Originally Posted by resharp001
(Post 4328716)
Don't buy this shit guys! Don't buy in to the "oh you can rebuild these without pressing in new one". F this crap. :hot::tantrum: And I'm not joking. Done.
Sorry to hear about your current install problems. You know I'm here for you and we can always share our DIY install experiences for some peer support. I'll be replacing my PCV today, should be much simpler than ball joints, but you never know. :D P.S. I still need to return the ball joint press kit I rented from Advanced Auto to get my $280 deposit back. I'm wondering how that conversation is going to go on the one adapter I mushroomed trying to get my passenger side upper ball joint out. The mushroomed side of that adapter will be turned downward in the kit case when I return it, where I hope they have a life-time warranty. ;) |
Originally Posted by Rednroll
(Post 4328732)
P.S. I still need to return the ball joint press kit I rented from Advanced Auto to get my $280 deposit back. I'm wondering how that conversation is going to go on the one adapter I mushroomed trying to get my passenger side upper ball joint out. The mushroomed side of that adapter will be turned downward in the kit case when I return it, where I hope they have a life-time warranty. ;)
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Originally Posted by resharp001
(Post 4328721)
I would note, I was so pissed off, I put that ball in a vice and crank it down hard. Punch on the stud and did my best "Ghost of Harambee"..........and it was just as comical as I've said it would be.
Did you get this wrapped up yet? Or you going to throw in the towel and get a set of TF replacements or drop some bucks on the rare parts? This would definitely infuriate me paying that much more for the DT ball joints and getting not many miles out of them, and then going through all this B.S. for what is supposed to be a beneficial feature in them being rebuildable. I would have thrown in the towel a long time ago to cut my losses. I'm sure DT would be happy to sell you a PR60 to help solve your DT ball joint problems. :D |
I was extremely pissed off Saturday night when I posted that. I kid you not.....I could not believe how hard it was to remove that joint from the stud on the driver's side lower. After my previous week's experience, I thought I'd fly through the driver's side. Last week the actual pressing the joints off/on the stud was a little learning curve, but once I found the best method, it wasn't the end of the world, but I just don't see how you could ever do it with a hammer and punch, cuz it was effort moving those joints with a 12-ton press. To exert so much pressure that the ball presses right on out of the sleeve, without even moving on the stud, is pretty amazing. I can assure you as well, I was pressing directly down....it wasn't that I was off the mark or anything. Once the sleeve was crapped out, I was left with the ball on the stud trying to figure out how to remove it with no way to hold it. Ugh.
I'd calmed down a little by Sunday morning so finished up the lower, then decided may as well do the upper even though I thought I'd be fine leaving that one alone. Well, I should have just left it alone, cuz that one ate up several hours too, caused me to hate my BJs, my jeep, and myself.
Originally Posted by Rednroll
(Post 4328766)
I'm amazed at how you resorted to having to use a press. I don't own a press, so this job of rebuilding DT ball joints definitely wouldn't be for me.
Originally Posted by Rednroll
(Post 4328766)
Did you get this wrapped up yet? Or you going to throw in the towel and get a set of TF replacements or drop some bucks on the rare parts?
Originally Posted by Rednroll
(Post 4328766)
This would definitely infuriate me paying that much more for the DT ball joints and getting not many miles out of them, and then going through all this B.S. for what is supposed to be a beneficial feature in them being rebuildable. I would have thrown in the towel a long time ago to cut my losses.
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For reference, I could change a normal set of BJs, in prob 3-4 hours max. If things went smoothly, as they should, I think one could rebuild these in close to the same time, but actually taking a little more detailed effort. That said, I think I spent at least 6 hours (or more) jacking around with the driver's side this weekend between sat night and sunday morning. Mind you, some of that time is pacing around the garage cussing and wondering out loud "now what the F am I going to do?" and "how am I going to resolve this issue". I mean, I'm glad I'm kind of an industrious person that can think outside the box.....and once I get past the initial freak out moment I can figure out some way around things. I will admit, some of the issue I had with the driver's upper was self inflicted, but still.....that door was opened, problem arose, and had to figure out how to solve the problem and move forward.
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https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jk-...03d24e61a3.jpg
Wasn't so interested at the moment this happened, but generally interesting to see that lining inside the joint's sleeve. Got me wondering how something like this is manufactured. |
TF does make a knurled version, I used them to replace my Synergy knurls. A friend just did the Rare Parts but I don't recall what he pulled out, I think Synergy though. He's been through 3 sets of bj's in as many years with less than 10,000 miles.
Below are after synergy knurls....hardly any knurls IMO. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jk-...145be4addd.jpg After synergy knurls. |
It's been 3 years......so maybe my memory is bad, but I recall the DT knurls being SIGNIFICANTLY more than the synergy was.
Synergy - https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jk-...f1047c501c.jpg Teraflex knurled - https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jk-...456d9bd955.jpg Dynatrac knurled - https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jk-...8e555d1963.jpg Digging for pictures right now though, I know that doesn't "look" much different. I definitely recall in the moment, them being much more significant. They were also MUCH harder to install pressing in, in the sense that the knurls were not making life easy. That was after having installed 2 sets of Synergy's in a fairly short time span, so the whole experience was fresh in my head at the time. The original DT install was MUCH harder than the synergy installs had been. I had a buddy that had just installed RP BJs not long before I bought these. Again, the reason I didn't buy RP was they didn't come knurled, and I thought I had to have knurls after the Synergy BS. Those RP joints when in like butter. My real fear would be pulling these out, only to realize that y, nothing else is going to work....and with my luck, I'd jack up the forging in the process. :crazyeyes: I wish I could put my hands on some uninstalled DT knurled BJs to see. Pictures are so deceiving. |
Maybe DT will send you pics? Any 4wp nearby that may have a set that you can get your hands on?? TF picture for reference, different from the stock internet pics for sure.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jk-...515b8e5819.jpg |
This is interesting, and did not know this before -
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jk-...86bd04fdc5.jpg It looks like RP makes an "oversized" version for use after knurls, and that is the. If you go to their site and hover over that RP13624 kit, it says only use if replacing knurled BJs. I sure hope that's not something I need to consider for a while....at least another 3 years and 40k miles. |
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