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Ball Joints

G

grasseater

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Mostly hotels
91 XJ, 6" lift, stock length fixed upper & lower control arms, 33" tires.

Replacing ball joints, and it appears I have my choice of uppers in the .5, 1, 1.5 and 2 degree positive variety.

Any suggestions?
 
There is no way to tell without putting it on an alignment rack and getting a true reading of your camber.
Offset balljoints are used to correct this.
Camber angle is the angle made by the wheel of an automobile; specifically, it is the angle between the vertical axis of the wheel and the vertical axis of the vehicle when viewed from the front or rear. It is used in the design of steering and suspension. If the top of the wheel is further out than the bottom (that is, away from the axle), it is called positive camber, if the bottom of the wheel is further out than the top, it is called negative camber.
HTH.
 
Kind of surprising that you can only find offset uppers, and no straight ball joints.

There is one other way you can use offset balljoints than what Scott was talking about, and that's to adjust your pinion angle/caster relationship on a lifted vehicle. I've got 2 degree offsets on my XJ (6" of lift) and it's helped quite a bit.
 
Good point, Jeff.
The balljoints are offset and can be put in any one of 4 positions to affect camber or caster.
I agree that it is odd that the offset ones are the only ones you can find, as it's usually the opposite.
If your rig is aligned somewhat, or your tires are wearing normally, I would stand pat and go with the standard ones.
HTH.
 
Thanks for the input. A trip to NAPA in person vs. the phone yielded standard straight ball joints as well as the offset. Think I'll stay standard. Any tips for getting the ball joints out once the knuckle is off? Trying to avoid buying the tool.
 
You shouldnt need offset ball joints unless you have a bent axle housing. The only way the camber will change is if you have a bent housing and offset balljoints are not going to fix the housing.

Just get regular ball joints and rent a ball joint press from Autozone. You will have to pay $100 to rent it and when you return it, they refund all your money back.

AARON
 
MrShoeBoy said:
You shouldnt need offset ball joints unless you have a bent axle housing. The only way the camber will change is if you have a bent housing and offset balljoints are not going to fix the housing.

AARON
Click to expand...

Interesting you say that Aaron, but I've had some pretty nasty camber problems.

Ball joints always checked out ok, so its gotta be a bent housing. Anybody know a good way of checking the true of the housing? I guess since I'm not going through carriers that its not that bad, but it is putting a little extra wear on the inside of the tires....
 
Offset ball joints can also adjust caster that is off. It just depends on what direction you orient them. Lifting a rig really screws up caster. If you have adjustable control arms, the question is....do you adjust for pinion angle or for caster. You can't have both. Offset ball joints can give you back a couple of degrees of caster and can lead to a much more stable ride. The problem a lot of people have run up against is that the ball joints can rotate in the knuckles if you don't tack weld them. If you are replacing ball joints and you are lifted, AND if they aren't too much more $$$, I think the extra few degrees would be a definate plus.
 
grasseater said:
Thanks for the input. A trip to NAPA in person vs. the phone yielded standard straight ball joints as well as the offset. Think I'll stay standard. Any tips for getting the ball joints out once the knuckle is off? Trying to avoid buying the tool.
Click to expand...

Chris,
Go to Auto Zone. They will loan you the tool, Just a deposit on your C.C. they will refund it when you bring it back.
 
Harbor Freight has the ball joint press for 40 bucks, and its great, you will need one or two of those pry forks as well, and a BFH. The ball Joint press is great for u joints and a lot of other applications, very handy for the shop, and cuts time in half. oh and a lot of heat....
 
Last edited:
Slight hijacking in progress - apologies in advance.
Why are offset balljoints only available for the uppers? I've not replaced mine yet, but have wondered about this because it's only a matter of time. By putting offset balljoints on the uppers but not the lowers, the angle at which the axle splines enter the carrier will change, albiet only by a very small amount. I've never heard of this causing any problems, I'm just curious to know why offset ball joints only seem to be available for the uppers and not both uppers and lowers. Anyone?
 
For the lowers, you simply(?) use the standard ball joint, and press on a new sleeve.
Looky here
Look in the 'Technical' section, and its about the 3rd writeup.
HTH
 
Last edited:
bgcntry72 said:
For the lowers, you simply(?) use the standard ball joint, and press on a new sleeve.
Looky here
Look in the 'Technical' section, and its about the 3rd writeup.
HTH
Click to expand...

That helps - thanx.
 
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