Originally Posted by resharp001

I am happy with my Dynatracs. I have never run across anyone else that has said they had a break in period with Dynatracs. Everyone I could find said they were great from day 1. I will say that I did INDEED had a break in period with mine, and that surprised me. That said, I think that most people installing these install a non-knurled version, and I think I just had a totally different experience with the knurled version. I almost really question if I could have gotten away with installing non-knurled Dyantracs following the knurled Synergys and been ok.

The problem is two fold -

First, replacing ball joints is a pain in the butt job, and I was looking at a 3rd install within a year, two of which were within the final month. At the time the jeep was my daily driver and I couldn't afford to have it out of commission while I effed around experimenting with non-knurled BJs.

Second, at $500 or more a pop, these really aren't something you can just experiment with willy nilly and then have to buy a different model.

I would be curious to hear what Dynatrac has to say about installing non-kurned Dynatracs after knurled Synergys. Again, I almost think they'd be ok. The knurled version I installed had about the same break in that I experienced with Synergy. I will say their customer service assured me they wanted me to be happy with the product and if they didn't get better to let them know.

My steering is fine in regards to driving. It's not that tight "flighty" constant correction or anything; however, when my jeep is on a lift, it's still really hard to just take your hands and cycle the steering manually. I knew someone that installed Rare Parts on theirs and their steering seemed a lot more appropriate. RP was very clear it should only take, IIRC, 12 inch pounds.....yes, INCH pounds, or so to turn that steering knuckle. That isn't a lot of force at all. You really have to throw some muscle in to turning my wheels by hand when it's lifted on the ground.

I would again say that I am generally happy with the product overall. If I had to do it over again, I would talk to the Dynatrac folks on the phone and take their reccomendation on which model to install. IIRC, when I went through the ordeal, I was super pissed off about my situation, it was a friday night, and I was impatient getting something ordered so I just pulled the trigger on the purchase. That was maybe 18 months or so ago.

That was probably a really long winded response, but considering the lack of Dynatrac commentary out there, I thought I'd share it all.

Originally Posted by Dynatrac

We're glad to hear you've had great results with your heavy duty ball joints.

The main reason for the knurling is to make up for the enlargement of the hole after installing other brands of ball joints like the Synergy units, then having to replace those after they fail. It's unlikely you would've been able to use a standard/non-knurled replacement. This is one of the reasons we designed our heavy duty ball joints to not require removal of the ball joint housing if they need to be rebuilt, so the hole in the end won't get worn and later required the aforementioned knurled ball joints. And it saves time and money in not having to be pressed out.

Originally Posted by resharp001

Y, I don't disagree with what you've said at all. My understanding has always been that once you go knurled, you have to stay knurled.....which is why I followed knurled synergys with your knurled version. That said, given how tight they were.....and they were TIGHT, I almost question if your non-kurled version would have followed the Synergy knurled joints just fine. If I was just floating in cash and could afford both the time and the money, knowing what I know now, I might have been willing to try that. IIRC, the knurls on the synergy joints were no where close to the size on the Dynatracs.....but maybe my memory is just fuzzy as it's been a little while.

Originally Posted by Monte417

You mean the dynatrac had a bigger OD than the synergys?

Originally Posted by TSLtrek

Well I bought knurled Teraflex HD ball joints...just got back from the shop because they wanted to show me firsthand that the lower can be pressed in by hand !

The ball joints were only replaced once before so I don't know why it is so loose.

The shop and I agreed to just weld the ball joint in place...rather than replace the entire front housing.

Thanks for the help guys.

Originally Posted by resharp001

Just tack welded that one lower one? Very strange that just that one was like that. Sorry to have hijacked your thread with Dynatrac talk.

Originally Posted by TSLtrek

Well I bought knurled Teraflex HD ball joints...just got back from the shop because they wanted to show me firsthand that the lower can be pressed in by hand !

The ball joints were only replaced once before so I don't know why it is so loose.

The shop and I agreed to just weld the ball joint in place...rather than replace the entire front housing.

Thanks for the help guys.

Originally Posted by Dynatrac

We're glad to hear you've had great results with your heavy duty ball joints.

The main reason for the knurling is to make up for the enlargement of the hole after installing other brands of ball joints like the Synergy units, then having to replace those after they fail. It's unlikely you would've been able to use a standard/non-knurled replacement. This is one of the reasons we designed our heavy duty ball joints to not require removal of the ball joint housing if they need to be rebuilt, so the hole in the end won't get worn and later required the aforementioned knurled ball joints. And it saves time and money in not having to be pressed out.

Originally Posted by tgoss

So if one already has junk synergy units installed in your PR44 unlimited housing and just ordered standard Dynatrac ball joints should that person return them for knurled variants?

Asking for a friend