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Ball joint question... Dynatrac or American iron

Hartmanb1

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 1, 2022
Member Number
5249
Messages
52
Hey guys, getting ready to weld on some high steer for my superduty d60, so looking into ball joints or deletes... Specifically the dynatrac ball joints or the American iron deletes. They're similarly priced, and seem to be pretty similar, but would like some opinions. I live in Washington State, so the fact the dynatrac has a legit seal and that you can grease them is appealing with the wet in the winter and the moon dust in the summer... thinking the deletes may be stronger with the through bolt though. Thoughts?

Thanks!
 
I’m in same boat. Waiting to get my knuckles back from getting machined.

Ian from big tire garage just did a video on dynatrac units. I’m concerned with breaking a ujoint and it pressing ball joints out specifically. The American iron say you can weld them in. Dynatrac I don’t know and I haven’t asked them. I would think dynatrac service parts will be available in the future. American iron who knows? Lots of little niche companies have came to pass on the last 20 years.

Just my thoughts.
 
I have the same concern of breaking a joint and pushing out a ball joint. I may need to contact dynatrac to get that answer. Would think as long as you don't go crazy it would be ok to weld them, unless it's some weird alloy...
 
I'm thinking American Iron eliminators personally. From what I can tell, the rebuild kits are basically just uniballs, snap rings, washers, etc. that you should be able to get even if AI goes under.
 
I see they have some sort of seal now, would be cool to get a set in my hands to check out
 
irate4x4.com

Broken SD 60 balljoints

Who has actually broken or seen broken a SD60 balljoint? I see plenty of companies selling Balljoint eliminators and according to those guys theyre necessary for strength. I did a little looking around and can't seem to find where this has been discussed other than mention of the possibility...
irate4x4.com irate4x4.com

More info. For me machining a special upper bushing isn’t a real possibility.
 
Rangerrod said:
irate4x4.com

Broken SD 60 balljoints

Who has actually broken or seen broken a SD60 balljoint? I see plenty of companies selling Balljoint eliminators and according to those guys theyre necessary for strength. I did a little looking around and can't seem to find where this has been discussed other than mention of the possibility...
irate4x4.com irate4x4.com

More info. For me machining a special upper bushing isn’t a real possibility.
Click to expand...
Right? And who is gonna remove their C's to put them in a mill, not like you're gonna fixture your whole front axle... At that length there's better ways
 
I guess go in with your eyes open on the HD balljoints or the eliminators. A few bad reviews on Dynatrac's site about their HD balljoints but here's 2 worth reading b/c talking to American Iron, the mileage/time frame is similar.....(I'll have to get home to look at my other email to get the exact mileage but I want to say they expect you to need to rebuild the eliminators every 2 years or 30K miles IIRC which seems pretty excessive):


Not Dynatrac quality
Overall Rating
20%
I bought these for my 2017 Ram 3500 Dually. It is my tow rig for getting to the trail. I bought these as preventative maintenance on 10/10/19 with 45K miles on my truck. At that time I also did a free spin kit for a worry free front end. I expected these to last for at least 100K as my stock ones were still good when removed which would be about the time for a newer tow rig. On the way back from Hot springs offroad park on a fuel stop I started to notice some uneven wear on passenger side tire. I checked wheel bearing torque and everything was in spec. Once home I checked all steering components, everything (synergy steering, Thuren Trac bar), toe, caster, was good. I honestly was not expecting to check balljoints. I mean they are DYNATRAC HD balljoints with right at 40K miles on them. They cant be bad already right? WRONG!! I was honestly shocked. These did not even last as long as my STOCK JOINTS. I called Dynatrac and Talked with Jared Pugh 3/14/23 with a response of "well you got 4 years out of them, id say that is pretty good."

Now here is the issue. I paid $800 for these HD balljoints that did not last as long as my stockers, and the whole reason going dynatrac was to last. Yes being able to rebuild and not having to press in is nice. But not for the added initial cost and doesn't last as long as stockers. I wish i would have just gone with balljoint eliminators now. So press out Dynatrac balljoints and drop another $650 for BJ eliminators or cave and just buy a rebuild kit for $240 to the door. I caved and ordered a rebuild kit, hopefully these last longer, Dynatrac I expected higher quality after running some of your axles and other products.

