Ball Joints time...

[jwduke]

I appreciate ALL of the great posts here, and yes to those of you who will ask, "Did you use the search engine?". Well my BIG question is, whats the BEST ball joints for the money? I tow a 11,000 lb. 5th wheel camper behind my Dodge, so I'm sure this has had something to do with the wear on my ball joints. BUT I REALLY figured they would last MORE than 44,000 MILES! I'm thinking also of going with a part time kit, as this seems like the time to do that, also. Any thoughts on the Yukon Gear kit? Again, THANKS in advance for your GREAT help in the past & now!!

 

[cerberusiam]

Raybestos Professional Grade upper and lower - $350

DynaTrac Rebuildable upper and lowers - $600-$700

Carli Upper and lowers - $800

Nothing else is worth discussing or using for these trucks. Those are the top 3 choices, IMO.

The ones thta have used the Yukon free spin like it. No word on longevity yet. Some of the others have been out there for a while with little or no issues. Any of them would be worth it if you want to spend the $$. ROI is not a short period by any means. Since you only have 44k on an 8 year old truck it is doubtful it would ever pay back so it is a functionality choice.

 

[jwduke]

You are right on the function ability on the part time kit, cerberusiam. I also see EMS has a part time kit, any one having any luck or problems with it?

 

[AH64ID]

I just did the Yukon Spin Free kit and dynatrac ball joints. Both are of exceptional quality, and a great upgrade to the OEM suspension.

 

[cerberusiam]

EMS, DynaTrac, and Yukon all have the kits. All seemed priced about the same. Haven't bad about any of them yet.

 

[jwduke]

AH641D, how big of a pain was it to remove the unit bearings? I understand a torch & a BFH is needed!

 

[cerberusiam]

Mine came off easy at 180k using the power steering trick. If you run in the winter and they salt your roads you might have to work at it a bit.

 

[PFranzese]

I just did the DynaTrac joints. I had previously installed Carlis in a friends truck and decided to try the Dynatrac joints for myself, both are works of art as far as boll joints are concerned and i couldn't be happier with my choice. My friend is pretty happy with the Carli joints as well.



X2 on the power steering trick, my hubs came right out but my buddies wouldn't move until a little persuasion from the power steering was applied. Made a tough job really easy.

 

[AH64ID]

AH641D, how big of a pain was it to remove the unit bearings? I understand a torch & a BFH is needed!

I didn't use a torch or a BFH, just the power steering. It wasn't too bad.

 

[EDankievitch]

I have done Carli's had over 100,000 on the set I put into the 05 I had. I found is my search for my friend's 04 syntec (I think that's the co's name) looked very much like the Carli design but I can't find any info about them if or how they hold up. I've also installed Dynatraxx ball joints, they work. As for a part time kit you can't go wrong with any of the kits out on ythe market. That said I have done a few Dynatraxx and Spyntec kits. Spyntec now offers a shorty kit so the hubs don't stick out so far.

 

[EDankievitch]

I have done Carli's had over 100,000 on the set I put into the 05 I had. I found is my search for my friend's 04 syntec (I think that's the co's name) looked very much like the Carli design but I can't find any info about them if or how they hold up. I've also installed Dynatraxx ball joints, they work. As for a part time kit you can't go wrong with any of the kits out on ythe market. That said I have done a few Dynatraxx and Spyntec kits. Spyntec now offers a shorty kit so the hubs don't stick out so far.

 

[jelag]

OK... I was looking at the Yukon Free Wheel kit... . and the verbiage says ""significant increase in mileage" can anyone who's installed this kit confirm or deny their claim... . at 10% which is my number... not theirs... it would be doubtful the kit would be worthwhile other than the ability to use low range to back up with, and not have the front wheels connected...



Thanks for your thoughts...

 

[brillmtb]

What about the Napa Premium line? About 400. 00 for both sets?

 

[brillmtb]

Oh, I forgot to ask. Anyone think my 03 would not need the ball joints replaced with over 160K on them. Seems like some have burned through several pairs by then.

 

[cerberusiam]

What about the Napa Premium line? About 400. 00 for both sets?

Depends. The Napa lines have gone to an in-house source rather the quality parts. They are definitely not the same quality in a lot of case, all about cost.

Then you need to decide if you want to stay with OE design that does not use a ball joint on the upper or go with a BJ with a full ball and loading capability.

If you got to 160k then you got a good set. I got 180k out of the lowers before the play was too much for my sensibilities. I think the BJ's have the same problem as other parts, QC. Some last and some don't. The quality of raods and climate I am sure make a big difference also.

 

[brillmtb]

Depends. The Napa lines have gone to an in-house source rather the quality parts. They are definitely not the same quality in a lot of case, all about cost.



Then you need to decide if you want to stay with OE design that does not use a ball joint on the upper or go with a BJ with a full ball and loading capability.



If you got to 160k then you got a good set. I got 180k out of the lowers before the play was too much for my sensibilities. I think the BJ's have the same problem as other parts, QC. Some last and some don't. The quality of raods and climate I am sure make a big difference also.

I was told the premium napa ball joints are made by dana or some other company I recognized that is US built and the regulars are made in China. So the uppers in the current dodge rams are not true ball joints and the replacements are? I am just wondering if going from 400 to 800 dollars for the Carlie given my miles and the thought that perhaps I would own the truck for only say 3 more years would be worth it. I was told by my mechanic that the napa premiums definetly looked better than the standard napa issue.

 

[cerberusiam]

The stock uppers are not a true ball joint, you can get replacements that are, or, replacements that are better quality of the OE design. There are choices depending on what you want to do.

 

[AH64ID]

In my opinion 10% is significant on mileage, and what I expect to see when empty from the hubs. It's a 8K lb truck, so a 10% increase from a little unsprung rotational weight is great!

 

[cerberusiam]

In my opinion 10% is significant on mileage, and what I expect to see when empty from the hubs.

Do you have enough data on your Dads truck and yours to confirm 10%, or, as usually reported a 1-2 mpg increase? Does it translate to different speeds and towing as well?

 

[AH64ID]

My dad has a bunch of miles on his kit with similar conditions over similar routes, he says about 10% empty and 5% towing.

I don't have enough miles on mine yet, but watching the load on my UG it's down 3-5% for the same route/speed/etc.