Carli’s or Dynatrac for ball joints?

[mwilson]

Opinions please. Going to order ball joints and install before heading to Columbus.

Ozy says Carli. What say the rest of you??

I know I’m not going to chase the steering wheel for 3,000 miles so something different is getting installed other than the damn Moogs that are in it right now...

 

[jgillott]

You actually can't go wrong either way. I'd probably lean Carli since I'm more familiar with them. But either are light years ahead of parts store junk.

 

[AH64ID]

I went dynatrac since Carli was backordered when I bought them.

They were working great when I sold the truck, and they had plenty of dirt road miles on them too.

 

[Wayne M.]

8 lug truck had a Father’s Day sale, and they had a great deal on Dynatracs, so I bit. I had to get rid of the Moog junk. I was impressed with the quality and the adjustability of them. The lowers really reminded me of the old Mack kingpin adjustment. I really like that.
I have no experience with Carli, except knowing they cost more. These are holding up great. I just checked them yesterday.

 

[crispyboy]

My truck has had Carli for the past 20k miles. Seem to be doing just fine. I grease every 5k miles with the oil change. They only take a little bit of grease and you need to jack up the truck for the service. Carli says they take time to break-in and I believe it.

 

[Regcabguy]

Dynatrac for ten years now. Zero issues.

 

[AEdelheit]

Ive dealt with both and no wrong answer either way, I like the fact the Dynatracs can be rebuilt on the truck should there be an issue where the Carli's would need to be pressed out and replaced. I doubt you would have an issue with either one though.

 

[CJ8Rockcrawler]

I agree with what's been said. You can't go wrong either way. I too have over 10 years on my Dynatracs with oversized tires and plenty of dirt miles.

 

[JR]

Going to order ball joints and install before heading to Columbus.

Best get to gettin'


I'm in the same boat. Camper still winterized, need to go through hubs and brakes, and a few small maintenance items on the rig. I did put new shoes on the ol girl yesterday, so there's that off the list.

Spring time around here is the worst time for me to get ready for a trip. With the weather recently finally starting to break there's so much to do. Been burning the midnight oil on a few projects but it ain't been enough lately....think I need to figure out a way to clone myself so he can go make money while I hang out on the home front

 

[mwilson]

Same trouble here, even if I have a free minute it’s pouring rain...

 

[jjdiesel]

Dynatrac for ten years now. Zero issues.

Same here. I'd do them again.

 

[Prairie Dog]

I plan on Dyna tracs when ever the time comes.

 

[Bob4x4]

I’ve had Carli in mine since the prototype days.Chased multiple Baja Races,and plenty of rough roads here on 37’s

 

[mwilson]

I worry about blowing the seals out of the Carlis if I over grease them. Also just found a 10% off Memorial Day Sale from XDP on the Dynatracs. Still pondering which way to go..

 

[crispyboy]

I worry about blowing the seals out of the Carlis if I over grease them. .

I wouldn’t be worried about the grease. About 3/4 of a pump on the grease gun and they are done. You can feel the resistance through the grease gun. With the discount on the Dynatrack brand - go with the coupon!

 

[Ozymandias]

Dynas need a special 90° grease needle to reach the lower Balljoints nipple.
Carlis is built into the edge of the balljoint at a 45° angle so it can be greased with the standard grease gun.

 

[brods]

Just throwing this out there: https://www.turbodieselregister.com/threads/carli-upper-ball-joint-service-how-to.250313/

It is a tough call. Typically the rebuild kit on all of the premium ball joints is about the price of quality regular ball joints. The labor to rebuild them is about the same as installing regular ball joints. As we all know the price for premium ball joints can buy many sets of quality regular ball joints. For that kind of money I'd want them to last the life of the truck with nothing other than regular greasing. Given I live in the corrosion capital of the world, I doubt any "rebuildable" ball joint would actually be rebuildable 10 years down the road. For me I couldn't justify the cost for the high end stuff.

PS on edit, I've wanted to get Dynatracs for a while, so I fully understand the desire to get high end joints. If the price were to be half what it is I would have likely pulled the trigger on them.

 

[mwilson]

Well, after MUCH deliberation I ordered a set of Carli's. The grease fitting location pushed me over the edge....

Will arrive along with a pair of new Timken front hub / bearing assemblies. 156,000 miles on mine and it's time.......

Beware when looking for front Timken units as there is some confusion on Amazon as to the part number....used the Timken site to confirm Part Number (after all it's how I make a living, I don't trust anyone's part number unless I can verify it through the OEM).

There is a difference between 05 and 06 trucks, may just be the ABS plug but Amazon will point you to the 03-05 Timken version with an 06 4X4 2500 selected, not the 06 and up Timken like it should.

 

[GrantP]

I have the Carli BJ's on my 06, I think you'll like them. They can be stiff at first but they break in and everything is fine. The biggest thing is to keep up on the greasing as they will get sticky if you don't. The Carli BJ's have already exceeded the mileage I got out of the OEM's that failed at 40k.

 

[Ozymandias]

Good decision, next will be the T-Steering if there is replacement need.

When you are going to press in the lower BJ take care to align the grese zerk acording to the install manual.
You can use my BJ press if you want to.