When installing Ball Joints, apply anti-seize to BJ or going in Dry?

I personally would recommend against using anti sieze in the knuckle when replacing the joints. Even in the NE I don’t apply it when replacing them on cars or trucks. I recommend just making sure that the hole is clean of any debris and that there are no burrs on the edges of the hole prior to install.
 
MajD said:
Look, use anti-seize or don't use anti-seize it probably won't make a difference if you get your press right. I'm not in a dick measuring competition with any of you and I'm not going to die on this hill. This is what I hate about forums, you try to be helpful and give an opinion and the gang jumps in on you. I have some machinists in my family, and we've had this discussion a number of times. Any press fittings will eventually wear out. That is a fact, and you don't have to have a degree in engineering to google search that. The likelihood of it happening over lifespan of an axle would depend on a lot of factors. If you get your presses right the tolerances will allow that axle to last for a long time and will likely not be the determinate factor in that vehicle ending up in the recycle pile. Press enough fittings into it over time and or gouge it doing it incorrectly and the metal will wear improperly causing premature failure. Has it happened to you and you do it all of the time? No? well maybe you know what you're doing and you buy good quality products. Have press fittings failed? yes they have. With computerized machining these days Dana is getting tolerances closer to .001 to .002 so they are incredibly tight. Is there a magic number of how many times it takes to wear it out? The answer is no because there is to many variables. My entire point is to take the conservative approach for safety by reducing the likelihood of premature failure by not wearing it out to begin with. You do you Eddie/WJCO
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Umm, unless I'm missing something, WJCO was trying to be funny by laughing the way the comment he quoted could sound sexual. I think that's a far cry from "everyone" gang jumping on you. As for me, all I did was share my LIMTED experience. I never said that had machinists in my family or that I was an engineer or spent any time googling the subject. If my comment somehow equals "everyone" gang jumping on you, I really do apologize as it certainly was not my intent to jump on you or pretend to be "everyone". Like you, I was just trying to be helpful by sharing a different perspective and didn't mean to get you so offended.

As far as ball joint deletes go, here's a thread that you should check out,
www.wayalife.com

In The Shop - Disciple Off Road

Good adhesion of any adhesive comes from proper prep. I think you hit it on the head here. 3M VHB tape isn't just a peel and stick operation, it's a process, and the better you follow the process the better your results will be.
www.wayalife.com www.wayalife.com

That's not my opinion, that is what a reputable shop has experienced.

Peace ✌️
 
Hell, let me jump in.

Anti-seize will attract every bit of dust and grit. I wouldn't use it on a ball joint. If you think you need a lubricant to install your ball joints, go to the hardware store and buy a little tin of faucet grease. Get a small brush, apply a thin coat ( I mean thin) and press the ball joint.

I'm not an engineer, machinist, internet guru, but I am a Steam Fitter with a couple of weeks under my belt and I've seen all kinds of stupid shit done that made it extremely difficult on the back end to repair equipment.
 
wayoflife said:
Umm, unless I'm missing something, WJCO was trying to be funny by laughing the way the comment he quoted could sound sexual. I think that's a far cry from "everyone" gang jumping on you. As for me, all I did was share my LIMTED experience. I never said that had machinists in my family or that I was an engineer or spent any time googling the subject. If my comment somehow equals "everyone" gang jumping on you, I really do apologize as it certainly was not my intent to jump on you or pretend to be "everyone". Like you, I was just trying to be helpful by sharing a different perspective and didn't mean to get you so offended.

As far as ball joint deletes go, here's a thread that you should check out,
www.wayalife.com

In The Shop - Disciple Off Road

Good adhesion of any adhesive comes from proper prep. I think you hit it on the head here. 3M VHB tape isn't just a peel and stick operation, it's a process, and the better you follow the process the better your results will be.
www.wayalife.com www.wayalife.com

That's not my opinion, that is what a reputable shop has experienced.

Peace ✌️
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It's all good Eddie I'm pissed off at the world today for some reason, sorry about that. Anyways that severed bolt looks no bueno on the AI BJDs. It looks like a failure in the casting process, it shouldn't have severed at 45lbs. The final torque spec is 65lbs once the weight of the vehicle is on the ground. I'm also running Reid knuckles just like that photo. My initial observation is the same as Disciple Off Road that the Nylon nut might come loose, the bolts need to be another 1-2 mm longer to fully capture the nylon thread on the nut so I'm worried about retention long term. I've would have gone with a standard Castle Nut so I'm not sure on the design choice there and reasoning for that. Either way they are installed on my JLUR so I'll keep an eye on them and post a longer term more objective review. I have a Moab trip planned in June so they'll be put through some serious off-road paces, and I'll report back my findings. Not a "fanboy" but I'm also not going to be quick to call them out as garbage based on some internet posts and one damning install photo. The drivability so far has been great and I'm not hearing any steering noises yet. It's been hard finding objective reviews on these so far people who have been running them long term.
 
So many solid perspectives in this seemingly simple thread. THIS is exactly why I return to this site at least once a day. I think I'm going to decide on Not using anti-seize and just be precise and careful about pressing them in. I did buy a decent ball joint press. I could easily see someone else making a different decision that might feel right for them in their application. But this thread has given me perspective on the subject that I don't know where else I could have obtained. Thank You all!
 
