If you only have negative comments and are unable to convey your opinion in a way that we can all sort of understand and gain insight from, please keep your opinions to yourself. If I find that there is no value added in your comment, I will either respond with pure sarcasm or blatantly ignore you. I respect myself too much to deal with people who are extremely ignorant. Build on people 🤘
Looking at this I’m just wondering if you ever have to lube or grease these things? Kind of like king pins. All I know is anything has to be better than the garbage ball joints that I’ve replaced 4-5 times I have no idea why they designed these axles the way they did never seen a ball joint set up where the top was off set to me it don’t make sense just makes it wear out faster.
@@richard6606 certainly doesn't make sense to me how they designed them. According to American Iron, there is no need for lubricating these joints. They should last awhile, though.
Just a little tip that will save you a ton of time. You DO NOT need to remove the rotor or bearing from the axle shaft, just undo the 4 bolts on the back of the wheel bearing and everything comes out in one piece. It's a lot easier to whack on the rotor to get the bearing and axle shaft out.
Yeah, I totally forgot about that until after I had done it. That's how I tear down my Ultra4 car, but didn't do it with my towpig for some reason. Lol
As a retired mechanic I did a lot of ball joints on a lot of trucks especially Dodges (including my own). I wish these had been around then and plan on installing on both my Dodge pickup and my TJ.
Yeah, I wish there were better options for every ball joint. One day, American Iron Offroad will be fixing several other models. It's a shame the manufacturers of cars haven't updated their design to do a better job.
I've worked on everything from automotive to heavy truck and equipment. Straight axles work best with a king pin type arrangement and this is very close to that.
@@snow8581 definitely some good insight! I haven't personally ran a king pin. I've always been a super duty guy. Super duties have been known to have stronger knuckles, but I believe aftermarket has fixed that for many king pin axles anyway. That's for offroad, though.
A big tip from an aircraft mechanic. Find some liquid nitrogen or dry ice will surfice. Leave those joints in the liquid or dry ice for a number of hours is best. Then take one out at a time right after warming knuckle with torch. Then just drop the joint into the hole and it will just fall in place no pressing required.
@@GregariousAntithesis that is a fair point for those not familiar with those methods. I've seen a Christmas story... We all know what happened to his tongue! 🤣
Non aircraft mechanic here.. I feel like I should probably not introduce liquid nitrogen into my life any time in the next 120 years.. but can a dry ice soak really shrink the metal to that extent?
@@JLO72713 yes that should work just leave it in longer. I have done it on a 2 stroke motorcycle crank bearing as i remember just putting it in the freezer and warming up the receiving part with a propane torch or you can use an oven on low if it fits.
I have over 40k miles on my AIO Deletes on my 2500 and I tow anything from my YJ to my 16k pound 5th Wheel and I've even pulled a 18k pound Cat 415 Backhoe... Been great even towing my Camper through the sand at Sand Hollow getting down by the water at TH.
Haven't had to do the ball joints on mine yet, but I did have to replace a hub. The bearings in the hub disintegrated in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico on a trip from NE Texas to SoCal. Only knew there was some sort of an issue with my ABS sensor there. Actually drove about 70 miles at hwy speeds before I had any indication that there was something worse going on. Fortunately that was when I got off the hwy in a town that happened to have an auto parts store with the parts I needed to get back on the rd.
That trick with the mini sledge at 6:15 is definitely gonna save me some time somewhere down the road, I'd never thought of giving the press a little help like that.
Those threaded rods get a little noodly on stubborn ball joints. One of the reasons I appreciate my ranger's joints being in the steering knuckle, I can just use an arbor press once I figure out how to jig it.
Add load with the ball joint press, apply impact force with hammer and boom she moving ! Only other thing would be to clean the area and add a bit of heat.
It's all well and good til the hex of the push bolt gets beat to sh!t. I don't recommend hitting the tool, but rather tapping on the knuckle where the joint is. Tapping on it is the key, not beating it into submission
I talked to the owners about getting a set for my truck and they told me don't get them if you use your truck for a daily. I'm not the only one they told that to a bunch of my other buddies who have lifted trucks they told them that also. That's why I just went with the EMF rebuildable billet ball joints
Little tip. Remove them stuck rotors with a 2x4 cut at about 15" start truck and turn the wheel one way with the wood on rear of truck point on rotor and to frame. Turn the other way and repeat on front of truck point on rotor. Itll come loose very gracefully
If you are doing this on a regular basis, the Snap On ball joint press set is well worth the money. I've done dozens of front axles and U joints with it and its pretty amazing how well everything holds up. I did damage a cup once and it was replaced with no questions asked!
Nah I got the cj old school snap on press it’s stout but by madox harbor freight set with the extension case of all the sizes nd shapes it’s better and way less money. Snap on ain’t the best tools they just live off their name if their tools were more reasonably priced I’d go back on the tool truck but there’s no point.
Getting the impression that these are kind of like King pins that were once used with the Ford Twin I-Beam suspension systems. I never had any problems with King pins on my Fords, kept them greased and ran a few trucks over 300k miles on originals. I don't think that ball joints as a rule belong in ANY truck suspension- they are made for CARS!!
Some similar concepts in design, but the actual bearings are different. I believe most king pins used some sort of bronze bushing. But the stud design is similar in many ways.
That’s true but if you remember the king pins were an inch or so in diameter with brass bushings not a half inch stud in a bearing . The old king pins were reliable
@@gearheadfabworks I understand and I have no doubt it’s a great product but after tax and shipping $200 per unit x4 is just outside the average truck owners reach. its like that for most of the Dodge Cummins trucks parts example; a high volume frame mounted fuel pump is $800 Airdog, Fass , etc and like my Cummins is a higher horse power engine than stock the oem carter isn’t enough so I’m forced to pick basically between these two pump manufacturers.
Even easier way to remove stuck rotors and wheel bearings on the front axle, use a large diameter pipe/rod and prop between rotor/bearing and a solid part of the suspension or frame. Start the truck up and use the power steering to push off the rotor or bearing. It may be a little tricky with one person but it’s possible to prop, and then steer the wheel on your own.
I can see why they made the spherical bearings replaceable... because they will need to be. I just have a hard time seeing a spherical bearing being able to take more abuse than a good ball joint. In the heavy equipment industry, I don't see spherical bearings used on high load applications. Cool video though
Thanks for the compliment on the video part. I've seen some of these bearings used in high load applications, but not much in heavy equipment, so far. They're used a lot in agriculture, though.
Tip for removing rusted on rotors. Pass a hex screw, size appropriate, through one of the caliper carrier holes towards the rotor. Place a nut on the screw between the carrier and the rotor. Push the screw until it makes contact with the rotor. Tighten the nut up the screw towards the carrier. Continue to tighten the nut and draw the screw through the carrier hole and force the rotor off the hub. You can generate a lot more force this way than you can with a mallet. Don't try and force one side all at once. Do one side until you see movement then back it off, rotate the rotor 180 degree and go again. Repeat until it cracks off. But sometimes the rotor just comes away and you can lift it off. It depends on how welded they are onto the hub with rust. It's a lot easier and less effort than beating the rotor with mallets and stuff. Just make sure you have removed the rotor keeper screw(s)
Good God! Where were you a couple weeks ago? I've seen that trick done before, but it's been years and long forgotten. Definitely keeping that for the future. I appreciate the tip!
The bolt and nut idea through the caliper bracket holes is brilliant. I almost feel dumbfounded now because of how much time in the past I've wasted try to beat the s**t out of rotors to get them off.....THANKS !!!!!
Good way to bend/break extra stuff if it's really stuck on there I did this as a teen in MI and the rotor was so stuck it bent the tabs holding the caliper bracket and it got to a million degrees on the first drive so I had to make shims to realign the caliper over the rotor
You will note I mentioned : "Do one side until you see movement then back it off, rotate the rotor 180 degree and go again." In other words you walk it off. That's when you have a deep top hat rotor. If you're trying to force a deep one off from the one side then you could end up bending the carrier. It's all about the geometry. So there's no risk if you know what you're doing. The shallow ones come off easy. But in either case the only thing that's holding them on is rust and road shite and the tensile stength of rust and road shite is nowhere near enough to bend the carrier.
I wonder if we could get something similar for these old Hondas. It's getting harder to find quality parts. Plus it would make the suspension even more solid
Watching the video, before you said Michigan. I live in Michigan, I was saying to myself this has to be a rust belt state. The southern mechanics will never understand. The rule of thumb. It can take 1 hour. Or a torch and all day..
So much truth to that! It was a 10 hour job between both sides. Definitely a fine line between busting stuff loose and just breaking things into pieces. I was pretty close to breaking my ball joint press with this. Hence why I hammer the press in between some ugga duggas! 😂
us Southern Mechanics do understand, we have rain, rain makes mud, not as aggressive as your salted roads but it still locks everything in place with rust
Tip for removing rusted on rotors. Pass a hex screw, size appropriate, through one of the caliper carrier holes towards the rotor. Place a nut on the screw between the carrier and the rotor. Push the screw until it makes contact with the rotor. Tighten the nut up the screw towards the carrier. Continue to tighten the nut and draw the screw through the carrier hole and force the rotor off the hub. You can generate a lot more force this way than you can with a mallet. Don't try and force one side all at once. Do one side until you see movement then back it off, rotate the rotor 180 degree and go again. Repeat until it cracks off. But sometimes the rotor just comes away and you can lift it off. It depends on how welded they are onto the hub with rust. It's a lot easier and less effort than beating the rotor with mallets and stuff. Just make sure you have removed the rotor keeper screw(s)
My 2004 2500 Dodge has and does drive straight even with standard ball joints since I bought it new. I had 315 tires and it drove fine. I did a total front end rebuild at 275 k (greasable ball joints) added a steering box brace for extra measure. I would like to get a Red Top steering bow and Borgensen joint for an upgrade.
I installed the Canada ball joints and they have been great and can be adjusted if the get slip in the and so far they have been great .the trick for ball joints is to not lift your truck or put huge tires on them use the size tire it comes with and they will last at least 200 K miles before they need work .
Dakota rt with 285 in all four corners, not 4x4 but more aggressive mountain road driving, and I bought moog, 1 a auto, parts geeek, and autozone , not one ball joint lasted more than 4000 miles ….even had a pro install one set …the aggressive tires just eat ‘em up , curious what your opinion would be on a not off road vehicle application?
