Ball joints...what else while I am in there?

[mwilson]

I was told by dyna-trac that they do not need to be greased. The seal is tight and they won't flush grease in the traditional way. As long as the seal is good they will never need grease. The fittings were installed because the consumer thinks they need it... ...



We had two trucks with dyna-tracs. One got written off in a accident this winter and the other is still going strong with close to 200Kmiles on the joints with no play and only one attempt at greasing.

When my Moogs give it up those Dyna Tracs are on my list.



Mike.

 

[AH64ID]

When my Moogs give it up those Dyna Tracs are on my list.

Mike.

I thought I read that the MOOG's are slightly oversized and you have to continue to use MOOG or the BJ's will be loose. I wonder if that is true or internet rumor?

 

[mwilson]

I thought I read that the MOOG's are slightly oversized and you have to continue to use MOOG or the BJ's will be loose. I wonder if that is true or internet rumor?

No, I have read that here as well but it was a different brand. I can't remember exactly but I know that it was not Moog because I didn't freak out.



I think the one being discussed in an old thread had aggressive ridges, splines etc. rather than the somewhat smooth machined finish of most so it does enlarge the bore a bit when pressed in. It was being questioned if you could go back after installing them.



edit... I think a was a brand touted for off road as I mull it over.



Mike.

 

[AH64ID]

Hmm, I was pretty sure I read it was MOOG in multiple threads, but yes ridges were the issue and your don't appear to have them.

 

[cerberusiam]

IIRC, the splined ones were over sized to fit worn axles. XRF, Moog, and Raybestos all offer splined ones for different needs. Seems that there conditions that will wallow out the pockets and ruin the axle housing. The splines are not the problem, the size is. Splines are now being used on a lot of them to aid a straight installation. Accoring to McQuay Norris the shape of the pocket and how they were pressed in was causing some issues. If the splined BJ's are significantly larger than the OE then they are a fix. The others should be very close to OE size when you mic them.

 

[analog]

The Raybestos I put in were splined. Perhaps that contributed to the diffculty in pressing them in. They sure are in there tight!

Also, I tried the 90° zerks and they don't clear the u-joints, so I've got the straight ones in there and we'll just have to see how creative I can get when it comes time to grease them.

 

[mwilson]

Also, I tried the 90° zerks and they don't clear the u-joints, so I've got the straight ones in there and we'll just have to see how creative I can get when it comes time to grease them.

Thanks for letting us know. Have been wondering about that.

Mike.

 

[v1sc]

I just got the ball joints installed by a shop (along with U-joints and bearings) as I did not feel confident about getting the bearings off after New England winters have taken their toll on my truck. I ran into an issue. I got the 1/2 degree offset upper BJs that Cerberusiam had suggested to get the full ball design and gave the shop specific instructions to set them for positive caster. When I got the truck back they were set for negative camber. I immediately called the shop to let them know of the mistake and they were very apologetic and quick to get me back in there (dropping the truck off on monday) to fix the issue. I also placed a call to McQuay Norris to make sure I was correct about them installing them for negative camber and the tech guy told me that the offset BJs were really made to correct camber and not really for caster. Now I just have a few questions...

1) Is there any issue with pulling the upper BJs to turn them 90 degrees and set them back in?

2) I just want to double check and make sure there is definitely not an issue with installing them for positive caster (I know it is only a 1/2 degree offset but just want to make sure). The new angle of the stud won't do any damage to the knuckle?

3) Why would someone need to change the camber? Would it get out of whack on an old, worn out front end? Assuming my front end is still pretty tight the negative camber would lead to the tires wearing incorrectly, right?

Sorry for the long post. I just need to be put at ease and a little frustrated after spending the money on labor only to see that they didn't follow my instructions. This makes me wish I had spent the time and frustration on doing it myself.

 

[cerberusiam]

Depending on how you install them they can be used for camber or caster adjustments. Caster is just how far the center line of the wheel is tilted to the front. As long as you setup the castor to the minimum needed on the whole axle adjustment, there is no difference on the stress the joint takes. 3. 5 degees of caster is the same whether it is set with lower control arm adjusters or the tilt on the end of the tubes. It makes no difference how you get there.

With the BJ's going into the axle side there is plenty of room to offset them a bit and not need to cut down the shank like some of them need to do when the BJ goes into the yoke.
The 1/2 degree does not get it that far off from center to cause issues. They can just pop them out and align them correctly.

I totally disagree with them being used for camber. Camber is preset when the housing is welded together. If that changes to where you need to adjust it then the housing is bending. Using an offset ball joint to adjust for that is a bandaid. I think the person you talked to was confused or just said it wrong. Negative camber will wear the tires unevenly, one would think they aligned it to see that. The maximum cross camber is . 3 degrees and each wheel is +\- . 2 degree if I remember correctly. A 1/2 degree of needed camber adjustment on a straight axle is an indication of problem.

 

[v1sc]

Thanks for the reply, Cerberusiam. My thoughts are along the same line as yours but I think I needed to hear it from somebody else to calm me down. I am going to take it back to the shop on Monday and have them set the uppers correctly. Thank you for your help!