Note* Same setup, on truck leveled on 35s since day one.
Review by John Michael
Posted on3/17/23




Absolute garbage!. After 24 months of these so called “Military grade”….what else.. oh yeah, “bulletproof … “Last ball joint you will ever buy “……
Fucking junk is what they are.
Left side had some play in it and it has for some time, 10 thou of inch. Well within the 60 allowed. Truck needed u-joints replaced. So i thought i would get the rebuild kit for the ball joints and get everything back nice and tight. Mechanic tells me that the ball shaft is worn right through the bearing. Rebuilt kit won’t fix the issue, i need new ball joints on the left side. Right side is still good. He is gonna give me the show and tell when i pick it up. So my point is this, for all the reviews that basically say that this is the last ball joints you will buy for your dodge… is horseshit. Im not expecting them to last forever, thats unrealistic. What is realistic now in these times, is a manufacturer should stand behind their product. Especially when you “selling it” the way that you do. $1100.00 CDN for a “Heavy Duty “ part that doesn’t last any longer than a $500 part. No warranty… ok … not worth it then, not even close.
SAVE YOUR MONEY, THIS BALL JOINT DOES NOT LIVE UP TO THE HYPE.
Review by Ron
Posted on3/29/23
 
Sean said:
I guess go in with your eyes open on the HD balljoints or the eliminators. A few bad reviews on Dynatrac's site about their HD balljoints but here's 2 worth reading b/c talking to American Iron, the mileage/time frame is similar.....(I'll have to get home to look at my other email to get the exact mileage but I want to say they expect you to need to rebuild the eliminators every 2 years or 30K miles IIRC which seems pretty excessive):


Not Dynatrac quality
Overall Rating
20%
I bought these for my 2017 Ram 3500 Dually. It is my tow rig for getting to the trail. I bought these as preventative maintenance on 10/10/19 with 45K miles on my truck. At that time I also did a free spin kit for a worry free front end. I expected these to last for at least 100K as my stock ones were still good when removed which would be about the time for a newer tow rig. On the way back from Hot springs offroad park on a fuel stop I started to notice some uneven wear on passenger side tire. I checked wheel bearing torque and everything was in spec. Once home I checked all steering components, everything (synergy steering, Thuren Trac bar), toe, caster, was good. I honestly was not expecting to check balljoints. I mean they are DYNATRAC HD balljoints with right at 40K miles on them. They cant be bad already right? WRONG!! I was honestly shocked. These did not even last as long as my STOCK JOINTS. I called Dynatrac and Talked with Jared Pugh 3/14/23 with a response of "well you got 4 years out of them, id say that is pretty good."

Now here is the issue. I paid $800 for these HD balljoints that did not last as long as my stockers, and the whole reason going dynatrac was to last. Yes being able to rebuild and not having to press in is nice. But not for the added initial cost and doesn't last as long as stockers. I wish i would have just gone with balljoint eliminators now. So press out Dynatrac balljoints and drop another $650 for BJ eliminators or cave and just buy a rebuild kit for $240 to the door. I caved and ordered a rebuild kit, hopefully these last longer, Dynatrac I expected higher quality after running some of your axles and other products.

Note* Same setup, on truck leveled on 35s since day one.
Review by John Michael
Posted on3/17/23




Absolute garbage!. After 24 months of these so called “Military grade”….what else.. oh yeah, “bulletproof … “Last ball joint you will ever buy “……
Fucking junk is what they are.
Left side had some play in it and it has for some time, 10 thou of inch. Well within the 60 allowed. Truck needed u-joints replaced. So i thought i would get the rebuild kit for the ball joints and get everything back nice and tight. Mechanic tells me that the ball shaft is worn right through the bearing. Rebuilt kit won’t fix the issue, i need new ball joints on the left side. Right side is still good. He is gonna give me the show and tell when i pick it up. So my point is this, for all the reviews that basically say that this is the last ball joints you will buy for your dodge… is horseshit. Im not expecting them to last forever, thats unrealistic. What is realistic now in these times, is a manufacturer should stand behind their product. Especially when you “selling it” the way that you do. $1100.00 CDN for a “Heavy Duty “ part that doesn’t last any longer than a $500 part. No warranty… ok … not worth it then, not even close.
SAVE YOUR MONEY, THIS BALL JOINT DOES NOT LIVE UP TO THE HYPE.
Review by Ron
Posted on3/29/23
Click to expand...
Good stuff to know, but I'm thinking my 500 pound V8 in my yj will be a little easier on them than a 1500 pound Cummins in a dually
 
