle?

 

[wibornz]

I call bs as I've wheeled many an XJ into oblivion. The reason you see those near stock 300k mile rigs wheeling is poor kids like I used to be are buying grandma's grocery getter with 250k on it for $1500 and wheeling it for a few years before the unibody "frame" begins to disintegrate. The area around the steering box usually goes 1st just from trying to turn in the rocks and flexing that soda can back and forth until one day the box just pulls clean through the frame bolts and all. Spent a weekend on the dusy plating and welding mine back together. That xj would be a prime example of my point. Had 200k on it when I bought it. Started falling apart at 230k. That's 30k hard wheeling miles not 230k. The odometer doesn't reflect the reality of the actual wheeling. Look at how many times you've had to repair/replace parts of your brand new JL in 139k miles, and everything about it is super heavy duty compared to an xj or even a tj. The reason I wheel new Jeeps now definitely isn't because it's cheaper. It's because they hold up better. Everyone that wheels a high mileage rig is constantly working on them. At home, on the trail, missing planned wheeling trips because they found more failing parts days before. Show me 1 rig that has actually been wheeled hard for 200k+ miles. Now count the stock parts left in the drivetrain. Further seeing a high mileage rig on the trail with stock axles doesn't prove the were they factory ones. On pick n pull half price days you could pick up entire axles complete for $150. For us poor kids it was cheaper to swap an axle than to do a brake job and replace a broken axle shaft. I'd like to see 1 rig on its 5th set of ball joints, it's not a real concern.

Parts for XJs are cheap. It is nothing to keep them running. The ones out west do not rust out. The XJs I have had over the year were very cheap to maintain. Like a water pump is $12. brake calipers are about $20. You can buy transmissions and T-cases for under $200. off Facebook marketplace,

As far as my JL goes, the only issue I have had is axle related. The rest of the Jeep has been fantastic. I did have to drop the pan as there was an oil leak and I replaced the idler pulleys and a serpentine belt. I did replace the radiator because it was packed full of mud and it was way easier to put a new one in than try and clean the old one as I was in Alaska and did not have a way to really clean it. No access to water as we camped off grid and it was not like I could tear the Jeep apart and drive the 20 miles to a car wash. I was in luck because Trail Toyz Off Road sold me a OEM radiator for $230.

This one that I owned had close to 275,000 miles. I wheeled it then sold it and got all my money back for the win.

 

[wibornz]

Yeah, but, but, but, butt.

I understand, but then you are wheeling a SBXJ (Shit Box XJ). The old Jeeps are not like a JL. You are not hooking a camper to a XJ or a TJ that has 37s on it and towing a camper all over the country, over mountain passes, running 70 mph with the AC on and being comfortable for 16 hour drives. I get it. That does not change the fact that old XJs and TJ get wheeled every weekend.

 

[Zandcwhite]

Parts for XJs are cheap. It is nothing to keep them running. The ones out west do not rust out. The XJs I have had over the year were very cheap to maintain. Like a water pump is $12. brake calipers are about $20. You can buy transmissions and T-cases for under $200. off Facebook marketplace,

As far as my JL goes, the only issue I have had is axle related. The rest of the Jeep has been fantastic. I did have to drop the pan as there was an oil leak and I replaced the idler pulleys and a serpentine belt. I did replace the radiator because it was packed full of mud and it was way easier to put a new one in than try and clean the old one as I was in Alaska and did not have a way to really clean it. No access to water as we camped off grid and it was not like I could tear the Jeep apart and drive the 20 miles to a car wash. I was in luck because Trail Toyz Off Road sold me a OEM radiator for $230.

This one that I owned had close to 275,000 miles.

Can you honestly say that xj was wheeled hard for 275k though? I agree they are (or at least were) dirt cheap and ran forever, which is why high mileage ones are everywhere. The problem is unibody related. The flexing literally leads to it cracking and ripping itself apart. Add in the weak Dana 30 front axle and on 33s or bigger you were bound to break ujoints and shafts regularly if wheeling in the rocks. Buying a rig with 150-200k miles on it and wheeling it hard for 50k is not even close to the same as wheeling it hard for 250-300k. I've yet to see 1 vehicle of any kind that held up to that without a whole bunch of rebuilding.

 

[ASSFROW]

I understand, but then you are wheeling a SBXJ (Shit Box XJ). The old Jeeps are not like a JL. You are not hooking a camper to a XJ or a TJ that has 37s on it and towing a camper all over the country, over mountain passes, running 70 mph with the AC on and being comfortable for 16 hour drives. I get it. That does not change the fact that old XJs and TJ get wheeled every weekend.

Lol, I knew that guywould have a ridiculous retort and was making fun of him.

 

[wibornz]

Can you honestly say that xj was wheeled hard for 275k though? I agree they are (or at least were) dirt cheap and ran forever, which is why high mileage ones are everywhere. The problem is unibody related. The flexing literally leads to it cracking and ripping itself apart. Add in the weak Dana 30 front axle and on 33s or bigger you were bound to break ujoints and shafts regularly if wheeling in the rocks. Buying a rig with 150-200k miles on it and wheeling it hard for 50k is not even close to the same as wheeling it hard for 250-300k. I've yet to see 1 vehicle of any kind that held up to that without a whole bunch of rebuilding.

It is not common for most vehicle to reach 250,000 miles, yet it is common for the XJ and the ones do get wheeled often get wheeled hard. After all, I have more into my wheels and tires than the total cost of my XJ that I wheeled while I had my JLUR. It is not difficult to find a 30 year old XJ being beat on YouTube. With that said for every old Toyota being wheeled hard, you can find a thousand old Jeeps being wheeled even harder.

 

[NMPirate]

I came across this video right after it was posted. I've been researching ball joints for a while since my 2017 JK needs new ones with 85k on them. I bought the Teraflex joints and now I just need to get my mechanic to put them on. Front axle seals need to be replaced at the same time also. I was surprised to see that anyone uses plastic in the joints.

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