Rednroll

This re-design seems poorly managed by TF in their marketing department which is usually stellar. You would think, there would be some updates on their website or a Youtube video posted by now of the new feature design highlights.

Is there a TF part number on the box that yours came in?

Everything I found so far shows the previous sets part numbers.
P/N: 3442022= Previous part, set of 4 (Knurled)
P/N: 3442002= Previous part, set of 4 (No Knurl)

BoraBora

The part numbers are probably the same as the old design since spec wise these new ball joints are exactly the same as the old design. They just changed the design of the grease and preload adjustment since the old model had these stupid tiny little hex screws. These just look easier to grease.

resharp001

+1. Also, David and the guys at NorthRidge are all over their stuff....they are super quick to respond to the online chat feature if you ever have a question. If you ordered from them like Karl, you might just confirm with them what is currently being sent is the new design. I'd imagine all the old stock was blown through long ago and everyone is sending out the new design using the same product numbers.

karls10jk

My pn is 3442022 (knurled) and the inspection date was 3/13/18. I talked with Northridge4x4 and they said they only had new stock and had "plenty" when I asked how many were in stock. I asked for a number to make sure I wasn't going to catch the end of their inventory and they came back with "plenty" again, so I'm sure they're stocked to the gills.


.....and I agree- they should have changed the marketing just a bit to highlight the dual greasing points.

Rednroll

I was doing some price comparison shopping on Amazon since I seen the older set listed there about a year ago for $175. For the Knurled there is a pic posted of the new design, for the unknurled there is a pic of the old design and 2 of the top questions were, "Are these the new design?", with none of the replies providing a legit answer.
https://www.amazon.com/TeraFlex-3442002-Joints-Premium-Joint/dp/B00HHD268M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1526443887&sr=8-1&keywords=teraflex+ball+joints+jk&dpID=417sqY1XwpL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
I'll likely be giving NR4x4 a call, to see what kind of price they can get me on the TF ball joints, confirm new design and Adams front drive shaft while I'm at it. I've been hearing a clunking sound from my driver's side when steering, where I'm suspecting it's my ball joints. Need to jack it up to confirm, but chances are with close to 150K miles on those stockers and 35s, my suspicions are likely on target.

You would think TF would have at least changed the part number for the new design, so you could make an informed purchase decision in knowing if you were buying the previous old stock inventory design or new design for those of us who actually care and know there's a difference.

BoraBora

You're right, but their old ball joints were nationally back-ordered when I needed replacements back in November (or October?). Nobody, and I mean nobody at all (Northridge, local shops, Teraflex themselves) had a single ball joint in stock, and the expected ETA was March 2018. Rather than wait 5 months for them to fulfill my warranty request, I took them up on their offer and got a full refund. So there's no chance anyone is going to get the original style ball joints.

That being said, the upper ball joints are identical to the "old" ones. Looks like they just changed the lower a little bit. Same ball size and everything, so it also makes sense to keep the same part numbers.

Rednroll

Interesting. So that means TF likely pulled all stock from vendors of the older design? odd.

resharp001

I'd think more likely initial production was a big batch, all the stock sold out long ago, they realized a flaw and set out to fix it before moving forward, hence a big lag. I'd find that more plausible than they yanked all old stock as in it was defective. especially since they were newer to the market to begin with. Kinda like these dumb ass Dirty Life wheels......get big initial order, and once the stock sells out it's a long wait to get the next wave of production, and you have a decent idea what demand is gonna be like.

Rednroll

I'm going to order the TF Ball Joint set today, to take advantage of some Memorial Day weekend sales. Likely going to go through Morris 4x4 due to both Morris and NR have 10% offers going on, but Morris carries an AEV crush can cover that I also want to replace where NR no longer carries it. So I can bundle that cover in with the ball joints for the free shipping and additional 10% discount.

For install, I'm going to rent a Ball Joint press tool. However, I'ld additionally like to look around and purchase a separate adapter to do some mods to it to make my life easier, such as what Karl pointed out in regards to cutting it with an angle edge. I see in the TF install videos they show this same kind of tool mod.

Here's a pic from one of the TF videos. Does anyone know what the Inner and outer diameter is of this adapter?

karls10jk

I don't have that ID/ OD handy but the kits will have the sizes listed next to them when you pull them out. TF put out a video today too!