@@Dks-q6t in general, these ball joint deletes tend to handle larger/ heavier tires a lot better. I originally started running them in my off-road rig since it was less likely to have a complete failure. However, I ended up putting over 15,000 mi 1 ton swapped Comanche with 40-in tires and never had a problem since they stayed tight the entire time. My very first trip with that same rig, I had ball joints in it, and I ended up ripping the entire knuckle off of my axle. I'm not sure if American Iron off-road has come up with a solution for The Dakotas yet. Wouldn't her to ask.
Thanks, I was getting ready to try that 800 dollar ball joint kit. Between brakes,ball joints and hub bearings I would never have to work on my truck. I'm doing this delete kit hopefully the last time I touch them, maybe. they should be grease able considering all the salt in winter.
That could be something that could be added in later designs. As of now. These are sealed from the top but open bottom, so they can drain any water. These are much easier to replace though compared to ball joints.
The delete knurled surface will delete all tolerances as you press it in. Future ball joints fall will out, no press tools ever again plus you get maximum confidence from a product needing double nutting when the stock one never needed it. Like fixing your wet dreams with a trip to the knackery. Should have named it "money delete".
@@mrrberger Finally someone with some knowledge. "Today we are going to replace a greasable, industry standard component with some polished heim joints from tractor supply"
@@gearheadfabworks Hey no disrespect on your work and great Vlog production. Seeing new product with obvious flaws (knurling, double nutting, inappropriate sealing, inbuilt galvanic corrosion) is cringe. We stand on the shoulders of giants and some see fit calling those giants insignificant to inflate their own size. Your Vlog rightly enthuses people, if the product lets people down it's disappointing you'd get tarnished via association. Historically, shimming, periodic greasing and denibbing was part of maintenance for ball joints to keep them optimized and strong. Now the consumerism of total life failure means balljoints are no longer serviceable. It doesn't stop the enthusiast from regularly replacing them however. Maybe a Vlog "perfect ball joints forever" would have the process of replacing old for new every 4 years (off road abuse considered) and have it down to a fine art of efficiency and speed, part of a high performance off roading at budget commitment. Rant over
I can definitely respect that! I agree 100%. There are some things that I wish could be better in this design. But I do think they did a good job with the parameters they were given. The nice thing is, this company continually pushes to make their products better. Most of my experience with this company comes from the off-road segment and racing. I have never had a failure with these while being ignorantly abusive to my off-road cars. I am still running these joints in my daily truck, and the plan is to give any and all feedback that I can based on my experience. I'll be tearing it apart this spring to inspect and actually show any wear and tear. So far, a little over 6 months and almost 20,000 mi in, no problems yet. I know that's not a true full life cycle, but that is actually a lot longer than most OEMs would test. I only know this, because I used to test for the big three four durability and life cycle. I do think these joints would be a lot better in the southern states. But time will tell how bad they will get up here.
A big piece of advice I learned about rotor removal, if you look closely, there's 2 threaded holes in it, find the the thread pitch and a couple bolts and you can drive said bolts into it and push it off without beating the 💩 out of the rotor 👍
I swapped a kingpin dana 60 in my k1500 probably 5 years ago. The bottom kingpin is a bearing, similar to this one, but slightly larger in diameter, but not much. Its had a hard life, 3 sets of 40x15.50's and a set of 35x15.50's and still daily driven, and my passenger side lower kingpin bearing just developed a tiny amount of play after all of those tires + 65,000 miles. These should last a very long time. If I had a Ram, I wouldn't hesitate to convert to these. I put a kingpin axle in my Chevy for a reason, I absolutely hated ball joints lol
@@xXShadowRejectsXx yeah, I have suffered the consequences of ball joints while rock crawling. Sent my entire knuckle and wheel off of my axle when I got bound up on an obstacle. Ever since then, ball joint deletes.
Didn't see any grease fittings ??? Or any grease put into ??? I've heard of these an are supposed to be stronger and longer lasting ??? Without grease ??? Or able to grease them ???
I didn't like the idea either. I've had good luck with them offroad and wanted to see how they did in my truck. The thought behind no grease is that they aren't sealed, so grease would attract dirt. They have a Teflon liner, so that does help keep it "lubricated."
Kind of / sorta related.. (LOL) : whatever you do.. BE CAUTIOUS.. not to damage your steering knuckle! I broke one quite some time back, and let’s just say.. if you don’t have some good connections... or a way to custom fabricate... you may be buying a whole new axle.. sheer luck and gods help is the only reason I found a replacement! And (while I had other things break too, to be clear..) it did cost me a few grand. (Like 4!) anyway; awesome video! Thanks for showing this product! Edit: my advice is mainly specific to 4x4 versions only! & incase it matters.. my truck has the 9.25 AAM axle.
Oh wow 😳. How did you damage the steering knuckle causing it to fail? Good insight for sure. I personally don't like the knuckle setup. It looks and feels weak. But at least a broken balljoint won't be my failure now. Lol
I just finished emailing American Iron about ball joints for my ‘16 Ram 3500 4th gen truck. I am very impressed with your install/review. Thanks for the video. Their site has the ball joints only up to ‘13.5, yet their install instructions states ‘00-‘18. I need some clarification from them.
I didn't know it wasn't in the kit until I tore into it, of course. I rented a ball joint tool last couple times I did this. This time, bought the tool but didn't think twice. Lol
I found rather than the freezer, the cooler method is colder and much quicker. If u have a good cooler (cheap cooler may bust due to cold) put ice as u normally would to ice down your favorite beverage, then, add about two handfuls of rock salt (ice cream salt). This will lower the temp to a dangerously low temp, freeze a beer in 10-12 min, slush soft drinks vert quickly. Bearings in that cooler will surpass any household freezer in 15 min or so. Hope this helps someone chill a bearing or win a bet with a buddy over freezing his beer😂🍺
Thank you for this video! I just ordered a set. I did my first ball joint change at 99k on my 2005 and now at 163k it feels like it needs another front end rebuild, so I'm gonna do the entire thing before it gets cold out (since I get to work outside).
@@robgoffroad hell yeah! Glad to hear that the video helped, even a tiny bit. Let us know if you have any feedback. I like to know how others like these things. In other news, I'll have some new video drops coming soon.
@@gearheadfabworks I have the LH side out, new ones are in the freezer. Still trying to get the RH hub off. Lots of soaking with oil and hammering. One video feedback tip: The music is awful. It'd be just fine with no music. :)
@@RobGADVduly noted! Music is still something I need to learn. It's supposed to be what makes a video great. What is it about the music that you didn't like?
@@gearheadfabworks several years ago Dynatrac was my only option with the knurled ball joint because the holes had been reamed out by several other ball joints. I honestly haven't checked tolerances since putting the Dynas in....i probably should though!
Normally, I would agree. However, the upper and lower ball joints are in different planes on the dodge trucks. You can't put the tool through the upper inner C hole to install the lower, unfortunately.
It is really cool to see this. My question is how long will these last. And the next question is how much longer would they last if they weren’t over torqued so much.
Still figuring out how long they will last. I'm just over 17,000 mi and 6 months in, and they are still going strong. As far as over torquing, I don't believe that they are over torqued. I am just doing things the way I was taught when I started working on cars and hydraulic systems. If you are using torque lube, one torque click and you are fine. But if you are putting them on dry, you should check them at least 1 to 2 more times. This was just the rule of them that I was given when I was working as an engineer tech.
One click and your done. Every time you click it it turns more and will over torque it. Read the instructions on your wrench. Not trying to be a dick but just a tip from a master tech.
@@roystockton1064 I'm just using the suggestion from fastener manufacturers. When using lube, one click is fine. When dry, the bolts/nuts can become bound up and give a false reading/torque. Letting the hardware relax momentarily can allow it to unbind, and then torque again. For internal engine components, you'll never see me do this.
@@roystockton1064 not exactly, if you are rushing and aren't applying a consistently increasing torque, you will hit the torque spec and go maybe a 4-8 inch pounds over, also most torque wrenches use a phyiscal click or something similar to a break over torque wrench, plus as a master tech you should know that 99k out of 100k bolt torque specs arent an exact finite unit where 1 foot pound above and the bolt isnt tight and 1 over and the bolt has to be replaced because its stretched, such as alldata or prodemand, it will give you a range, if the torque spec was that precise they would have listed it in a much finer measuring scale, also to mention doing lug nuts, you should torque them down in a star pattern and then follow it up with another pass after because as a torque spec is measured in the forced required to move an object and not a distance, something may be "at torque spec" where it clicks, but due to the extra resistance of the wheel not being seated properly it isnt actually at the proper torque spec, and lastly, it really just comes down to personal preference, if you feel the need to click it once more after you set the car on the wheels, then thats just fine
A broken ball joint may be the cause of a mysterious clunking noise or drifting steering. And once they're worn, they will seriously affect your steering and suspension. If a ball joint fails completely, it can even result in the wheel dramatically falling off the car. A scary thought!
Yes! I've sent a whole knuckle off while offroad. Went ball joint deletes and never looked back. So, when these came out, I had to put em in my toe pig too.
Another indication of worn ball joints is camber wear on the tires. The tire not being held in position but allowed to settle into the wear causes it to camber slightly.
@@snow8581 good point! I wasn't quite there with the ball joints, yet. Lol. They were barely out of spec and had some slightly perceivable back and forth play. Most felt like it came from the upper stud joint. Otherwise, the steering just felt sloppy and unpredictable. Much better now.
@@michaelmongillo1237 they're joints, and they're spherical. They serve the same purpose but are considerably stronger than standard ball joints. Plus they're more easily serviceable when I get to that, eventually. I didn't choose the name, I'm just the guy that installed them in my truck. 🤘
Is this only for one certain front end, or for ALL 2000-2013? My 04 2500 needs ball joints And I just discovered these after looking at the really expensive ball joints like Dynatrac, EMF, thuren etc
@@Bama_RTMF not that I've found so far. My rig handles and drives 10 times better already. Steering feels tight, as in it doesn't have a bunch of slop anymore. Plus, since I'm hard on my rig and I drive over 400 miles a week, I know it'll be much easier to replace a couple bearings compared to whole balljoint assemblies.
