35s or 37s?

[ShadowsPapa]

City, stop and go driving i cannot tell any difference, acceleration feels the same as with 33`s. The overdrive gears 7-8th the trans will jump between these gears at times, if this transmission was a six speed without the overdrive gears some would say the gearing is near perfect but having the two extra gears and not being able to fully utilize them shows that there is room for improvement. But overall i do not feel a rush to re-gear, i will when money permits. I will be adding my lift soon and this might want me to re-gear sooner.

Regarding MPG i would not have bought this truck if MPG was a concern, what i get just comes with the territory considering the truck and the mods i have done. According to the computer my MPG has not changed but i have not done any heavy hauling or towing yet.

LOL - thanks. I get it. You don't buy trucks in general, especially those more like a brick than a glider if you are overly concerned about MPG. And I have seen some talk of being at 14 or 15 and being fine with that. Was just curious.
IMO these things stock have fantastic acceleration. I never worry about needing to merge into fast oncoming traffic. It's got guts.
Anyway, that's helpful. Not that I plan anything soon, but like to absorb such information.

Sponsored

 

[Jdschell]

Ball joints? Or axles? Some on here talk about these failing.

 

[RH 67]

So you guys think running 37s would be fine with stock components. Right now it's my daily driver, but want to get off road and possibly some rocks (scared to mess up my new ride). I know there's a big debate on this, if not, what components are a must replacement? Brakes, gears, etc.???

I just went to 37`s and i`m surprised at how well the 37`s work with this truck, steering and road manners are the same as stock. For everyday driving and mild off roading the stock components should be fine. The front track bar and drag link i would consider changing at some point these are easy to do and not costly.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Ball joints? Or axles? Some on here talk about these failing.

It's a straight axle - no ball joints.
IFS, independent front suspension type vehicles have "ball joints" (well, some have a rather complex setup like Mercedes) or ball joints and trunnions or some other arrangement.
These have a solid straight axle, little in the way of weak spots.
There are links holding the rear axle, and what are called control arms on these (which gets confusing because they don't do anything other than hold the front axle in place and set the caster or tilt of the steering axis - they are more like the links on the rear) and there's a track bar which holds the front axle centered under the front end during turns etc. - for heavy abuse, rocks and washouts that could be changed to a heavier after-market piece but should be fine unless you get into more serious stuff. It's not a weak spot per se. Just something that can be easily beefed up as it does take heavy abuse with more serious off-road adventures involving hard things like big rocks.
Anyway, no ball joints. Axles aren't going to fail on these unless horribly abused. These are tougher than prior Jeeps - the axles are bigger than the Wrangler axle. It would take some serious hammering to bust one of these. These are more than a "Jeep", these are trucks and heavy built for towing and payload.

Can you show me where someone had an axle fail?

 

[Jdschell]

Awesome info. No I can't show you, they were just talking about sleeves of some sort. Thank you all.

 

[Jericbarg]

The JT does have ball joints.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

The JT does have ball joints.

Where?

Please show me the ball joints - here are the front and rear axle assemblies. They are held in place by links, bolts through bushings.

The other picture from my race car (after I swapped in disk brakes) shows an upper control arm and you can see where the ball joint is at the outer end of the control arm - connects the upper control arm to the steering knuckle.

 

[Jericbarg]

Right there in plain sight on the front axles. Dynatrac makes Pro Steer pressed in ball joints for the JK that will fit the JL/JT. That is what I installed on both of my JLURs. If you were talking about the rear axles, it does not have ball joints.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Never seen 'em called ball joints as all they do is pivot - more like a king pin.
Jeep must be the only company that calls them that.
Ford doesn't.
They pivot around an axis and don't tip or tilt like a true ball joint has to. I suppose because there is a ball in there acting as a bearing, they call it a ball joint. They can call 'em what they wan't, it's a simple pivot with a single ball acting as a bearing.

 

[Jericbarg]

King Pin is really what they are.

You are as old school as I am.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

King Pin is really what they are, you are as old school as I am.

LOL - yeah, it appears so. To me a "ball joint" is like your hip - it can swing or pivot multiple directions. Someone couldn't figure out what else to call them I guess!
For that joint - whatever we decide to call it ;-) I'd want one that had a good long-lasting bearing surface - well, like a quality ball joint has!

I like the idea of being "greaseable".

 

[Jdschell]

Very education. Thanks guys. So which axle is the front and rear? I'm guessing the straight one if the rear. And are these king pins the weakest link

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Very education. Thanks guys. So which axle is the front and rear? I'm guessing the straight one if the rear. And are these king pins the weakest link

The one on the left in the picture is the front - the spindles slightly turned.
I'd not call them weak on these really, but if you plan on abusing the thing, you could go with an after-market type that you can grease but keep in mind, that sort you have to keep up with as if you fail to grease when needed they won't last as long as the factory type with no grease fitting.
There really isn't a "Weak link" or weak part to these for most folks. These are really tough axles and will take a lot of abuse. Only the real hard-core guys (and gals, sorry) will NEED replacement parts. Some do it "because they can", others do beat on their trucks in the rocks.
I'd go a tougher drag link and track bar if I was going to swap out any parts, personally. That's just me. I'm not worried about the axle assemblies.
Others will have other experiences.

 

[Jdschell]

Thanks again

 

[highoctane]

King pins different from ball joints. They are similar in location on the axle, but that’s it. King pins are a solid pin with a bushing that rotates around it allowing the knuckle to steer. Ball joints also allow the knuckle to steer, but are different in design. The are a ball with a metal socket crimped around it, with a threaded shaft on the end of it. Most oem ball joints have cheap plastic inside. Aftermarket ball joints are stronger and usually have zerk fittings in them so they can be greased.

Sponsored