Hartmanb1 said:
Good stuff to know, but I'm thinking my 500 pound V8 in my yj will be a little easier on them than a 1500 pound Cummins in a dually
Click to expand...
Agreed. I'm was thinking of putting them in my tow rig (Cummins).....but was also contemplating them with AI's fancy Ai60 SD nodular iron inner Cs for a Rockjock60 I have sitting around for the wife's JLUR (eventually). For a lighter rig, they'll probably have a much longer service life....though with heavy/tall wheeling tires, I wouldn't be surprised if the lifespan is somewhat similar to a diesel tow rig on factory size tires....just takes a lot longer to put on trail miles than highway....unless it's a DD or something.
 
From American Iron's website: "Expected lifespan of spherical bearings is estimated at 2 years depending on tire size, use, etc."
americanironoffroad.com

AI-1500 Ball Joint Delete™ System Rebuild Kit

Spherical bearings with PTFE Teflon liner and hardware to rebuild your Ball Joint Delete™ System. Expected lifespan of spherical bearings is estimated at 2 years depending on tire size, use, etc. This is a complete kit including replacement locknuts due to the nylock being 25% less effective...
americanironoffroad.com americanironoffroad.com

Says the same 2 year estimate for Jeep and Ford BJE kits.
 
Would've hoped having seals they would last longer, but then I wonder how often they were greased?
Sean said:
From American Iron's website: "Expected lifespan of spherical bearings is estimated at 2 years depending on tire size, use, etc."
americanironoffroad.com

AI-1500 Ball Joint Delete™ System Rebuild Kit

Spherical bearings with PTFE Teflon liner and hardware to rebuild your Ball Joint Delete™ System. Expected lifespan of spherical bearings is estimated at 2 years depending on tire size, use, etc. This is a complete kit including replacement locknuts due to the nylock being 25% less effective...
americanironoffroad.com americanironoffroad.com

Says the same 2 year estimate for Jeep and Ford BJE kits.
Click to expand...
I'm more worried about the strength, and the upper being pushed out if a u joint or stub breaks
 
Hartmanb1 said:
Would've hoped having seals they would last longer, but then I wonder how often they were greased?

I'm more worried about the strength, and the upper being pushed out if a u joint or stub breaks
Click to expand...
You don't grease uniballs typically....same with most rod ends obviously.

Strength wise, either should be far stronger than factory BJs in terms of ultimate yield strength....but wear is a different animal.
 
Hartmanb1 said:
I'm more worried about the strength, and the upper being pushed out if a u joint or stub breaks
Click to expand...
I just read AI’s D60 BJE install instruction.

looking like I was wrong. AI BJE kit remove load carrying from upper as the bearing is a sliding fit in the cup, kinda convert it to telescoping uppers. Putting all of weight-carrying to lowers.


I still think lower ball joint into upper will be the ultimate strength. The tricky part will be the large custom made bushing.
 
I thought all those high end ball joints were more for purpose built rigs where strength is the end goal?
Reading those reviews sound like daily drivers.
I still love the Dana Spicer brand ball joints on my daily drivers.
 
welndmn said:
I thought all those high end ball joints were more for purpose built rigs where strength is the end goal?
Reading those reviews sound like daily drivers.
I still love the Dana Spicer brand ball joints on my daily drivers.
Click to expand...
I think the issue is the longevity of factory ball joints with a lift/bigger tires/less backspacing on the tow rigs. Mine's stock height/tire size, but I've gone with less backspacing than the factory 6" wheels recently and I'm a bit concerned that I'm going to start eating up ball joints....which is why I was looking at this option. But, as you're noting....I think this is less for street rigs and more for ultimate strength for offroad rigs.
 