@@gearheadfabworks that’s what I was thinking too. I’ve seen people say the delete isn’t worth it, in the 3rd gen groups but nobody ever really elaborates on why that is.. they just recommend the super expensive carli or emf ball joints.
@@Bama_RTMF honestly, that's a great question. These deletes are new to the Dodge guys. I'm not sure anyone with a 3rd gen has done them yet. For all intensive purposes, the axle design is the same between 3rd and 4th gens, though. These have been undergoing several months of testing between a few guys. Josh just finally released them to the public recently. Maybe not enough 3rd gen guys have used them to recommend, yet. I've got em on my offroad race car and have no complaints, if that's any consolation.
Yeah, price isn't the most wonderful thing to see. But, for most of my stuff (offroad rigs) that piece of mind on a 3 day wheeling trip is worth far more than $700.
Can we have an update? I found this video a year ago when i completely rebuilt my front end, and wheel hubs. Long story short, the part store ball joints arent up to par with the carli suspension and king shocks i run pretty hard. How have these held up for you after a year on your Rig?
What would the difference be between these joints and the ones made by EMF (Evolution Machine) for the Dodge trucks? Would you consider them equal or have you not tried the EMF joints? Long term reports would be great as well
Not sure on strength versus strength. If I'm not mistaken, EMF uses a ball joint style, but they do everything from a better machining process than what the OEM uses. So, my guess is that they are better than OEM. But I have not been able to truly compare them to these deletes. That being said, I'm 6 months in and 17k miles, still going strong. I'll be pulling the front end apart this spring to do typical maintenance. I'll report back at that point.
Can you get the guy to change them to tapered roller bearings and races? Im thinking the vertical load capacity is significantly less the a ball joint with these
Would most likely need to machine the bores out to accommodate roller bearings for adequate sizing. Then you gotta seal them. The spherical bearings are actually quite strong radially and axially loaded. The races are considerably stronger than typical race material used in ball joints, which is known to deform and pull the socket out in white a few applications. No failures of these yet. Time will only tell for sure, though.
Yes!! Someone that gets it, we need some thrust bearings too, top and bottom, with wavy washers to maintain preload, definitely leave them all open so they can be serviced, and somehow make them easily visible from in front of the truck. Maybe a lighting kit and red anodizing, or better yet, color match with my truck, but this is just the first step if you will, of solving a problem nobody knew they had.
Possibly. I guess maybe it's a technicality that it's not a full "ball". Spherical bearings and ball joints are manufactured differently, too. Ball joints are typically pressed into a cup with a little lip formed to retain it. That's why you'll occasionally hear of them popping out as they wear or reach their load threshold.
@@gearheadfabworksWon’t have that problem with EMF balljoints, arguably the best design hands-down, intelligent rebuild design with the ability to tighten before considering any replacement👍👍
@@FireBosspilot you definitely have a point. I like knowing that there are people still out there pushing new ideas and innovating. Let's the next person build upon the framework.
@@SimplyLivingNevada so far, still going strong. I've got somewhere around 40,000 mi on them. And they're just as tight as they were on day one. I don't drive it as much lately. Really only use it for towing at this point.
Put Carli ball joints on my 2018 Cummins this year. Absolutely hate them. Have replaced the uppers under warranty and they already have side to side play in the pins again. I’ve got to get a set of these and at least get the uppers put in. Damn truck is all over the road
Dang man! That's a huge bummer to have to go through that! Like many people, I don't usually enjoy doing the same job over again and again, especially due to a poorly engineered part. Hopefully, you'll get a lot more life out of ball joint delete systems.
It's been almost 2 years and they're still going strong. Pulled the wheels off a couple weeks ago before pulling a camper across the state and they're still tight with good mobility. Can't complain so far.
@@noneya61I mean yeah it technically is lol Just a different name, and different design parts, but is the same concept as a ball joint and does the exact same thing as a ball joint is designed to do lol
I mean honestly it is lol.. made with different parts, because of its different design but it literally does exactly what a ball joint does lol.. it just does exactly the same thing as what the ball joint was designed to do lol same concept as a ball joint.. it’s just a slightly different product, its just a little differently designed product then the ball joint, and has a little differently designed parts and it’s rebuildable though, unlike a ball joint that you can’t take apart and rebuild.. whoever says it’s not a ball joint I will argue that it is til I’m blue in the face.. lol.. there’s only a couple differences between the two.. #1, is just the design difference of the entire piece and the design difference of the inner working pieces.. but it’s literally a ball joint.. they just look a little different and are designed a little different and have different working parts.. but literally has the same job/purpose as the ball joint lol it just takes the ball joints place because the are better and stronger and rebuildable.. it has the exact same job to do and is the exact same concept of a ball joint
@@austinp8308 hey Austin, think about it for a second… A “ball” joint is a “ball” and “socket” there is no “ball” to this joint. It can’t, from what I saw, pivot around like a ball. But not having it in front of me I could be wrong. Maybe Brandon will let us know since he has actual hands on experience with them. Cheers.
I never understood why they would have put a ball joint it the solid axle front ends. I understand that, in theory the bore hole the joints go in might not be perfectly aligned and that the axle loads are pretty high. There still shouldn't be enough misalignment to require a ball! I've worked on heavy off road trucks (rock trucks) Why didn't they align bore the pin holes like they do on heavy equipment?
@@pjford1118 That's a really good question. I know they used to do something a lot like what you see in heavy equipment, for instance, the kingpin. My intuitive guess is that it was cheaper and easier for overall maintenance to just run a ball joint. Even then, most straight axles have their ball joints lined up or at least really close to the naked eye. These Dodges, however, do not.
In my opinion, I think grease would be great for any moving part. However, that's what the Teflon is for in this part. Maybe one day American Iron Offroad will have a grease provision for these.
@@gearheadfabworks it looks like grease will fit down beside the bolt. I mean it can't hurt anything but may add extra insurance. Unless they aren't really sealed like a regular ball joint I guess. Have to get a little more familiar with this brand to know for sure. Thanks for the vid
I think if the assembly could be sealed top and bottom, grease would be very beneficial. If not, grease just holds onto dirt and potentially drags it into the joint and causes premature failure.
@@isa_4funner interesting... They are billet. The ones online are the cast steel versions. They might have had a problem with the aluminum ones still. I sent mine back 3 times to have different ones made. They were the prototypes, but he was selling them for a bit. I ended up switching to the cast steel version, as the aluminum ones kept getting pushed back in his machining process. Spent about 2.5 years waiting between 3 versions. 😔 That's not how I operate anymore... I just design my own stuff and deal with local machine shops.
also great vid , few tips you didn't have to remove axle nut , take out as an assembly , reason being ya don't want to let axle hang in there as ya did it will egg out your axle seal and possibly cause leaks , same on install slide axle in centred as ya can and immediately put unit bearing in its bore ( have every mating surface polished and antisiezed and ready to go ) so there is no pressure on seal . because ya don't want do axle seals if ya don't have to as you may know .cause they a bitch
It's funny you mention that. I tear down my Jeepster the way you said and for some reason I didn't do it on my truck. Couldn't tell you why. Lol. Good tip!
@@Dirtydigger yes but I don’t think i’d leave tire on too , ya want to have total control of unit bearing and axle sliding it out and putting back in , it just like delivering a baby lol ya want to prevent damage to them seals at all costs , and if axle universal , unit bearings or balljoints are even questionable just replace em all cause every time that axle is pulled to replace one of them ya increase yer chance of a leak
@@TheCaperfish I would also take the tire off just made an observation and made a statement might help save a few people some time and without the tire you don’t have to disconnect the brake line just remove caliper and it’s good to check the wheel bearings if it’s been forever.
If you draw a straight line from the upper to the lower pivot points, you'll see that the joints don't bind. But it's still a design choice I'd like to understand better. Now, if you want to see "messed up" ball joint design, look at the track bar setup on any 1994-2002 Ram 2300/3500 4x4. The track bar has to BEND the ball joint end for the front axle to articulate. I did a conversion to make it a Heim setup and it helped a lot with tracking and death wobble.
The way the bottom nut moves around on the bearing through the rotation of the wheel (12:54) looks to be dangerous because of the potential of rubbing up against the side wall and potentially loosening the nut.
It doesn't actually rub though. It's tightened down on the bearing sphere and just moves with it and the knuckle. Not close enough to the race or inner C to be concerned, but valid point to bring up.
In theory, yes. But depends on multiple factors like anything else. I still have the set from this install in my truck. A little over 6 months and about 20,000 miles on them. Still drives great.
Still going strong! I have about 45k miles on these so far and they're still tight. Gonna pull the truck in the shop when I make room and look it all over before winter hits hard.
I’m just now seeing this and I have to say I’m sick and damn tired of changing cheap suspension parts on my 1/2 ton truck and Pontiac Torrent! Is there a company that makes good durable parts for daily driving GM vehicles??
There's probably a couple options. They're usually more expensive. But not many options for IFS setups yet. Typically OEM or a Chinese knockoff version.
The videography nature of this stuff is a little more difficult than I anticipated, originally. Lol. I've come to understand a ton more! It just takes time to invest in video equipment, while also investing in tools. Think we're covered for awhile now. As far as the ball joint deletes go, they are going great! Holding up strong, no issues. I've lifted the front end a couple of times and found no perceivable slop. I would do it again. I've got about 30, 000 mi on this truck since installing these. Miles are slow growing now, as I bought different daily driver so I wasn't killing my truck slowly but surely. Lol
I like these it about time for me to replace my ball joints again on my 2012 Silverado 1500. From the factory it had some crappy sealed ball joints that went out at 60,000 miles. I could not believe it. However, I replaced them with some Moog ball joints with grease zerks and they are still holding up and not abnormal tire wear but the boots are torn and the bottom ones have just a little play. The last time I greased them In cleaned the boots and put black flex tape around the boots and they held the grease fine. My Moog ball joints have over 120,000 miles on them since my truck now has a little over 180,000 on it. The Moogs have been greased regularly but that is outstanding if you ask me!
That's a good run on Moog. Maintenance is probably 75% of the cure for ball joints on most rigs. On straight axles, definitely some other issues. These dodge 2500/3500 trucks had poor geometry from the factory. Maybe they'll make some for the 1500 Chevy at some point. Supposed to be started some IFS stuff soon for Toyotas, then Chevy's. But it'll be a few months at a minimum.
