Suggested Aftermarket Ball Joints

[Ftn Guy]

My dealer said the stock ball joints on my '21 Oscar Mike Sport S were worn and that's where clicking was coming from. This seems to be a common issue. They said Mopar's stock ball joints are weak and the premature wearing will likely persist even if they put new ones in. I ordered a pair of Dynatrac: https://www.northridge4x4.com/part/ball-joints/jp44-2x3050-e-dynatrac-hd-ball-joint-kit

I haven't really left pavement in the first 6 months of ownership. I expect I'll do little off roading, but not sure it will be very frequent thing for me. I'm looking for opinions on whether these (expensive) ball joints are overkill, worth it in the long run, or something else an experienced jeeper would suggest.

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[OHJeeper]

My dealer said the stock ball joints on my '21 Oscar Mike Sport S were worn and that's where clicking was coming from. This seems to be a common issue. They said Mopar's stock ball joints are weak and the premature wearing will likely persist even if they put new ones in. I ordered a pair of Dynatrac: https://www.northridge4x4.com/part/ball-joints/jp44-2x3050-e-dynatrac-hd-ball-joint-kit

I haven't really left pavement in the first 6 months of ownership. I expect I'll do little off roading, but not sure it will be very frequent thing for me. I'm looking for opinions on whether these (expensive) ball joints are overkill, worth it in the long run, or something else an experienced jeeper would suggest.

Are you still under warranty? I would think these should be covered if so... I have a 2018 JL (not the same weight, but...) that I have offroaded and put 46k miles on the stock ball joints with the 33" KO2's. I have (2) 2008 JK's both with roughly 200k miles and just now replaced the ball joints in one of them...

 

[WK2JT]

I’ve been researching this as well. The stock joints are encased in nylon. Great for vibrations and harshness, not so much for durability. Surprised yours have started to fail so soon. Mopar has some performance all metal joints as does Rugged Ridge, I think… can’t recall exactly. They are slightly cheaper than Dynatrc, but the Dynatracs appear to me to be the better joint design. Maybe someone has actually experience with the different joints and can chime in, but I’m probably pulling the trigger on Dynatracs too.

 

[Tech Tim]

There are a couple heavy-duty ball joints we sell that seem to be super popular.

First up are the HD Dana Balljoints. They have a great track record and the pricing is nice:https://www.northridge4x4.com/part/ball-joints/10048946-dana-front-ball-joint-kit

Then the top-end Dynatrac ball joints. These are the top dog for a couple reasons. One, they are high quality, typical Dynatrac. Second, they are rebuildable, so when you do finally wear these out, you rebuild them, not replace them:https://www.northridge4x4.com/part/ball-joints/jp44-2x3050-e-dynatrac-hd-ball-joint-kit

And the Dynatracs are on sale at 10% off until midnight tonight.

 

[Ftn Guy]

I’ve been researching this as well. The stock joints are encased in nylon. Great for vibrations and harshness, not so much for durability. Surprised yours have started to fail so soon. Mopar has some performance all metal joints as does Rugged Ridge, I think… can’t recall exactly. They are slightly cheaper than Dynatrc, but the Dynatracs appear to me to be the better joint design. Maybe someone has actually experience with the different joints and can chime in, but I’m probably pulling the trigger on Dynatracs too.

Yeah at 10k miles it’s way too early. Service dept says they’ve been seeing it. It’s under warranty and they’ll put another set of stock ones on. Part of me thinks I should let them do it and see how the next set does. If I’m not off-roading much I’m thinking $600 for high end ball joints may be a wasted investment. The other part of me thinks they’ll be solid for another 100k and I won’t have to think about it. Can you notice a performance difference with ball joints of this quality?

 

[Ftn Guy]

Are you still under warranty? I would think these should be covered if so... I have a 2018 JL (not the same weight, but...) that I have offroaded and put 46k miles on the stock ball joints with the 33" KO2's. I have (2) 2008 JK's both with roughly 200k miles and just now replaced the ball joints in one of them...

There are a couple heavy-duty ball joints we sell that seem to be super popular.

First up are the HD Dana Balljoints. They have a great track record and the pricing is nice:https://www.northridge4x4.com/part/ball-joints/10048946-dana-front-ball-joint-kit

Then the top-end Dynatrac ball joints. These are the top dog for a couple reasons. One, they are high quality, typical Dynatrac. Second, they are rebuildable, so when you do finally wear these out, you rebuild them, not replace them:https://www.northridge4x4.com/part/ball-joints/jp44-2x3050-e-dynatrac-hd-ball-joint-kit

And the Dynatracs are on sale at 10% off until midnight tonight.

Are you still under warranty? I would think these should be covered if so... I have a 2018 JL (not the same weight, but...) that I have offroaded and put 46k miles on the stock ball joints with the 33" KO2's. I have (2) 2008 JK's both with roughly 200k miles and just now replaced the ball joints in one of them...

I’m still under warranty. Just not sure if the same ball joints aren’t going to prematurely wear out again. The service dept really seemed to think they were an issue. But if I’m not off-roading much I wonder if $600 ball joints are overkill.

 

[bleda2002]

Even if they wear out again, I'd still let them do it since it's no money out of my pocket

 

[WK2JT]

Yeah at 10k miles it’s way too early. Service dept says they’ve been seeing it. It’s under warranty and they’ll put another set of stock ones on. Part of me thinks I should let them do it and see how the next set does. If I’m not off-roading much I’m thinking $600 for high end ball joints may be a wasted investment. The other part of me thinks they’ll be solid for another 100k and I won’t have to think about it. Can you notice a performance difference with ball joints of this quality?

Yeah, I’d probably go warranty at least this first time. I’m at 28,000 miles with Mopar lift and 37” tires. I wheel mine moderately to slightly more than moderately and my ball joints are still tight. My equipment and usage is hell on them so maybe you just got a bad batch. I don’t think you’ll be able to tell a difference between one type over another except maybe some additional harshness being transmitted with the all metal designs, but I have zero experience. I’ve used urethane bushing on cars and can tell a difference so i’m assuming all metal ball joints might be a similar experience. As long as they are good, not sure you can tell a driving difference, just more about longevity.

 

[OHJeeper]

Even if they wear out again, I'd still let them do it since it's no money out of my pocket

Agreed!

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