Lucky - a 17 JKU build

Since my ball joints are out I've been contemplating on which route to take since I'm not doing the install myself. I decided to just bite the bullet and order dynatrac prosteers. The labor is bad enough once and from what I've been reading any other HD joints will likely only last a year or 2. And hell it's only $300 more for the set and I can rebuild them if need be at home without having to worry about pressing new ones in and old ones out which is what I want to avoid lol. Ordered up through Bubba at exodus jeeps.

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MSJKU11 said:
Since my ball joints are out I've been contemplating on which route to take since I'm not doing the install myself. I decided to just bite the bullet and order dynatrac prosteers. The labor is bad enough once and from what I've been reading any other HD joints will likely only last a year or 2. And hell it's only $300 more for the set and I can rebuild them if need be at home without having to worry about pressing new ones in and old ones out which is what I want to avoid lol. Ordered up through Bubba at exodus jeeps.

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That’s the right way! Congrats


2015 JKUR AEV JK350
1985 CJ8 Scrambler
 
Feeling accomplished and tired.
Tires rotated
Front DS rebuilt
New unit bearing installed
New brakes installed
Added jam nuts to the ram
Oil changed
All filters replaced

Ball joints next week and still have to rebuild my control arms. Getting there. Moab around the corner!

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MSJKU11 said:
Since my ball joints are out I've been contemplating on which route to take since I'm not doing the install myself. I decided to just bite the bullet and order dynatrac prosteers. The labor is bad enough once and from what I've been reading any other HD joints will likely only last a year or 2. And hell it's only $300 more for the set and I can rebuild them if need be at home without having to worry about pressing new ones in and old ones out which is what I want to avoid lol. Ordered up through Bubba at exodus jeeps.

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The rebuild kits are $200+ and you literally have to do everything you would for new ball joints minus pressing the outside joint. They are far from an easy replacement. Personally, I would rather press new ones in.

Probably too late now but just my two cents.


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OverlanderJK said:
The rebuild kits are $200+ and you literally have to do everything you would for new ball joints minus pressing the outside joint. They are far from an easy replacement. Personally, I would rather press new ones in.

Probably too late now but just my two cents.


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I like my ProSteers but... I’d have to agree with you here. When all is said and done, you really don’t save a whole lot of money rebuilding them and it takes just as much effort to do.




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wayoflife said:
I like my ProSteers but... I’d have to agree with you here. When all is said and done, you really don’t save a whole lot of money rebuilding them and it takes just as much effort to do.




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Well do they at least last longer than other brands? I've never pressed any joints in so this will be first. Guess I should have done one before I committed.

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MSJKU11 said:
Well do they at least last longer than other brands? I've never pressed any joints in so this will be first. Guess I should have done one before I committed.

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They last longer than OE but I couldn't tell you if they last longer than other aftermarket ball joints that have a metal on metal design. Don't get me wrong, they're good ball joints, just keeping it real.
 
wayoflife said:
They last longer than OE but I couldn't tell you if they last longer than other aftermarket ball joints that have a metal on metal design. Don't get me wrong, they're good ball joints, just keeping it real.
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What are the other metal on metal options that you can think of, that are less expensive than ProSteers?


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Clutch said:
I’ve heard that synergy ball joints suck. I’ve heard Rare Parts are good, but I think the price is the same as ProSteers.


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Me too that's why I went with prosteers. I didn't want to have to change them out every year or so. Guess we'll see how they long they last with my 37s. Rare parts is just as expensive as prosteers.

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MSJKU11 said:
Me too that's why I went with prosteers. I didn't want to have to change them out every year or so. Guess we'll see how they long they last with my 37s. Rare parts is just as expensive as prosteers.

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With all that being said, changing out BJs really isn’t that bad. I put some ProSteers in a few years ago and it took maybe 3 hrs per side. I was moving pretty deliberate since it was my 1st time. I did one side then ran it for a week then did the other side over the next weekend. Did one at a time so I could ease any troubleshooting if I had to, I didn’t end up having any issues.

The hardest part was hammering the knuckle off of the old BJ.


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Clutch said:
With all that being said, changing out BJs really isn’t that bad. I put some ProSteers in a few years ago and it took maybe 3 hrs per side. I was moving pretty deliberate since it was my 1st time. I did one side then ran it for a week then did the other side over the next weekend. Did one at a time so I could ease any troubleshooting if I had to, I didn’t end up having any issues.

The hardest part was hammering the knuckle off of the old BJ.


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Okay thanks. I've watched a couple videos and a buddy of mine is going to help me. I've ordered the adapters from dynatrac and imma try to find a press to rent here locally. What press did you end up using?

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MSJKU11 said:
Okay thanks. I've watched a couple videos and a buddy of mine is going to help me. I've ordered the adapters from dynatrac and imma try to find a press to rent here locally. What press did you end up using?

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I borrowed a Heavy Duty Press (with the 4x4 adapters) from AutoZone. And I also bought the $10 adapters from Dynatracs.