? So these are ball joint delete parts, but what's internally is a ball bearing? Theoretically, they're still ball joints just encased with aluminum housing. Until it's made completely without a bearing component as its main component, it's still a ball joint no matter what and can't be called a ball joint delete kit.
Would packing in dry ice or soaking in liquid nitrogen be better than household freezer? Is any kind of epoxy primer recommended to help prevent corrosion between the knurled outside and the knuckle?
Nothing has been noted for rust prevention. However, I'd be curious myself. I HATE rust! If I leave Michigan, it's because of rust. Lol. As far as dry ice, yes it would be better. But I dealt with what I had. Freezer works fine. They pressed in without much hassle.
I'm sure it shares some characteristics of kingpin. But it is not quite the same. This is using a spherical bearing as the pivot. Which is necessary for the AAM axles, due to the upper and lower joints having to go in different plane angles during rotation. Dodge really did some funky stuff when they designed the original axle.
There is no grease fitting for these. The spherical bearings have a Teflon layer so they are lubrication free. The tops are sealed, so elements don't constantly pour in. Bottoms are open to allow any drainage if they are submerged or have stuff come up from below.
Man that’s a nice product!!! Should have been invented years ago. I did a set of ball joints on a old rusted ford truck once, the ball joint press wouldn’t take them out, it actually broke. Probably because it was made in china. Lol, What I did was took my Bench vise off the work bench and used it as my Press!!! Lol!!! Definitely a little odd and heavy to use but worked. Great video and thanks for sharing the Ball Joint Deletes, I will definitely use them in the future. People if you ever buy a Ball Joint Press spend a few more dollars for a Quality Tool, it will save you a lot of Aggravation. 😂
3D printed Dust caps, I do a bunch of 3 d prints for msny applications, dono if I would feel good about these dust caps in this environment. Show me pix
How long they really last h til they have loose play?? No one says anything about that.....Why do i ask that? Same with A-arms that has Uniballs( total chaos, and many many other), mines last 10-13k miles then they start to have play.Thats when i found outthey werent for Daily Driven vehicles.......... So how long that setup and Uniballs/ spherical joints etc.. does it really last?
So far, it's been about 1.5 years and 30k miles. I typically only use my truck for towing now. I daily a smaller car... 1 hour drive both ways was getting rough in a diesel truck with 250k on it. Lol. They are still going strong, though. I think they last a lot longer in a straight axle because there is no excessive misalignment movement, just axial movement.
Kingpins are more durable. The problem is that Dodge engineered these AAM axles with the upper and lower joints in different planes. So they don't rotate on the same axis.
Yes I'm going to be replacing my left ball joint this will be the third time and I wish they had a bump steer kit for these trucks too they do have bump steer.
Do they have the security pin? I know you can bring those back and get the nicer new ones free. They are much better and cost more but since it’s a recall is a straight swap don’t let them try and give you a gift card if they have non in stock just to to another or wait till they get more in
@@kchilz32 I don't believe the serial numbers were part of the recall. However, I have 2 newer sets with security pins now. Had 3 projects at the same time, so it was a necessary purchase. Lol
Good video 👍 curious on how well they stand up, I have been running XRF ball joints , so far they seem like there lasting over 80,000 k , I plow snow all winter and pack heavy loads with my truck daily.
I have about 45k miles on them. Been through a couple winters and lots towing across the state. They're holding up strong. I should be doing an update video soon.
If you only have negative comments and are unable to convey your opinion in a way that we can all sort of understand and gain insight from, please keep your opinions to yourself. If I find that there is no value added in your comment, I will either respond with pure sarcasm or blatantly ignore you. I respect myself too much to deal with people who are extremely ignorant.
Build on people 🤘
Looking at this I’m just wondering if you ever have to lube or grease these things? Kind of like king pins. All I know is anything has to be better than the garbage ball joints that I’ve replaced 4-5 times I have no idea why they designed these axles the way they did never seen a ball joint set up where the top was off set to me it don’t make sense just makes it wear out faster.
@@richard6606 certainly doesn't make sense to me how they designed them. According to American Iron, there is no need for lubricating these joints. They should last awhile, though.
@@gearheadfabworks next round I’m going to try them out anything has to be better! 👍
So basically, king pins?
@@Libertad59no, the bottom is literally a damn mono ball which is still considered a ball joint. And thus not a delete.
Just a little tip that will save you a ton of time. You DO NOT need to remove the rotor or bearing from the axle shaft, just undo the 4 bolts on the back of the wheel bearing and everything comes out in one piece. It's a lot easier to whack on the rotor to get the bearing and axle shaft out.
Yeah, I totally forgot about that until after I had done it. That's how I tear down my Ultra4 car, but didn't do it with my towpig for some reason. Lol
Yeah, you don’t even have to take your wheel off.
@@ETsBees now that's just getting carried away 🤣🤣🤣 while true, that's gotta be a hassle loading it in and out. 😂
@@gearheadfabworks 🤣
And another tip if you put something inside the freezer it will help retain the heat.it can be - heat
As a retired mechanic I did a lot of ball joints on a lot of trucks especially Dodges (including my own). I wish these had been around then and plan on installing on both my Dodge pickup and my TJ.
Yeah, I wish there were better options for every ball joint. One day, American Iron Offroad will be fixing several other models. It's a shame the manufacturers of cars haven't updated their design to do a better job.
I've worked on everything from automotive to heavy truck and equipment. Straight axles work best with a king pin type arrangement and this is very close to that.
@@snow8581 definitely some good insight! I haven't personally ran a king pin. I've always been a super duty guy. Super duties have been known to have stronger knuckles, but I believe aftermarket has fixed that for many king pin axles anyway. That's for offroad, though.
spherical bearings wear out MUCH faster than ball joints. you really think the oems dont know these exist? lmao. yall dumb as fuck.
@Your Name more often than not, unfortunately.
A big tip from an aircraft mechanic. Find some liquid nitrogen or dry ice will surfice. Leave those joints in the liquid or dry ice for a number of hours is best. Then take one out at a time right after warming knuckle with torch. Then just drop the joint into the hole and it will just fall in place no pressing required.
I've done similar with rebuilding differentials. But haven't done it with these, yet. Would definitely be a great idea! Thanks for the insight!
@@gearheadfabworks i forgot one important thing, wear a welding glove to handle the cold joint so you dont loose skin snd warm the joint prematurely.
@@GregariousAntithesis that is a fair point for those not familiar with those methods. I've seen a Christmas story... We all know what happened to his tongue! 🤣
Non aircraft mechanic here.. I feel like I should probably not introduce liquid nitrogen into my life any time in the next 120 years.. but can a dry ice soak really shrink the metal to that extent?
@@JLO72713 yes that should work just leave it in longer. I have done it on a 2 stroke motorcycle crank bearing as i remember just putting it in the freezer and warming up the receiving part with a propane torch or you can use an oven on low if it fits.
If I EVER need to replace my ball joints this is a no-brain-er, I'll be installing these. Thanks for the video, great job. thumbs up.
@@robert5 thanks! I really appreciate it! These things definitely make a good bit of difference. Bonus for me, I like making the videos🤘
GREAT JOB , I have done these in a night mare , flame wrench, sledge hammer , cursing disassembly . This is a great upgrade I WILL use in the future.
@@chuckstewart7331 thanks! I really appreciate the feedback. Ball joints suck, no matter what. Hopefully, your process goes better than mine! 😂
I have over 40k miles on my AIO Deletes on my 2500 and I tow anything from my YJ to my 16k pound 5th Wheel and I've even pulled a 18k pound Cat 415 Backhoe... Been great even towing my Camper through the sand at Sand Hollow getting down by the water at TH.
@@TyphoidSnaily hell yeah! That's definitely putting these things to the test! 🤘
Haven't had to do the ball joints on mine yet, but I did have to replace a hub. The bearings in the hub disintegrated in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico on a trip from NE Texas to SoCal. Only knew there was some sort of an issue with my ABS sensor there. Actually drove about 70 miles at hwy speeds before I had any indication that there was something worse going on. Fortunately that was when I got off the hwy in a town that happened to have an auto parts store with the parts I needed to get back on the rd.
Dang! You definitely had just a little bit of luck on your side. Lol
That trick with the mini sledge at 6:15 is definitely gonna save me some time somewhere down the road, I'd never thought of giving the press a little help like that.
Definitely keeps the pucker factor down. It is scary how much the press flexes. I would rather it not shatter in my face. 🤘
@@gearheadfabworks or end up with a crescent-shaped allthread and/or epsilon-shaped C-clamp.
Those threaded rods get a little noodly on stubborn ball joints. One of the reasons I appreciate my ranger's joints being in the steering knuckle, I can just use an arbor press once I figure out how to jig it.
Add load with the ball joint press, apply impact force with hammer and boom she moving ! Only other thing would be to clean the area and add a bit of heat.
It's all well and good til the hex of the push bolt gets beat to sh!t. I don't recommend hitting the tool, but rather tapping on the knuckle where the joint is. Tapping on it is the key, not beating it into submission
I talked to the owners about getting a set for my truck and they told me don't get them if you use your truck for a daily. I'm not the only one they told that to a bunch of my other buddies who have lifted trucks they told them that also. That's why I just went with the EMF rebuildable billet ball joints
What owners did you talk to?
Little tip. Remove them stuck rotors with a 2x4 cut at about 15" start truck and turn the wheel one way with the wood on rear of truck point on rotor and to frame. Turn the other way and repeat on front of truck point on rotor. Itll come loose very gracefully
Thanks for the heads up. I've learned a few tricks since this video. I was definitely not a master mechanic 😂
If you are doing this on a regular basis, the Snap On ball joint press set is well worth the money. I've done dozens of front axles and U joints with it and its pretty amazing how well everything holds up. I did damage a cup once and it was replaced with no questions asked!
I'm hoping to not have to do it too often. But might be worth the investment if I find myself doing a few sets. Lol
Nah I got the cj old school snap on press it’s stout but by madox harbor freight set with the extension case of all the sizes nd shapes it’s better and way less money. Snap on ain’t the best tools they just live off their name if their tools were more reasonably priced I’d go back on the tool truck but there’s no point.