I put American Iron upper and lower deletes in my SD60 that I'm putting in my trail rig. I plan on putting them in my daily driver Ram 2500 on 37s when the factory ball joints are toast. The owner of American Iron, Josh is a pretty solid guy and really stands behind his stuff. He's got a bunch of Jeep guys running the deletes on street rigs that see lots of road miles with good success.
 
I will note that when I purchased them for my SD60 it was not for longevity reasons. I was more worried about breaking a U-joint and then popping the knuckle off on the trail which would be a terrible recovery. I found a bent upper BJ on the axle when I was tearing it down so I needed to replace them anyway.
 
You guys looking for ultimate strength AND longevity crack me up. You get one or the other with these types of things, not both.
 
wvracer821 said:
I will note that when I purchased them for my SD60 it was not for longevity reasons. I was more worried about breaking a U-joint and then popping the knuckle off on the trail which would be a terrible recovery. I found a bent upper BJ on the axle when I was tearing it down so I needed to replace them anyway.
Click to expand...

This guy gets it.
 
Hey guys, I just lurk here every once in a while, but thought I would add my two cents since I have been using AIO BJ eliminators for over 2 years now.

I am using a set in my daily driver JK Dana 44 with 35" tires. I only do moderate wheeling in this Jeep and used it for a couple of years on a pipeline right-of-way.

This is actually the second axle housing that these have been in, since the first housing got bent when a guy in an old ford truck came around a curve on my side of the road and hit me. I was able to transfer all existing parts over to a new housing, including the BJE's. The guy hit my front driver side corner, which not only pushed the axle back, but also bent the lower control arm and the control arm bracket on the frame in addition to the axle housing. The BJE held up just fine.

The BJE's are just a little tricky to install. It's ideal, but not required, to do the final torque with the weight of the vehicle on them, so a crow's foot to get into the the upper nut on the lower BJE is handy. Make sure to follow Josh's instructions, because most of the issues I have seen is by people who don't follow them and seem to not know how to install even typical balljoints, IE hammering the cups in because they are too dumb to use a press, not following torque specs, etc.

The cups can also be welded in if you have a wore out hole in your knuckle or want the maximum protection against a broken ujoint possibly knocking a cup out.

I live in a rural area of West Virginia (close to Good Evening Ranch) where there are numerous potholes and the road is so narrow in places that you must pull off sometimes when you meet someone. This has always caused the passenger side balljoint on every vehicle I've ever owned to wear out quicker than the driver's side. So with just over 30k miles on this set, the passenger side has started to get some noticeable play in it. Most likely the teflon liner in the uniball has wore out.

Being able to just press in cups, which never need removed, is huge. This means servicing them is just replacing the uniball and nuts. The uniballs are made by FK if I remember correctly, so future replacements should never be an issue.

The only downside that I have found is that they will make your steering a little too tight and sticky for the first few hundred miles. They need to get broke in before they are really smooth. They will also transmit more road harshness into the steering than factory balljoints. Make sure to use some spray paint on them after install to keep the exposed parts from rusting.

I don't see myself ever going back to regular balljoints in any 4wd vehicle as long as these are available, and I certainly wouldn't consider high priced balljoints like Dynatrac or any other brand.
 
wvjeepguy81 said:
Hey guys, I just lurk here every once in a while, but thought I would add my two cents since I have been using AIO BJ eliminators for over 2 years now.

I am using a set in my daily driver JK Dana 44 with 35" tires. I only do moderate wheeling in this Jeep and used it for a couple of years on a pipeline right-of-way.

This is actually the second axle housing that these have been in, since the first housing got bent when a guy in an old ford truck came around a curve on my side of the road and hit me. I was able to transfer all existing parts over to a new housing, including the BJE's. The guy hit my front driver side corner, which not only pushed the axle back, but also bent the lower control arm and the control arm bracket on the frame in addition to the axle housing. The BJE held up just fine.