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MSJKU11 said:
Well do they at least last longer than other brands? I've never pressed any joints in so this will be first. Guess I should have done one before I committed.

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In my experience, they last about the same depending on your wheels and tires and hubs and how much you wheel.

When I ran the Chamber Pro II beadlocks with 4" BS, BFG KO2 37x12.5 they lasted a little longer because my hubs lasted longer.

With the Machete beadlocks 3.5" BS, Cooper STT Pro 37x13.50, the hubs wear out faster causing the ball joints to wear out faster.

I've rebuilt 1 side successfully and it was a PIA. The glue to hold the seal is expensive-around $28 for a 1-oz bottle and the Dynatrac rebuild instructions say to wait a minimum of 2 hours for the seal to dry before greasing the joint.

In this Texas humid weather 2 hours was not long enough as the seal came off the driver side lower joint when I greased it. I left the passenger lower joint to dry longer and 4-hours on that very humid day was how long it took for the seal to fully set.

Because I had to reseal the joint I greased, I was basically without my Jeep for the rest of the day. I could've pressed in all 4 new joints and been on my way in much less time.

I've got 1 upper repair kit, 2 lower repair kits and a new set of Pro Steers sitting on my shelf because I ruined 1 side upper the very 1st time I tried to remove it to rebuild it. :doh:

Since I had to completely remove the upper joint, one side has a Moog upper ball joint and the other a Pro Steer. Don't notice any difference in driving but I do need to check them for wear soon.

I will install the new Pro Steers when the time comes and use the rebuild kit to repair what I remove.

Once that set wears out, I'm going the remove and replace route with Synergy, Crown HD, Moog or Mopar.

Long winded but that's my experience with Pro Steers.

Corrected only lowers get glued.

Also want to mention Dynatrac was great at helping me out at the time because I had a different version of the instructions that did not match the ball joints.
 
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jeeeep said:
In my experience, they last about the same depending on your wheels and tires and hubs and how much you wheel.

When I ran the Chamber Pro II beadlocks with 4" BS, BFG KO2 37x12.5 they lasted a little longer because my hubs lasted longer.

With the Machete beadlocks 3.5" BS, Cooper STT Pro 37x13.50, the hubs wear out faster causing the ball joints to wear out faster.

I've rebuilt 1 side successfully and it was a PIA. The glue to hold the seal is expensive-around $28 for a 1-oz bottle and the Dynatrac rebuild instructions say to wait a minimum of 2 hours for the seal to dry before greasing the joint.

In this Texas humid weather 2 hours was not long enough as the seal came off the upper joint when I greased it. I left the lower joint to dry longer and 4-hours on that very humid day was how long it took for the seal to fully set.

Because I had to reseal the joint I greased, I was basically without my Jeep for the rest of the day. I could've pressed in all 4 new joints and been on my way in much less time.

I've got 1 upper repair kit, 2 lower repair kits and a new set of Pro Steers sitting on my shelf because I ruined 1 side upper the very 1st time I tried to remove it to rebuild it. :doh:

Since I had to completely remove the joint, one side has a Moog ball joint and the other a Pro Steer. Don't notice any difference in driving but I do need to check them for wear soon.

I will install the new Pro Steers when the time comes and use the rebuild kit to repair what I remove.

Once that set wears out, I'm going the remove and replace route with Synergy, Crown HD, Moog or Mopar.

Long winded but that's my experience with Pro Steers.
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That’s all news to me. Thought they were known to last longer and a worthy upgrade if you’re running bigger tires.

Did you need to glue the top ball joint? I just watched a a rebuild video and it didn’t mention glueing the top. It did show it was needed on the bottom. I think that’s kind of a dumb design to need seals glued on.


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Clutch said:
That’s all news to me. Thought they were known to last longer and a worthy upgrade if you’re running bigger tires.

Did you need to glue the top ball joint? I just watched a a rebuild video and it didn’t mention glueing the top. It did show it was needed on the bottom. I think that’s kind of a dumb design to need seals glued on.


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No, I screwed up on what I wrote, it's only the lowers that get glued.

I had to take a look on the JK and on one side I have a lower Pro Steer and an upper Moog because It was a beating doing it for the 1st time and I destroyed the upper trying to incorrectly hammer out the stud.

I don't recall what was different about the original Pro Steers and the newer ones I now have but when I called Dynatrac they were great at filling in the gaps on the difference between the version of instructions I had and the ball joints I had.

They also sold me the new set of ball joints at a great discount when I told I wanted to order a new set.

I see Dynatrac made a video in 2018 on how to rebuild the joint and they state 3 hours for the glue to set; they also show holding the seal in place with the install kit (something I did not do).

They make the rebuild look so easy lol

How long they last depends on multiple factors, my hubs were bad and that didn't show up until the ball joints begin to fail.

I've noticed hub life is shortened when I put the Machetes and wider Coopers, I now check my hubs more often to give the ball joints a chance at lasting longer
 
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Balljoints in. Waiting for adapters to come in and will install these, hopefully this weekend. 20200630_151149.jpg

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