If only there was a way to eliminate wear parts
Cries in matco
Getting the impression that these are kind of like King pins that were once used with the Ford Twin I-Beam suspension systems. I never had any problems with King pins on my Fords, kept them greased and ran a few trucks over 300k miles on originals. I don't think that ball joints as a rule belong in ANY truck suspension- they are made for CARS!!
Some similar concepts in design, but the actual bearings are different. I believe most king pins used some sort of bronze bushing. But the stud design is similar in many ways.
That’s true but if you remember the king pins were an inch or so in diameter with brass bushings not a half inch stud in a bearing . The old king pins were reliable
@@Dirtydigger these are 7/8" studs, FWIW. Plus they are hardened 4130 chromoly.
@@gearheadfabworks I understand and I have no doubt it’s a great product but after tax and shipping $200 per unit x4 is just outside the average truck owners reach. its like that for most of the Dodge Cummins trucks parts example; a high volume frame mounted fuel pump is $800 Airdog, Fass , etc and like my Cummins is a higher horse power engine than stock the oem carter isn’t enough so I’m forced to pick basically between these two pump manufacturers.
@@Dirtydigger fleece makes a in tank pump.
Even easier way to remove stuck rotors and wheel bearings on the front axle, use a large diameter pipe/rod and prop between rotor/bearing and a solid part of the suspension or frame. Start the truck up and use the power steering to push off the rotor or bearing. It may be a little tricky with one person but it’s possible to prop, and then steer the wheel on your own.
You can also use a slug of 3/4 inch bar stock about an 1 1/2 long and the the power steering.
Watched a guy launch a pipe threw a car door like that one time😂 with a old f450
I would probably just use a nut and bolt through the caliper mount. It was thought of after I had already done this. Lol
@@gearheadfabworks saw someone do that and have to replace the knuckle because the tab bent
@@gearheadfabworks.
Saw a guy use that method to remove rear rotor on 2003 Ford f250
I can see why they made the spherical bearings replaceable... because they will need to be. I just have a hard time seeing a spherical bearing being able to take more abuse than a good ball joint. In the heavy equipment industry, I don't see spherical bearings used on high load applications. Cool video though
Thanks for the compliment on the video part. I've seen some of these bearings used in high load applications, but not much in heavy equipment, so far. They're used a lot in agriculture, though.
Tip for removing rusted on rotors.
Pass a hex screw, size appropriate, through one of the caliper carrier holes towards the rotor.
Place a nut on the screw between the carrier and the rotor.
Push the screw until it makes contact with the rotor.
Tighten the nut up the screw towards the carrier.
Continue to tighten the nut and draw the screw through the carrier hole and force the rotor off the hub.
You can generate a lot more force this way than you can with a mallet.
Don't try and force one side all at once.
Do one side until you see movement then back it off, rotate the rotor 180 degree and go again.
Repeat until it cracks off.
But sometimes the rotor just comes away and you can lift it off.
It depends on how welded they are onto the hub with rust.
It's a lot easier and less effort than beating the rotor with mallets and stuff.
Just make sure you have removed the rotor keeper screw(s)
Good God! Where were you a couple weeks ago? I've seen that trick done before, but it's been years and long forgotten. Definitely keeping that for the future. I appreciate the tip!
The bolt and nut idea through the caliper bracket holes is brilliant. I almost feel dumbfounded now because of how much time in the past I've wasted try to beat the s**t out of rotors to get them off.....THANKS !!!!!
Good way to bend/break extra stuff if it's really stuck on there
I did this as a teen in MI and the rotor was so stuck it bent the tabs holding the caliper bracket and it got to a million degrees on the first drive so I had to make shims to realign the caliper over the rotor
You will note I mentioned :
"Do one side until you see movement then back it off, rotate the rotor 180 degree and go again."
In other words you walk it off. That's when you have a deep top hat rotor.
If you're trying to force a deep one off from the one side then you could end up bending the carrier.
It's all about the geometry.
So there's no risk if you know what you're doing.
The shallow ones come off easy.
But in either case the only thing that's holding them on is rust and road shite and the tensile stength of rust and road shite is nowhere
near enough to bend the carrier.
@@Onewheelordeal agreed. Those cast ears weren't made to take a side load. They're there to hold the caliper.
I wonder if we could get something similar for these old Hondas. It's getting harder to find quality parts. Plus it would make the suspension even more solid
A lot of race and drift cars go to stuff like this to reduce any deflection in the suspension. Their might be something for your car already.
Wondering how this would run on a regular daily street car.
Watching the video, before you said Michigan. I live in Michigan, I was saying to myself this has to be a rust belt state. The southern mechanics will never understand. The rule of thumb. It can take 1 hour. Or a torch and all day..
So much truth to that! It was a 10 hour job between both sides. Definitely a fine line between busting stuff loose and just breaking things into pieces. I was pretty close to breaking my ball joint press with this. Hence why I hammer the press in between some ugga duggas! 😂
us Southern Mechanics do understand, we have rain, rain makes mud, not as aggressive as your salted roads but it still locks everything in place with rust
Tip for removing rusted on rotors.
Pass a hex screw, size appropriate, through one of the caliper carrier holes towards the rotor.
Place a nut on the screw between the carrier and the rotor.
Push the screw until it makes contact with the rotor.
Tighten the nut up the screw towards the carrier.
Continue to tighten the nut and draw the screw through the carrier hole and force the rotor off the hub.
You can generate a lot more force this way than you can with a mallet.
Don't try and force one side all at once.
Do one side until you see movement then back it off, rotate the rotor 180 degree and go again.
Repeat until it cracks off.
But sometimes the rotor just comes away and you can lift it off.
It depends on how welded they are onto the hub with rust.
It's a lot easier and less effort than beating the rotor with mallets and stuff.
Just make sure you have removed the rotor keeper screw(s)
That dust shield might as well say Michigan on it🤣
@@wainbowcomp you're not wrong! 😂
My 2004 2500 Dodge has and does drive straight even with standard ball joints since I bought it new. I had 315 tires and it drove fine. I did a total front end rebuild at 275 k (greasable ball joints) added a steering box brace for extra measure. I would like to get a Red Top steering bow and Borgensen joint for an upgrade.
Redhead Steering gear is at the top of my list for future upgrades. My steering box has lots of slop in it and is only about 3 years old.
Redhead has gone down hill in the last 2 year's I went with Borgeson also they have been around a lot longer.
Oooooo It's a good feeling when the front end is nice and tight .
That it is! That it is!
Just like your girlfriend 😂😂😂
I installed the Canada ball joints and they have been great and can be adjusted if the get slip in the and so far they have been great .the trick for ball joints is to not lift your truck or put huge tires on them use the size tire it comes with and they will last at least 200 K miles before they need work .
Agreed! Lifting the truck just tears parts up and changes all the suspension geometry.
Kermit killed that install.
Dakota rt with 285 in all four corners, not 4x4 but more aggressive mountain road driving, and I bought moog, 1 a auto, parts geeek, and autozone , not one ball joint lasted more than 4000 miles ….even had a pro install one set …the aggressive tires just eat ‘em up , curious what your opinion would be on a not off road vehicle application?
@@Dks-q6t in general, these ball joint deletes tend to handle larger/ heavier tires a lot better. I originally started running them in my off-road rig since it was less likely to have a complete failure. However, I ended up putting over 15,000 mi 1 ton swapped Comanche with 40-in tires and never had a problem since they stayed tight the entire time. My very first trip with that same rig, I had ball joints in it, and I ended up ripping the entire knuckle off of my axle.
I'm not sure if American Iron off-road has come up with a solution for The Dakotas yet. Wouldn't her to ask.
Thanks, I was getting ready to try that 800 dollar ball joint kit.
Between brakes,ball joints and hub bearings I would never have to work on my truck.
I'm doing this delete kit hopefully the last time I touch them, maybe. they should be grease able considering all the salt in winter.
That could be something that could be added in later designs. As of now. These are sealed from the top but open bottom, so they can drain any water. These are much easier to replace though compared to ball joints.
I've installed a few sets of these on Jeep Wranglers. Excellent product.
So what is the actual pros and cons of using these rather than traditional balljoints? Other than being easier to replace.
The delete knurled surface will delete all tolerances as you press it in. Future ball joints fall will out, no press tools ever again plus you get maximum confidence from a product needing double nutting when the stock one never needed it. Like fixing your wet dreams with a trip to the knackery. Should have named it "money delete".
Well, someone is a little bit sassy.
@@mrrberger Finally someone with some knowledge. "Today we are going to replace a greasable, industry standard component with some polished heim joints from tractor supply"
@@gearheadfabworks Hey no disrespect on your work and great Vlog production. Seeing new product with obvious flaws (knurling, double nutting, inappropriate sealing, inbuilt galvanic corrosion) is cringe. We stand on the shoulders of giants and some see fit calling those giants insignificant to inflate their own size. Your Vlog rightly enthuses people, if the product lets people down it's disappointing you'd get tarnished via association. Historically, shimming, periodic greasing and denibbing was part of maintenance for ball joints to keep them optimized and strong. Now the consumerism of total life failure means balljoints are no longer serviceable. It doesn't stop the enthusiast from regularly replacing them however. Maybe a Vlog "perfect ball joints forever" would have the process of replacing old for new every 4 years (off road abuse considered) and have it down to a fine art of efficiency and speed, part of a high performance off roading at budget commitment. Rant over
I can definitely respect that! I agree 100%. There are some things that I wish could be better in this design. But I do think they did a good job with the parameters they were given. The nice thing is, this company continually pushes to make their products better. Most of my experience with this company comes from the off-road segment and racing. I have never had a failure with these while being ignorantly abusive to my off-road cars. I am still running these joints in my daily truck, and the plan is to give any and all feedback that I can based on my experience. I'll be tearing it apart this spring to inspect and actually show any wear and tear. So far, a little over 6 months and almost 20,000 mi in, no problems yet. I know that's not a true full life cycle, but that is actually a lot longer than most OEMs would test. I only know this, because I used to test for the big three four durability and life cycle. I do think these joints would be a lot better in the southern states. But time will tell how bad they will get up here.
