Ball joints failed twice within 6,000 miles.

Chillin' The Most...

Chillin' The Most...

Member
My jeep is a 2016 sport model (WW) with dana 30 front axle. At 28k miles I got death wobble. At that time my jeep was still running stock wheels and tires. I also had the EVO leveling kit and was running 13/4" wheel spacers. At that time my track bar looked fine showing no signs of wear. Torque settings on the front end were all good. The driver side ball joints showed up- down movement. I replaced the ball joints with synergy ball joints. At that same time I installed the Evo 4" enforcer lift with Kings 2.5 shocks and Evo draglink flip kit. I also installed Cooper STT Pro 37x13.5. Total back spacing on the wheels I'm running and the spacer is 3.5" bs. I did the alignment and had the wheels balanced. Now at this point the jeep is not my daily driver anymore I only use it when I go wheeling. I got DW again when I was aired down to 15lbs and doing 40 MPH on a smooth road but hit a small bumb and it triggered DW. At the time I changed the track bar with another factory track bar. I also noticed my steering had a little slop and installed Currie tie rod ($300 one). Did another alignment. The tie rod made a huge improvement on driving but I still had DW when aired down again. Approximately 3,000 miles into my new ball joints (and lift) I found my driver side ball joints have up-down movement. I only replaced the driver side ball joint and everything seemed dialed in. Alignment was spot on, steering was tight, torqued the front end and the jeep drove great. At this point I thought DW problem was solved. Nope got it when I was wheeling and aired down. I also started noticing a little wobble in the wheel when I hit the local pot hole by my house. Yesterday I noticed up-down movement on my driver side ball joints approximately 3,000 miles after the last replacement. Total miles on the jeep is now 35k.

What am I doing wrong or not doing?

Is something causing DW which is causing my ball joints to fail? Or is something else causing the ball joints to fail and then that's causing DW?

Track bar, draglink and tie rod have been replaced. Alignment has been spot on. Tires aren't out of balance as far as I know. I don't feel anything in the steering wheel that would suggest that. There is no cupping or bad wear on my tires. I run them at 28lbs on the street.

I know I am running 37s on dana 30 but I am fully prepared to put in a Dynatrac as soon as it fails.
 
Are you greasing the ball joints? The synergy’s have zerks and need a bunch of grease.
 
Honestly, I'm not surprised. My synergy ball joints barely made it to 10000km before they had a ton of slop. They make great products, but ball joints aren't one of them. Replaced with Dynatrac about 50000km ago. Still solid.

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JKDream said:
The upper is supposed to have up and down movement but not side to side. The lower is the opposite.

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I did not know that thanks. So does the movement you see in this one is ok or normal? I will try later and take a better video of the lower one. I know the Video I post on lower ball joint was bad but in person I do see it moving up and down.


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It’s frustrating trying to pinpoint an issue... If I were in your shoes I’d install the Dynatrac ProSteers and go from there.
 
Are you 100% sure it was death wobble? You said one time you experienced it while wheeling. I've never heard of anyone having death wobble at a low speed.
 
If you're experiencing wobble at low speeds my bet would go to you've bent your front axle. You did say you're running 37's with spacers on a d30. Check your lower control arm bushings, they're probably screwed too.
 
What you describe does not sound like death wobble. Every time I’ve had it, it’s been on pavement, 30-50 mph, tires fully inflated.
 
Chillin' The Most... said:
Yes 100%. Tires aired down to about 15 doing at least 40.


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OK. I just reread your first post. I really don't think your ball joints are causing it based on your story. Have someone turn the wheel back and forth while you watch the steering and track bar. Make sure where the draglink meets the knuckle that nothing is loose there. If you have the OEM drag link adjustment sleeve on the upper end, make sure those bolts are tight. Also make sure track bar ends aren't moving. If they are, your bracket hole may be oblong. And check unit bearings if you haven't already.
 
WJCO said:
OK. I just reread your first post. I really don't think your ball joints are causing it based on your story. Have someone turn the wheel back and forth while you watch the steering and track bar. Make sure where the draglink meets the knuckle that nothing is loose there. If you have the OEM drag link adjustment sleeve on the upper end, make sure those bolts are tight. Also make sure track bar ends aren't moving. If they are, your bracket hole may be oblong. And check unit bearings if you haven't already.
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I checked everything you suggested. It was all torgue to spec and looked fine. I haven’t checked the unit bearing yet but I will tackle that tomorrow.


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WJCO said:
OK. I just reread your first post. I really don't think your ball joints are causing it based on your story. Have someone turn the wheel back and forth while you watch the steering and track bar. Make sure where the draglink meets the knuckle that nothing is loose there. If you have the OEM drag link adjustment sleeve on the upper end, make sure those bolts are tight. Also make sure track bar ends aren't moving. If they are, your bracket hole may be oblong. And check unit bearings if you haven't already.
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I hate when my bracket hole is oblong.
 
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