And a little helpful hack for cleaning out the hole after you press the old ball joint out, go to hardware store, plumbing department, copper fitting brush next size bigger than hole. Cut off the handle, chuck the brush up in your cordless drill and clean that sucker out.

Yes, this trick is used on job sites to clean copper fittings.
 
Too late for Driver Side. :( Already installed but will use that trick on the other side. But I got it pretty clean with scotchbrite pad and break kleen. Adding that to my bag of tricks though, Thanks!


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synergy gives two Zirc fitting options for the LWR BJ, one normal Zirc and one FLUSH FITTING Zirc. Any thoughts about which to use. Ideally, I'd like to use the normal as getting grease into the flush fitting seems like a PITA. But if you guys tell me that something will hit this fitting and break it I will change to the flush fitting. 1684022138805.png
 
1RNGR said:
Too late for Driver Side. :( Already installed but will use that trick on the other side. But I got it pretty clean with scotchbrite pad and break kleen. Adding that to my bag of tricks though, Thanks!


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FYI, I'm getting grief from mechanic friends who are saying they've never seen a BJ that doesn't use the entire hole. It's completely flush and I think it looks similar to how @wayoflife shows in his excellent video which I'm following. Please tell me if this is wrong. Will take a lunch break then check back before going to install new Steel Knuckles.
 
As long as you don't have CV boots on your axle shafts, there should be nothing to hit if pointing straight back.
 
kevman65 said:
As long as you don't have CV boots on your axle shafts, there should be nothing to hit if pointing straight back.
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After asking here. @wayoflife said that he was disappointed in the RCV product, and that the chromoly axle assemblies from Spicer were just as good for less money. Wayalife saving me money again so I bought $50 worth of stickers.
 
FUN FACT, In the Synergy HD BJ Packing list, it mentions 1 Flat Washer, Grade 8, 9/16" SAE. HOWEVER, In none of the packages do these washers exist. I looked in all the spare sets I ordered as well. In Synergy's instructions, they mention using this washer between the LWR BJ and the Castle Nut. Do we think Synergy has outdated instructions and doesn't ship the washer anymore because they don't want us using it? Or is this just a batch of BJ's missing the washer? Do I go buy washers? Do I postpone my project till Monday so I can ask Synergy? What would you do?
 
1RNGR said:
FUN FACT, In the Synergy HD BJ Packing list, it mentions 1 Flat Washer, Grade 8, 9/16" SAE. HOWEVER, In none of the packages do these washers exist. I looked in all the spare sets I ordered as well. In Synergy's instructions, they mention using this washer between the LWR BJ and the Castle Nut. Do we think Synergy has outdated instructions and doesn't ship the washer anymore because they don't want us using it? Or is this just a batch of BJ's missing the washer? Do I go buy washers? Do I postpone my project till Monday so I can ask Synergy? What would you do?
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Eddie's came with the kit as you'll see in the video below. They were in the bag on his bench and you'll see them installed around 17:00 mark. I would first make damn sure you have the right ball joints. Then run down to the hardware store and pick up a Grade 8 washer.

 
WJCO bringing up the video got me to watch it again, in the video, the ball joints are marked with "C21", yours are marked with "H21".

You may want to verify you received the correct ball joints.
 
kevman65 said:
WJCO bringing up the video got me to watch it again, in the video, the ball joints are marked with "C21", yours are marked with "H21".

You may want to verify you received the correct ball joints.
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Good thinking, but I opened the other box and it seems that this is some sort of quality control or batch number. They even label the boxes with the name of the guy who packed them. 1684091753422.png1684091770823.png
 
kevman65 said:
WJCO bringing up the video got me to watch it again, in the video, the ball joints are marked with "C21", yours are marked with "H21".

You may want to verify you received the correct ball joints.
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Seems more like that is a batch number. I opened another box of them, I bought 4 sets, they are various numbers yet all boxes indicated they are for JT.
 
UPDATE: I just spoke with Synergy Manufacturing. They are going to update their instructions. The grade 8 flat washer, 9/16" SAE is no longer needed. It was needed before because the older castle nuts they were using were smaller than the hole in the knuckle. Speaking to engineering and asking lots of questions, found out the new castle nuts are larger so the washer is not needed, AND the space that would have been occupied by the washer is now accounted for in the new larger Castle nuts, which means that if you do add a washer, you probably won't have room on the bolt to uncover the hole for the cotter pin. Here at Wayalife is currently the ONLY place you can find this out without calling Synergy as I searched the internet for hours over the weekend.
 
I did the repairs from my UJoint Explosion / Axle Shaft break / Knuckle Break event. Trying to get my rig back to 100%. Lots of codes triggered when all that stuff broke including Traction Control light, ABS light, Serv 4wd light. As a result, none of those systems are currently working and even cruise control is refusing to work. Can I assume that now that I've fixed everything I can wipe these codes? This will be the first time I've wiped codes on a newer Jeep. Is it still possible to wipe the codes by removing contacts from the battery for period of time to effectively reset the ECM?
 
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