A big piece of advice I learned about rotor removal, if you look closely, there's 2 threaded holes in it, find the the thread pitch and a couple bolts and you can drive said bolts into it and push it off without beating the 💩 out of the rotor 👍
@@wepplerd63 I didn't notice if there was any threaded holes like that. I'll have to take a closer look next time. Thanks for the heads up! 🤘
Seem pretty cool using a bearing. Wonder how long they will last
6 months in and a little over 17,000 mi. Still going strong. But I'm still looking to have that long-term report.
I swapped a kingpin dana 60 in my k1500 probably 5 years ago. The bottom kingpin is a bearing, similar to this one, but slightly larger in diameter, but not much. Its had a hard life, 3 sets of 40x15.50's and a set of 35x15.50's and still daily driven, and my passenger side lower kingpin bearing just developed a tiny amount of play after all of those tires + 65,000 miles. These should last a very long time. If I had a Ram, I wouldn't hesitate to convert to these. I put a kingpin axle in my Chevy for a reason, I absolutely hated ball joints lol
@@xXShadowRejectsXx yeah, I have suffered the consequences of ball joints while rock crawling. Sent my entire knuckle and wheel off of my axle when I got bound up on an obstacle. Ever since then, ball joint deletes.
Didn't see any grease fittings ???
Or any grease put into ???
I've heard of these an are supposed to be stronger and longer lasting ???
Without grease ??? Or able to grease them ???
I didn't like the idea either. I've had good luck with them offroad and wanted to see how they did in my truck. The thought behind no grease is that they aren't sealed, so grease would attract dirt. They have a Teflon liner, so that does help keep it "lubricated."
Kind of / sorta related.. (LOL) : whatever you do.. BE CAUTIOUS.. not to damage your steering knuckle! I broke one quite some time back, and let’s just say.. if you don’t have some good connections... or a way to custom fabricate... you may be buying a whole new axle.. sheer luck and gods help is the only reason I found a replacement! And (while I had other things break too, to be clear..) it did cost me a few grand. (Like 4!) anyway; awesome video! Thanks for showing this product! Edit: my advice is mainly specific to 4x4 versions only! & incase it matters.. my truck has the 9.25 AAM axle.
Oh wow 😳. How did you damage the steering knuckle causing it to fail? Good insight for sure. I personally don't like the knuckle setup. It looks and feels weak. But at least a broken balljoint won't be my failure now. Lol
Inner or outer knuckle?
There are plenty of cores, why so expensive?
Just realized it’s a year old video, how did they hold up? And is it still available???
30k miles and going strong. Michigan roads haven't destroyed them yet. Lol
I just finished emailing American Iron about ball joints for my ‘16 Ram 3500 4th gen truck. I am very impressed with your install/review. Thanks for the video.
Their site has the ball joints only up to ‘13.5, yet their install instructions states ‘00-‘18. I need some clarification from them.
Thanks! I'm sure he has something in the works for later 4th gen Rams. Hopefully those come soon!
Yeah at 86k I’m frustrated with the constant right pull, so it’ll be interesting to see if they have a product for the 4th gen. Keeping positive!!
@@Sunofasack did you ever get the ball joints ordered and installed?
Ya the ball joint press ur using has an extension kit that’s got cups and recovers etc to fit this truck and many other cars n trucks
I didn't know it wasn't in the kit until I tore into it, of course. I rented a ball joint tool last couple times I did this. This time, bought the tool but didn't think twice. Lol
@@gearheadfabworks right tool for the job makes life so much nicer and that Maddox ball joint kit and expansion kit is awesome glad ur enjoying it
I found rather than the freezer, the cooler method is colder and much quicker. If u have a good cooler (cheap cooler may bust due to cold) put ice as u normally would to ice down your favorite beverage, then, add about two handfuls of rock salt (ice cream salt). This will lower the temp to a dangerously low temp, freeze a beer in 10-12 min, slush soft drinks vert quickly. Bearings in that cooler will surpass any household freezer in 15 min or so. Hope this helps someone chill a bearing or win a bet with a buddy over freezing his beer😂🍺
Hold my beer, watch this.
you sure about the salt? is it just normal salt? or some epsom salt that you call rock salt as the normal rock salt is just normal table salt..
I like the idea and how it serves multiple purposes! Lol. I'll keep that in mind 🍻
@@vihreelinja4743any salt will work but rock salt is cheaper than table salt
That requires a freezer that gets ice to that lower temp first.
Also... Yeaa let's introduce salt.
Thank you for this video! I just ordered a set. I did my first ball joint change at 99k on my 2005 and now at 163k it feels like it needs another front end rebuild, so I'm gonna do the entire thing before it gets cold out (since I get to work outside).
@@robgoffroad hell yeah! Glad to hear that the video helped, even a tiny bit. Let us know if you have any feedback. I like to know how others like these things. In other news, I'll have some new video drops coming soon.
@@gearheadfabworks I have the LH side out, new ones are in the freezer. Still trying to get the RH hub off. Lots of soaking with oil and hammering. One video feedback tip: The music is awful. It'd be just fine with no music. :)
@@RobGADVduly noted! Music is still something I need to learn. It's supposed to be what makes a video great. What is it about the music that you didn't like?
@@gearheadfabworks The style, and it was a bit too loud. I'll give it this.. at least it wasn't rap. :)
@@RobGADV I'll take as a win in progress then! 😂
i luV ball joint deleting so much, i am subscribed for that reason!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, I'm glad. Lol. I'm sure there'll be more. 😂
Any solution for reamed out holes where the ball joints live? I have a tapered dynatrac in there now
@@BrettMcNary is it reamed out past what it was from Dynatrac? I believe Josh, at American Iron Offroad has some that fit the Dynatrac axles.
@@gearheadfabworks several years ago Dynatrac was my only option with the knurled ball joint because the holes had been reamed out by several other ball joints. I honestly haven't checked tolerances since putting the Dynas in....i probably should though!
Good video! However after all the problems I have had with my Ram 1500, I’m planing on deleting the entire truck 🤣
Can't blame you... I really am only a Cummins fan... The rest of the truck isn't my favorite. Style is nice... That's about it. 😂
Always install the lower ball joint first so the threaded rod of tool can go through upper balljoint hole, keeping the tool straight.
Normally, I would agree. However, the upper and lower ball joints are in different planes on the dodge trucks. You can't put the tool through the upper inner C hole to install the lower, unfortunately.
question is, how long will they last before needing replaced.
@@HillStreet7933 no issues thus far. Nearly 2 years in and about 40k miles on them.
It is really cool to see this. My question is how long will these last. And the next question is how much longer would they last if they weren’t over torqued so much.
These are just a stripped-down naked version of a Dynatrac ball joint. They use FK rod end bearing inserts
Still figuring out how long they will last. I'm just over 17,000 mi and 6 months in, and they are still going strong. As far as over torquing, I don't believe that they are over torqued. I am just doing things the way I was taught when I started working on cars and hydraulic systems. If you are using torque lube, one torque click and you are fine. But if you are putting them on dry, you should check them at least 1 to 2 more times. This was just the rule of them that I was given when I was working as an engineer tech.
One click and your done. Every time you click it it turns more and will over torque it. Read the instructions on your wrench. Not trying to be a dick but just a tip from a master tech.
@@roystockton1064 I'm just using the suggestion from fastener manufacturers. When using lube, one click is fine. When dry, the bolts/nuts can become bound up and give a false reading/torque. Letting the hardware relax momentarily can allow it to unbind, and then torque again. For internal engine components, you'll never see me do this.
@@roystockton1064 not exactly, if you are rushing and aren't applying a consistently increasing torque, you will hit the torque spec and go maybe a 4-8 inch pounds over, also most torque wrenches use a phyiscal click or something similar to a break over torque wrench, plus as a master tech you should know that 99k out of 100k bolt torque specs arent an exact finite unit where 1 foot pound above and the bolt isnt tight and 1 over and the bolt has to be replaced because its stretched, such as alldata or prodemand, it will give you a range, if the torque spec was that precise they would have listed it in a much finer measuring scale, also to mention doing lug nuts, you should torque them down in a star pattern and then follow it up with another pass after because as a torque spec is measured in the forced required to move an object and not a distance, something may be "at torque spec" where it clicks, but due to the extra resistance of the wheel not being seated properly it isnt actually at the proper torque spec, and lastly, it really just comes down to personal preference, if you feel the need to click it once more after you set the car on the wheels, then thats just fine
Still like these? Maybe some lock tight on the bolts?
Still going strong. We've done a few trips across the state this year and they've been great still.
Man so helpful, Thanks! I did enjoy the content, please resume this kind of good content.
I'll do my best! I appreciate it! Lots more ideas, mostly related to fabrication and offroad. But there will be all kinds of cars on here🤘
I’ve got an 2004 3500 that has been egged by an over zealous mechanic testing their new impact torque capabilities..? What too do ? oversize or ,?
They do have an option to go with an oversized joint, I believe. I'm not 100% positive though.
A broken ball joint may be the cause of a mysterious clunking noise or drifting steering. And once they're worn, they will seriously affect your steering and suspension. If a ball joint fails completely, it can even result in the wheel dramatically falling off the car. A scary thought!
Yes! I've sent a whole knuckle off while offroad. Went ball joint deletes and never looked back. So, when these came out, I had to put em in my toe pig too.
Another indication of worn ball joints is camber wear on the tires. The tire not being held in position but allowed to settle into the wear causes it to camber slightly.
@@snow8581 good point! I wasn't quite there with the ball joints, yet. Lol. They were barely out of spec and had some slightly perceivable back and forth play. Most felt like it came from the upper stud joint. Otherwise, the steering just felt sloppy and unpredictable. Much better now.
diy bearings will fail even more catastrofically i would quess :D
I have 3 Dodges.
3/4 and 1ton. Im not trying to sound negative, but these look very much like ball joints. What Am I Missing.???
@@michaelmongillo1237 they're joints, and they're spherical. They serve the same purpose but are considerably stronger than standard ball joints. Plus they're more easily serviceable when I get to that, eventually. I didn't choose the name, I'm just the guy that installed them in my truck. 🤘
Is this only for one certain front end, or for ALL 2000-2013? My 04 2500 needs ball joints And I just discovered these after looking at the really expensive ball joints like Dynatrac, EMF, thuren etc
They are for any 2500/3500 from 2000-2013.5. The inner C design was on the Dana 60 and AAM 9.25/9.5 axles. So should work for your year.