The BJE's are just a little tricky to install. It's ideal, but not required, to do the final torque with the weight of the vehicle on them, so a crow's foot to get into the the upper nut on the lower BJE is handy. Make sure to follow Josh's instructions, because most of the issues I have seen is by people who don't follow them and seem to not know how to install even typical balljoints, IE hammering the cups in because they are too dumb to use a press, not following torque specs, etc.

The cups can also be welded in if you have a wore out hole in your knuckle or want the maximum protection against a broken ujoint possibly knocking a cup out.

I live in a rural area of West Virginia (close to Good Evening Ranch) where there are numerous potholes and the road is so narrow in places that you must pull off sometimes when you meet someone. This has always caused the passenger side balljoint on every vehicle I've ever owned to wear out quicker than the driver's side. So with just over 30k miles on this set, the passenger side has started to get some noticeable play in it. Most likely the teflon liner in the uniball has wore out.

Being able to just press in cups, which never need removed, is huge. This means servicing them is just replacing the uniball and nuts. The uniballs are made by FK if I remember correctly, so future replacements should never be an issue.

The only downside that I have found is that they will make your steering a little too tight and sticky for the first few hundred miles. They need to get broke in before they are really smooth. They will also transmit more road harshness into the steering than factory balljoints. Make sure to use some spray paint on them after install to keep the exposed parts from rusting.

I don't see myself ever going back to regular balljoints in any 4wd vehicle as long as these are available, and I certainly wouldn't consider high priced balljoints like Dynatrac or any other brand.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the response!
 
I ran Dynatrac ball joints in a Dynatrac Pro-Rock 60 when racing my LJ. They didn't compare to genuine Spicers and were worn out before one season.
 
wvjeepguy81 said:
Hey guys, I just lurk here every once in a while, but thought I would add my two cents since I have been using AIO BJ eliminators for over 2 years now.

I am using a set in my daily driver JK Dana 44 with 35" tires. I only do moderate wheeling in this Jeep and used it for a couple of years on a pipeline right-of-way.

This is actually the second axle housing that these have been in, since the first housing got bent when a guy in an old ford truck came around a curve on my side of the road and hit me. I was able to transfer all existing parts over to a new housing, including the BJE's. The guy hit my front driver side corner, which not only pushed the axle back, but also bent the lower control arm and the control arm bracket on the frame in addition to the axle housing. The BJE held up just fine.

The BJE's are just a little tricky to install. It's ideal, but not required, to do the final torque with the weight of the vehicle on them, so a crow's foot to get into the the upper nut on the lower BJE is handy. Make sure to follow Josh's instructions, because most of the issues I have seen is by people who don't follow them and seem to not know how to install even typical balljoints, IE hammering the cups in because they are too dumb to use a press, not following torque specs, etc.

The cups can also be welded in if you have a wore out hole in your knuckle or want the maximum protection against a broken ujoint possibly knocking a cup out.

I live in a rural area of West Virginia (close to Good Evening Ranch) where there are numerous potholes and the road is so narrow in places that you must pull off sometimes when you meet someone. This has always caused the passenger side balljoint on every vehicle I've ever owned to wear out quicker than the driver's side. So with just over 30k miles on this set, the passenger side has started to get some noticeable play in it. Most likely the teflon liner in the uniball has wore out.

Being able to just press in cups, which never need removed, is huge. This means servicing them is just replacing the uniball and nuts. The uniballs are made by FK if I remember correctly, so future replacements should never be an issue.

The only downside that I have found is that they will make your steering a little too tight and sticky for the first few hundred miles. They need to get broke in before they are really smooth. They will also transmit more road harshness into the steering than factory balljoints. Make sure to use some spray paint on them after install to keep the exposed parts from rusting.

I don't see myself ever going back to regular balljoints in any 4wd vehicle as long as these are available, and I certainly wouldn't consider high priced balljoints like Dynatrac or any other brand.
Click to expand...
I think this is probably how I'll end up going
 
FC4X4 said:
I ran Dynatrac ball joints in a Dynatrac Pro-Rock 60 when racing my LJ. They didn't compare to genuine Spicers and were worn out before one season.
Click to expand...
Were they the old dynatrac ball joints or the current rebuildable ball joints that use a replaceable uniball in them, very much like the “ball joint delete”?
 
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