Seizer

All right bare with me. Trying to get an understanding of why certain upgrades are needed and why some are not needed.
This JK is going to see 90% road and some Colorado mountain trails. No serious rock crawling stuff.

My project axle is already gusseted, trussed and sitting on a furniture dolly at my job site. My curiosity lies in the next stage of what to spend money on and what not to spend money on.

1)Sleeves for the tubes: Not a huge cost, but is it worth it? When an axle is sleeved I reckon it does not interfere with changing axle seals right? (Fab shop I've been talking with suggested might as well sleeve it.)

2)Upper control arm bushings: I want something that will last a long time and I can repair if needed without a lot of cussing. What is the benefit of JJ? (Besides a readily accessible rebuild kit) What is the benefit of Rubicon Express bushings? What is the benefit of polyurethane kit like Energy Suspension sells? Does installing JJs require different control arms ala Metal Cloak?

3) Ball joints : Thoughts opinions on Teraflex ball joints? I liked that they can be rebuilt. Figured 30-40 dollars more than Synergy joints why not. They are already in route, but I can return them if majority opinion says they are junk.

4) Axles : Chromoly shafts, CV axles or replace U-joints on stock axles? General thoughts on what if any upgrade here for my driving situation.

Thanks in advance.

BoraBora

Eh, if you're adamant about throwing more money at it...you could sleeve it. Not needed since it's trussed. No, it won't interfere with changing out the seals later on.

Honestly the factory clevite bushings in there will last a long time, longer than the Johnny Joint without the need for maintenance. I kept mine after burning on the truss. You can use the factory upper arm if you decide to go with JJ's, really any arm will fit; however, it'd be best to run an arm with a JJ on the frame side too.

I just popped in a set of Teraflex ball joints a month ago, but haven't put very many miles on them yet. I agree, I like how they're rebuildable should I need it down the road. Beats forking out another $200 for another set of BJ's. Unfortunately I tore the passenger side upper boot out during install...so I'm going to need to press them back out and in again to replace the boot before I can drive it :( ...

I wouldn't waste the money on Chromo shafts or RCV's for your situation. You're not rock crawling, so just replace the u-joints in the stock shafts. That being said, I'd hold off until your u-joints start clunking/showing signs that they're on the way out.

resharp001

I’ll echo a lot of what BoraBora said. Save your money and don’t worry about sleeves. You’re just not gonna see any benefit from them. I’ve not seen many negative comments about the Tearflex BJs. I’d choose them over Synergy. I didn’t have good luck with a few pairs of Synergy BJs and am now on Dynatracs. I wouldn’t put chromoly shafts in for a couple reasons. First, it sounds like you’re not really going to need them. More importantly second, I’d want the shafts to be the weak point in a D30. Should you ever get in the situation, you’d want your axle shaft to snap before you blew up your ring and pinion. Replacing an axle shaft is a whole lot easier than regearing. Personally, I’d gear it, put decent ball joints in, slap a nice coat of paint on it, and save the rest of your money for upgrades in different areas. I’d rather upgrade TR, TB, DL, tires, recovery equipment, and a whole slew of things before putting more in the axle than what is necessary. If you don't have any yet, quick disconnects for your sway bar might be better use of those funds as well. The axle is already plenty capable for your use.

Dynatrac

Where exactly did you see that Teraflex joints can be rebuilt?

Dynatrac ball joints can be rebuilt, and rebuilt without having to press the housing back out of the knuckle, which significantly lowers wear ont he knuckle from pressing the joint in and out. ANd abvoe all, our joints are the strongest on the market. You can learn a lot more about our joints at this link https://www.dynatrac.com/rebuildable...alljoints.html where you can also watch videos reviewing our ball joints, and how to rebuild them.

akguy09

You actually linked Teraflex's website and not Dynatrac's

resharp001

LOL, classic Dynatrac....classic

BoraBora

Whoops, not rebuildable. They have a lifetime warranty on them though, and that's good enough for me...assuming I can remember to grease them every 3,000 miles

Dynatrac

Hey, we're human. Here is the link we meant to post from when we were researching the original comment.

https://www.dynatrac.com/rebuildable...alljoints.html

jordy

It's Friday. I can relate to that situation typically. Pretty funny though.

Seizer

Definitely Resharp I intend on getting the quick disconnects. I don't know all the Jeeper acronyms yet what is TR, TB, and DL(DriveLine)???

Ahh man I saw it on the Teraflex user review. Derp a derp. Sorry about that now I might send them back and get Dynatracs. I should have read the sales insert to realize they were not rebuildable.

From Teraflex web page.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS

[TABLE="class: table, width: 100%"]
[TR="class: review"]
[TD]November 21st 2015
Shawn Houser
These ball joints are awesome! I've replaced my ball joints twice over just 3 years of wheeling and daily driving. I finally purchased the Teraflex balljoints and could not be happier. I have 37 inch bead locked wheels, and it's been just about a year, and they are still nice and tight, and perform just like day one. I like that they are greasable and rebuild able. Another awesome product by Teraflex. Thanks!![/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Well thanks for all your thoughts. Regarding my project piece.