@@gearheadfabworks nice. And there’s no bad effects from doing this? Even for a daily driver mostly highway rig?
@@Bama_RTMF not that I've found so far. My rig handles and drives 10 times better already. Steering feels tight, as in it doesn't have a bunch of slop anymore. Plus, since I'm hard on my rig and I drive over 400 miles a week, I know it'll be much easier to replace a couple bearings compared to whole balljoint assemblies.
@@gearheadfabworks that’s what I was thinking too. I’ve seen people say the delete isn’t worth it, in the 3rd gen groups but nobody ever really elaborates on why that is.. they just recommend the super expensive carli or emf ball joints.
@@Bama_RTMF honestly, that's a great question. These deletes are new to the Dodge guys. I'm not sure anyone with a 3rd gen has done them yet. For all intensive purposes, the axle design is the same between 3rd and 4th gens, though. These have been undergoing several months of testing between a few guys. Josh just finally released them to the public recently. Maybe not enough 3rd gen guys have used them to recommend, yet. I've got em on my offroad race car and have no complaints, if that's any consolation.
I looked into doing this on a 01 dakota 4x4. To bad the "ball joint delete kits" are 700$. Or what i was finding anyways.
Yeah, price isn't the most wonderful thing to see. But, for most of my stuff (offroad rigs) that piece of mind on a 3 day wheeling trip is worth far more than $700.
nice! probably should anti-seize that bearing in the cup.. ..judging by the condition of that poor shock. :)
I did think about that... Might be something worth mentioning. I might do that before winter hits while doing some maintenance. Lol.
Can we have an update? I found this video a year ago when i completely rebuilt my front end, and wheel hubs.
Long story short, the part store ball joints arent up to par with the carli suspension and king shocks i run pretty hard.
How have these held up for you after a year on your Rig?
Holding up great. Been through 2 winters and over 30k miles. Steering is still tight and no issues that I've found, as of yet.
What would the difference be between these joints and the ones made by EMF (Evolution Machine) for the Dodge trucks?
Would you consider them equal or have you not tried the EMF joints?
Long term reports would be great as well
Curious as well
Not sure on strength versus strength. If I'm not mistaken, EMF uses a ball joint style, but they do everything from a better machining process than what the OEM uses. So, my guess is that they are better than OEM. But I have not been able to truly compare them to these deletes. That being said, I'm 6 months in and 17k miles, still going strong. I'll be pulling the front end apart this spring to do typical maintenance. I'll report back at that point.
Can you get the guy to change them to tapered roller bearings and races?
Im thinking the vertical load capacity is significantly less the a ball joint with these
Would most likely need to machine the bores out to accommodate roller bearings for adequate sizing. Then you gotta seal them. The spherical bearings are actually quite strong radially and axially loaded. The races are considerably stronger than typical race material used in ball joints, which is known to deform and pull the socket out in white a few applications. No failures of these yet. Time will only tell for sure, though.
Yes!! Someone that gets it, we need some thrust bearings too, top and bottom, with wavy washers to maintain preload, definitely leave them all open so they can be serviced, and somehow make them easily visible from in front of the truck. Maybe a lighting kit and red anodizing, or better yet, color match with my truck, but this is just the first step if you will, of solving a problem nobody knew they had.
I don’t know a lot about ball joints, but doesn’t replacing a ball joint with a spherical bearing make it a… ball joint?
Possibly. I guess maybe it's a technicality that it's not a full "ball". Spherical bearings and ball joints are manufactured differently, too. Ball joints are typically pressed into a cup with a little lip formed to retain it. That's why you'll occasionally hear of them popping out as they wear or reach their load threshold.
But this has the added benefit of not being sealed or greasable or the ability to pass inspections.
@@gearheadfabworksWon’t have that problem with EMF balljoints, arguably the best design hands-down, intelligent rebuild design with the ability to tighten before considering any replacement👍👍
@@FireBosspilot you definitely have a point. I like knowing that there are people still out there pushing new ideas and innovating. Let's the next person build upon the framework.
Looks like it is still a ball joint but a much better one. I like stuff that can be repaired.
Same here! At least I won't be wearing out my C's and having to pull out the ball joint press.
Needing to do ball joints on my 06, how have they held up after 2yrs? I live on a wash board dirt road and drive a lot of dirt roads in NV
@@SimplyLivingNevada so far, still going strong. I've got somewhere around 40,000 mi on them. And they're just as tight as they were on day one. I don't drive it as much lately. Really only use it for towing at this point.
@gearheadfabworks Thank you for responding definitely will give them a shot
It's still a ball joint, nothing has been deleted
I didn't name them. 🤷 But I like the way they work.
Put Carli ball joints on my 2018 Cummins this year. Absolutely hate them. Have replaced the uppers under warranty and they already have side to side play in the pins again. I’ve got to get a set of these and at least get the uppers put in. Damn truck is all over the road
Dang man! That's a huge bummer to have to go through that! Like many people, I don't usually enjoy doing the same job over again and again, especially due to a poorly engineered part. Hopefully, you'll get a lot more life out of ball joint delete systems.
"We're not gonna bore you with the disassembly......" but we are gonna show you how hard to take something apart that's never been maintained though.
Damn straight! 🤣🤣🤣 Had the video and it was plenty of work. Figured everyone else had to suffer through an ounce of it too. Lol
after a year of them being on the truck what do you think of them?
It's been almost 2 years and they're still going strong. Pulled the wheels off a couple weeks ago before pulling a camper across the state and they're still tight with good mobility. Can't complain so far.
Its still a ball joint
Take it up with our customer service line that doesn't exist. 😂
Technically, no it isn’t.
@@noneya61I mean yeah it technically is lol
Just a different name, and different design parts, but is the same concept as a ball joint and does the exact same thing as a ball joint is designed to do lol
I mean honestly it is lol.. made with different parts, because of its different design but it literally does exactly what a ball joint does lol.. it just does exactly the same thing as what the ball joint was designed to do lol same concept as a ball joint.. it’s just a slightly different product, its just a little differently designed product then the ball joint, and has a little differently designed parts and it’s rebuildable though, unlike a ball joint that you can’t take apart and rebuild.. whoever says it’s not a ball joint I will argue that it is til I’m blue in the face.. lol.. there’s only a couple differences between the two.. #1, is just the design difference of the entire piece and the design difference of the inner working pieces.. but it’s literally a ball joint.. they just look a little different and are designed a little different and have different working parts.. but literally has the same job/purpose as the ball joint lol it just takes the ball joints place because the are better and stronger and rebuildable.. it has the exact same job to do and is the exact same concept of a ball joint
@@austinp8308 hey Austin, think about it for a second… A “ball” joint is a “ball” and “socket” there is no “ball” to this joint. It can’t, from what I saw, pivot around like a ball. But not having it in front of me I could be wrong.
Maybe Brandon will let us know since he has actual hands on experience with them. Cheers.
I never understood why they would have put a ball joint it the solid axle front ends. I understand that, in theory the bore hole the joints go in might not be perfectly aligned and that the axle loads are pretty high. There still shouldn't be enough misalignment to require a ball!
I've worked on heavy off road trucks (rock trucks) Why didn't they align bore the pin holes like they do on heavy equipment?
@@pjford1118 That's a really good question. I know they used to do something a lot like what you see in heavy equipment, for instance, the kingpin. My intuitive guess is that it was cheaper and easier for overall maintenance to just run a ball joint.
Even then, most straight axles have their ball joints lined up or at least really close to the naked eye. These Dodges, however, do not.
Just a little tip that will save you a ton of time. You DO NOT need to do this mod. Ball joints work fine and have worked fine forever.
Did you see the price of these?
@@stevo1563 No
To each their own.
Agreed, this is just a heim joint. Heim joints have no place in automotive.
Not to be rude or anything. But you dodge rams definitely burn through ball joints faster than the government is money.
I don't understand that these do not need grease. Isn't it still a moving part inside?
In my opinion, I think grease would be great for any moving part. However, that's what the Teflon is for in this part. Maybe one day American Iron Offroad will have a grease provision for these.
@@gearheadfabworks it looks like grease will fit down beside the bolt. I mean it can't hurt anything but may add extra insurance. Unless they aren't really sealed like a regular ball joint I guess. Have to get a little more familiar with this brand to know for sure. Thanks for the vid
I think if the assembly could be sealed top and bottom, grease would be very beneficial. If not, grease just holds onto dirt and potentially drags it into the joint and causes premature failure.
When you triple/quadruple (or more) click your torque wrench you are going beyond your set torque. But you probably know that already.
Im glad somebody said this. I was like.... really!!!
The problem is doing it dry versus doing it with torque lube. Dry oftentimes requires you to torque it more than once.
@@gearheadfabworks
Only if the torque spec calls for lube. Otherwise the torque was meant to be dry.
@@aiesusserphin8187 I'll take your word for it
Damn! Something caught my eye.. who makes those steering knuckles?
@@isa_4funner innovative machining solutions out of Maine. Made from 7075 aluminum.
@@gearheadfabworksThanks I'll check them out! 🙏
@gearheadfabworks I looked at their website and it shows the knuckles in casting? the one in the video looks billet. 🤔
@@isa_4funner interesting... They are billet. The ones online are the cast steel versions. They might have had a problem with the aluminum ones still. I sent mine back 3 times to have different ones made. They were the prototypes, but he was selling them for a bit. I ended up switching to the cast steel version, as the aluminum ones kept getting pushed back in his machining process. Spent about 2.5 years waiting between 3 versions. 😔 That's not how I operate anymore... I just design my own stuff and deal with local machine shops.
also great vid , few tips you didn't have to remove axle nut , take out as an assembly , reason being ya don't want to let axle hang in there as ya did it will egg out your axle seal and possibly cause leaks , same on install slide axle in centred as ya can and immediately put unit bearing in its bore ( have every mating surface polished and antisiezed and ready to go ) so there is no pressure on seal . because ya don't want do axle seals if ya don't have to as you may know .cause they a bitch
It's funny you mention that. I tear down my Jeepster the way you said and for some reason I didn't do it on my truck. Couldn't tell you why. Lol. Good tip!
