40s on narrow track axles?

[Splenda]

Kind of off topic, but how are the Johnny Joints when it comes to NVH and squeaking etc?

I have the upper and lower Core4x4 Crawl with Johnny Joints all around and it rides like stock.

Sponsored

 

[Splenda]

I wonder if these things would work with offroad tires, or if the tires would be too heavy.

 

[Trail_Limo_Tim]

I wonder if these things would work with offroad tires, or if the tires would be too heavy.

Wheels shipped today, so maybe I can mock something up soon-ish. Still no lift, but doesn't really matter.

 

[BlueScapegoat]

Kind of off topic, but how are the Johnny Joints when it comes to NVH and squeaking etc?

I ran them for 10 years on my daily driver TJ, year round in the salty north winters, etc. Rarely greased them, in fact some of them never took grease and I don't think they sell them with the drilled out center balls anymore that require the grease-able bolt. You can't actually grease them from the outside body. Anyway, they never made any noise. When I removed them a couple years ago they were all still firm with no play. I sold them to a guy in California, he cleaned them up and is still running them. I was upgrading the TJ with a Savvy mid-arm kit that also runs larger JJs.

So IMO they're a fantastic joint. I do recommend taking the time to disassemble them all and properly grease them before putting them into service. They have some grease in them from new but it's arguably inadequate. Red Line CV-2 is what I use.

Also I don't notice any change in NVH with them, I do notice less reverb through the suspension vs a rubber joint say when hitting a pothole or something like that. I think they do a better job of transmitting the force into the shocks where it belongs.

 

[Splenda]

I ran them for 10 years on my daily driver TJ, year round in the salty north winters, etc. Rarely greased them, in fact some of them never took grease and I don't think they sell them with the drilled out center balls anymore that require the grease-able bolt. You can't actually grease them from the outside body. Anyway, they never made any noise. When I removed them a couple years ago they were all still firm with no play. I sold them to a guy in California, he cleaned them up and is still running them. I was upgrading the TJ with a Savvy mid-arm kit that also runs larger JJs.

So IMO they're a fantastic joint. I do recommend taking the time to disassemble them all and properly grease them before putting them into service. They have some grease in them from new but it's arguably inadequate. Red Line CV-2 is what I use.

Also I don't notice any change in NVH with them, I do notice less reverb through the suspension vs a rubber joint say when hitting a pothole or something like that. I think they do a better job of transmitting the force into the shocks where it belongs.

I think the nvh from the ecodiesel will be much greater than anything he would get from Johnny Joints. The ecodiesel does not let you forget you're driving a tractor, err, truck.

 

[Trail_Limo_Tim]

I ran them for 10 years on my daily driver TJ, year round in the salty north winters, etc. Rarely greased them, in fact some of them never took grease and I don't think they sell them with the drilled out center balls anymore that require the grease-able bolt. You can't actually grease them from the outside body. Anyway, they never made any noise. When I removed them a couple years ago they were all still firm with no play. I sold them to a guy in California, he cleaned them up and is still running them. I was upgrading the TJ with a Savvy mid-arm kit that also runs larger JJs.

So IMO they're a fantastic joint. I do recommend taking the time to disassemble them all and properly grease them before putting them into service. They have some grease in them from new but it's arguably inadequate. Red Line CV-2 is what I use.

Also I don't notice any change in NVH with them, I do notice less reverb through the suspension vs a rubber joint say when hitting a pothole or something like that. I think they do a better job of transmitting the force into the shocks where it belongs.

Each JJ that I've seen has a grease zerk nowadays, but you're saying they won't accept grease through them?

I think the nvh from the ecodiesel will be much greater than anything he would get from Johnny Joints. The ecodiesel does not let you forget you're driving a tractor, err, truck.

It's really very smooth considering it's a diesel.

 

[Splenda]

Each JJ that I've seen has a grease zerk nowadays, but you're saying they won't accept grease through them?

They will, but I think he was implying that when they are new, you might want to disassemble them to completely grease them properly. I did not. Mine took a substantial amount of grease through the zerks when I first installed them.

It's really very smooth considering it's a diesel.

My neighbor has an ecodiesel and took me for a ride in it, and the noisiness of the engine almost kept me from going to the dealer and driving a gasser.

 

[BlueScapegoat]

I think the nvh from the ecodiesel will be much greater than anything he would get from Johnny Joints. The ecodiesel does not let you forget you're driving a tractor, err, truck.

I also have a diesel. I agree on that point with Jeeps in general, between tire/drivetrain/wind noise etc there's no difference in NVH. Not noticeable with the JT, not noticeable with my TJ.

Each JJ that I've seen has a grease zerk nowadays, but you're saying they won't accept grease through them?