All he needed to do was remove the four nuts holding spindle and ABS wire take tire spindle and axle out in one piece
@@Dirtydigger yes but I don’t think i’d leave tire on too , ya want to have total control of unit bearing and axle sliding it out and putting back in , it just like delivering a baby lol ya want to prevent damage to them seals at all costs , and if axle universal , unit bearings or balljoints are even questionable just replace em all cause every time that axle is pulled to replace one of them ya increase yer chance of a leak
@@TheCaperfish I would also take the tire off just made an observation and made a statement might help save a few people some time and without the tire you don’t have to disconnect the brake line just remove caliper and it’s good to check the wheel bearings if it’s been forever.
If you draw a straight line from the upper to the lower pivot points, you'll see that the joints don't bind. But it's still a design choice I'd like to understand better.
Now, if you want to see "messed up" ball joint design, look at the track bar setup on any 1994-2002 Ram 2300/3500 4x4. The track bar has to BEND the ball joint end for the front axle to articulate. I did a conversion to make it a Heim setup and it helped a lot with tracking and death wobble.
Interesting! I haven't seen that setup in person yet. I'll have to keep an eye out for one of those trucks when we get one in the shop.
2:53 WOW!! that's alot of RUST on a new truck.
Yeah... Good ole Michigan for ya. Makes everything maintenance job that much harder!
My 14’ 2500 Cummins tracks perfectly straight with no input and has since I got it
I'm really glad. This is a common issue in 2500s. It is just exacerbated as time and wear occurs.
He neutered his Ram 🐏 😳
🤣🤣 I don't need this old rusty pig making any rusty babies!
The way the bottom nut moves around on the bearing through the rotation of the wheel (12:54) looks to be dangerous because of the potential of rubbing up against the side wall and potentially loosening the nut.
It doesn't actually rub though. It's tightened down on the bearing sphere and just moves with it and the knuckle. Not close enough to the race or inner C to be concerned, but valid point to bring up.
Stopped watching to much unnecessary work to watch !!
Well, I had it on video, so I put it in there. Tried to speed it up. Maybe future videos will be better.
Durán más estás rotulas que las originales??
In theory, yes. But depends on multiple factors like anything else. I still have the set from this install in my truck. A little over 6 months and about 20,000 miles on them. Still drives great.
annoying music
@@diegob6911 if that's the worst part, I'll take that all day. Lol. That's something easily fixable in the future.
What's the update on the ball joint upgrade?
Still going strong! I have about 45k miles on these so far and they're still tight. Gonna pull the truck in the shop when I make room and look it all over before winter hits hard.
I’m just now seeing this and I have to say I’m sick and damn tired of changing cheap suspension parts on my 1/2 ton truck and Pontiac Torrent! Is there a company that makes good durable parts for daily driving GM vehicles??
There's probably a couple options. They're usually more expensive. But not many options for IFS setups yet. Typically OEM or a Chinese knockoff version.
That snap ring holding the bearing in might be fun to get out in the salt belt
Gonna find out... I used anti-seize on a lot of parts to make life easier. But shall see.
Wonder if this would fit my 2000 ram 1500 4x4
I don't believe so. Different axle setups.
great video but need MORE light on what you are doing :( oh wait at 8:45 mark LIGHT.. yeah.. :) how they holding up now a year later.. do it again??
The videography nature of this stuff is a little more difficult than I anticipated, originally. Lol. I've come to understand a ton more! It just takes time to invest in video equipment, while also investing in tools. Think we're covered for awhile now.
As far as the ball joint deletes go, they are going great! Holding up strong, no issues. I've lifted the front end a couple of times and found no perceivable slop. I would do it again. I've got about 30, 000 mi on this truck since installing these. Miles are slow growing now, as I bought different daily driver so I wasn't killing my truck slowly but surely. Lol
I like these it about time for me to replace my ball joints again on my 2012 Silverado 1500. From the factory it had some crappy sealed ball joints that went out at 60,000 miles. I could not believe it. However, I replaced them with some Moog ball joints with grease zerks and they are still holding up and not abnormal tire wear but the boots are torn and the bottom ones have just a little play. The last time I greased them In cleaned the boots and put black flex tape around the boots and they held the grease fine. My Moog ball joints have over 120,000 miles on them since my truck now has a little over 180,000 on it. The Moogs have been greased regularly but that is outstanding if you ask me!
That's a good run on Moog. Maintenance is probably 75% of the cure for ball joints on most rigs. On straight axles, definitely some other issues. These dodge 2500/3500 trucks had poor geometry from the factory. Maybe they'll make some for the 1500 Chevy at some point. Supposed to be started some IFS stuff soon for Toyotas, then Chevy's. But it'll be a few months at a minimum.
Moog is trash. You'll be redoing the ball joints sooner than if you would have used OEM. You can't be a cheap ass with these trucks.
?
So these are ball joint delete parts, but what's internally is a ball bearing? Theoretically, they're still ball joints just encased with aluminum housing. Until it's made completely without a bearing component as its main component, it's still a ball joint no matter what and can't be called a ball joint delete kit.
Understandable... I'm sure it's a play on words in some way. Probably easier to market than saying "spherical bearing upgrade for your ball joints."
Would packing in dry ice or soaking in liquid nitrogen be better than household freezer? Is any kind of epoxy primer recommended to help prevent corrosion between the knurled outside and the knuckle?
Nothing has been noted for rust prevention. However, I'd be curious myself. I HATE rust! If I leave Michigan, it's because of rust. Lol. As far as dry ice, yes it would be better. But I dealt with what I had. Freezer works fine. They pressed in without much hassle.
Looks like it’s still a ball joint, just modular with internal heim joint?
Pretty much. But they are a different construction than how a standard ball joint is made.
are you essentially reverting back to king pin technology?
I'm sure it shares some characteristics of kingpin. But it is not quite the same. This is using a spherical bearing as the pivot. Which is necessary for the AAM axles, due to the upper and lower joints having to go in different plane angles during rotation. Dodge really did some funky stuff when they designed the original axle.
Are they made for two wheel drive 2500 with upper 😊 and lower control arms
I don't know... I'd message American Iron Offroad and see. If I remember later, I'll ask Josh.
Where is the boot that goes between the steering knuckle and the axle C ? You know to keep the crap out, where is the grease fitting?
There is no grease fitting for these. The spherical bearings have a Teflon layer so they are lubrication free. The tops are sealed, so elements don't constantly pour in. Bottoms are open to allow any drainage if they are submerged or have stuff come up from below.
Could not find these for the Ram 1500 4x4, tried calling,they never answered.
They haven't come out with a design for the 1500s yet. Might be something in the future. They are working on some IFS stuff this year.
Man that’s a nice product!!! Should have been invented years ago. I did a set of ball joints on a old rusted ford truck once, the ball joint press wouldn’t take them out, it actually broke. Probably because it was made in china. Lol, What I did was took my Bench vise off the work bench and used it as my Press!!! Lol!!! Definitely a little odd and heavy to use but worked. Great video and thanks for sharing the Ball Joint Deletes, I will definitely use them in the future. People if you ever buy a Ball Joint Press spend a few more dollars for a Quality Tool, it will save you a lot of Aggravation. 😂
I don't know if I would've thought of using a bench vise, but that is genius in a pinch🤘
going to buy a set of ball joint delete kit for my 06 dodge ram 4x4 5.9 cummins!
Nice! It's a cool little setup. Especially if the ball joints need to be replaced, anyway.
3D printed Dust caps, I do a bunch of 3 d prints for msny applications, dono if I would feel good about these dust caps in this environment. Show me pix
They are still going strong at this point. I'm sure they had their reasons for 3d printing.
Can you do this on any car as well?
If they offer the right machined parts, then yes. Not every vehicle has been accommodated for yet.
How long they really last h til they have loose play?? No one says anything about that.....Why do i ask that? Same with A-arms that has Uniballs( total chaos, and many many other), mines last 10-13k miles then they start to have play.Thats when i found outthey werent for Daily Driven vehicles.......... So how long that setup and Uniballs/ spherical joints etc.. does it really last?
So far, it's been about 1.5 years and 30k miles. I typically only use my truck for towing now. I daily a smaller car... 1 hour drive both ways was getting rough in a diesel truck with 250k on it. Lol. They are still going strong, though. I think they last a lot longer in a straight axle because there is no excessive misalignment movement, just axial movement.
Deleted them? Did you retro-fit king pins and bushings to your truck? They are more durable than ball joints.
Kingpins are more durable. The problem is that Dodge engineered these AAM axles with the upper and lower joints in different planes. So they don't rotate on the same axis.
Yes I'm going to be replacing my left ball joint this will be the third time and I wish they had a bump steer kit for these trucks too they do have bump steer.
Yeah, bump steer is significantly better now! And Michigan roads are not smooth. 😂
Bro you have them recalled Pittsburgh Jack stands
My jack stands weren't part of that recall.
Do they have the security pin? I know you can bring those back and get the nicer new ones free. They are much better and cost more but since it’s a recall is a straight swap don’t let them try and give you a gift card if they have non in stock just to to another or wait till they get more in
@@kchilz32 I don't believe the serial numbers were part of the recall. However, I have 2 newer sets with security pins now. Had 3 projects at the same time, so it was a necessary purchase. Lol
Good video 👍 curious on how well they stand up, I have been running XRF ball joints , so far they seem like there lasting over 80,000 k , I plow snow all winter and pack heavy loads with my truck daily.
Holding up great at over 30k miles and 1.5 years in the salt belt. I'll post when they need service. Hopefully, not for awhile.
Now that you have had them on for some time. How many miles do you have on them and are they holding up alright?
I have about 45k miles on them. Been through a couple winters and lots towing across the state. They're holding up strong. I should be doing an update video soon.
What is the link to the Ball Joint delete system? Also, still working great?
@@G.RayBrown americanironoffroad.com/collections/dodge-cummins-delete-systems-aam/products/dodge-cummins-2000-to-2018-delete-systems
@@G.RayBrown and yes! Still working perfect for my tow pig. I don't drive it nearly as often, but it still drives straight down the road.
So how are the american iron balljoint delete's working?
Still going strong. Few cross state trips this year and they've been great.
Thanks for the tips !!!! Finally something different!!! I just replaced for the third times on mine!!!!
Not a problem! Glad I could help.