I was saying that. Looks like that's not the case anymore.

They will, but I think he was implying that when they are new, you might want to disassemble them to completely grease them properly. I did not. Mine took a substantial amount of grease through the zerks when I first installed them.

Nevermind, they've changed the design of them now. They used to only be grease-able through the centering ball from a drilled out bolt with a zerk in the head. Looks like they have channels between the ball halves to allow grease in now from the housing mounted zerk. There was a period of time where they stopped drilling out the ball, and started drilling out the housing but they hadn't changed the bushings... I know because I have some like that. You couldn't get grease in them at all.

 

[Trail_Limo_Tim]

They will, but I think he was implying that when they are new, you might want to disassemble them to completely grease them properly. I did not. Mine took a substantial amount of grease through the zerks when I first installed them.


My neighbor has an ecodiesel and took me for a ride in it, and the noisiness of the engine almost kept me from going to the dealer and driving a gasser.

Part of the diesel appeal for me was the sound of the engine, so to each their own. Compared to older diesel engines it’s fairly tame when it comes to engine noise.

Disassembling the JJ to grease them would be easy enough when brand new and not installed into the Jeep yet. Might not be a bad idea. I haven’t committed to a lift kit / control arms yet. Still thinking it over and waiting for Black Friday sales.

 

[Mojaveon40s]

I’m not a technical guru or anything, but I have 40x13.50x17s on my 22 Mojave and I don’t have any rubbing or steering issues. With that being said, I bought it used with 34k miles on it and I’m not sure what all the previous owner had done to it before I bought it.

 

[BlueScapegoat]

Part of the diesel appeal for me was the sound of the engine, so to each their own. Compared to older diesel engines it’s fairly tame when it comes to engine noise.

Disassembling the JJ to grease them would be easy enough when brand new and not installed into the Jeep yet. Might not be a bad idea. I haven’t committed to a lift kit / control arms yet. Still thinking it over and waiting for Black Friday sales.

I'm with you on the diesel thing. Snorkel, intake, removed all the sound deadening in the bay, stage 2 and straight piped. I like to know it's a diesel. None of that causes it to vibrate any more. Unless we're being pedantic and sound is vibration yadda yadda

I've been down a rabbit hole reading about the changes and versions of the JJs over the years since my last comment. I still recommend taking them apart and greasing them first. I say this, but I also didn't do it with my JT. Preaching but not practicing. I did disassemble the ones I put in my TJ before installation, however. So now I need to go out and see if the installed joints on the JT will accept grease. The common thinking on these joints back in the day was if you use a good red moly grease and sealed them up, the grease and joint will last almost indefinitely. A lot of people put the wrong grease in them though, and they are high tolerance. So if it gets a little dry and clogged up you can over-grease them and it can damage the joint bushings.

 

[Trail_Limo_Tim]

I'm with you on the diesel thing. Snorkel, intake, removed all the sound deadening in the bay, stage 2 and straight piped. I like to know it's a diesel. None of that causes it to vibrate any more. Unless we're being pedantic and sound is vibration yadda yadda

I've been down a rabbit hole reading about the changes and versions of the JJs over the years since my last comment. I still recommend taking them apart and greasing them first. I say this, but I also didn't do it with my JT. Preaching but not practicing. I did disassemble the ones I put in my TJ before installation, however. So now I need to go out and see if the installed joints on the JT will accept grease. The common thinking on these joints back in the day was if you use a good red moly grease and sealed them up, the grease and joint will last almost indefinitely. A lot of people put the wrong grease in them though, and they are high tolerance. So if it gets a little dry and clogged up you can over-grease them and it can damage the joint bushings.

The only vibrations I actually care about regarding JJ would be any increased vibration into the steering wheel. I sometimes have issues with nerves in my wrists and it causes hand tingling/numbness if I operate a power sander, buffer, etc. I know we are still off topic, but I don’t mind.

 

[Trail_Limo_Tim]

I’m not a technical guru or anything, but I have 40x13.50x17s on my 22 Mojave and I don’t have any rubbing or steering issues. With that being said, I bought it used with 34k miles on it and I’m not sure what all the previous owner had done to it before I bought it.

So yours would have the “wide track” axles: 68 inch wheel mounting surface width. Mine has the “narrow track” 66.5 inch WMS width, which will make it potentially more challenging to clear 40s.

 

[Mojaveon40s]

That’s good to know. Thanks for the info! Like I said, I don’t know anything. I just know I like the way it looks and rides.

 

[Trail_Limo_Tim]

That’s good to know. Thanks for the info! Like I said, I don’t know anything. I just know I like the way it looks and rides.

That’s what matters the most, so you must have done something right.

Sponsored