flex joint question

[ktm racer 419]

ktm: do you have the newer gen krawler joints or what? the ones we've ran have been TERRIBLE, theres litterally nothing to keep the square washer part from rotating loose on the road (which is what theyve done, twice)

the problem i see with the ballistic joints, is the last round we bought, my nylon racers were basically hallow on the outside... i remember thinking 'that cant be good'.... they then wore out, and when we bought the rebuild kit, theyre solid.......


SO, ballistic dave, are you guys selling shit that'd designed to fail? like when you buy a printer, and the ink cartridge is 1/3rd the size of normal, so you have to buy more down the road? this is cardinal sin IMHO, and bullshit.

the joints i run are from late 2006, no idea what gen that is. when i got them the teenie grease fittings snapped off trying to install them, and i couldnt find replacements, so i just never greased them. they have never made any noise, i have never touched them and they are as tight as they were new.

anyway, back to the ballistic joints.

heres the old style races on the left and new style on the right

from loosening up so many times its my guess that the chrome finish wore off the ball in a few places. i hope this doesnt effect the life of the new races, but we will see.

and here is another issue i'm having

that washer is what holds the joint together, if it were to pop out the whole joint would be trash in no time. supposedly they are releasing some hardened washers soon and i was told by the customer service dude on pirate that he would send me some out once they get them in.

i have also had my "socket" break on me. i just replaced the studs with some 3/16" drill bits.

and i hate buying printer ink.

 

[ktm racer 419]

For maximum performance try Heim Joints, tested on our rigs, not yours...Heat & Cryo treated. And for a damned fair price. 78,000 Radial Static Load before the Cryo treatment.

FYI: Something to understand when buying joints. Strength has NEVER been the issue so when some company trys to sway you with an absolutely stupid strength number walk away. Midwest control Rod ends are only 55,000 RSL and they don't break, they wear out.

The reason we Cryo Treat our heims is the durability it adds to the bearing liner. It also adds strength to the Chromoly but adding life to the bearing is the only reason we do it.

For a great, long lasting daily driver joint get a RE, they outlast them all and perform fairly well offroad. For offroad performance skip the flexjoint route entirely and step up to a Heim Joint.

i run your 7/8" heims in my trackbar and upper control arm. both were built around february. the trackbar heims have some clicking going on making some fun noises travelling through the unibody. but still much nicer than having a slopped out rebuiladable joint.


i run em on a daily driven xj on 35's btw. about 40k miles per year with wheeling inbetween

 

[BallisticDave]

SO, ballistic dave, are you guys selling shit that'd designed to fail? like when you buy a printer, and the ink cartridge is 1/3rd the size of normal, so you have to buy more down the road? this is cardinal sin IMHO, and bullshit.

No. The Ballistic Joint has always had the option of solid nylatron.

 

[BallisticDave]

when i got them the teenie grease fittings snapped off trying to install them, and i couldnt find replacements, so i just never greased them. they have never made any noise, i have never touched them and they are as tight as they were new.

The grease zerks are a st andard size, but if you pm me your info, I'd be happy to send some over to you, no charge. Just let me know the address and how many you are in need of. Dave

 

[muddeprived]

I wore out my RC joint on one wheeling trip. (Or maybe 2)

There was enough play to let the whole arm move an inch back and forth. They sent me a whole new joint, and I replaced it. They said the first batch was a bad mold quality.

My other joint went out also, so they sent me a new one as well. But I cant find it in my garage, so I've still got the original on the driverside. It CLUNKS a lot.

I'd also like to figure out what size they are, and go for something better.

Same here. Replaced all my joints on the arms already except the poly joints. I only wheeled it once and greased em very well. Now I have this looseness somewhere in the front again and I'm betting the joints failed.

I am subscribing to this thread and hopefully someone will list a matching set of joints to substitute for these crappy RC china joints.

 

[ROBZ95Xj]

Same here. Replaced all my joints on the arms already except the poly joints. I only wheeled it once and greased em very well. Now I have this looseness somewhere in the front again and I'm betting the joints failed.

I am subscribing to this thread and hopefully someone will list a matching set of joints to substitute for these crappy RC china joints.

call em up and see if they will give you the specs then may be the same size as standerd joints that everone else makes

 

[Dan Fredrickson]

call em up and see if they will give you the specs then may be the same size as standerd joints that everone else makes

What is the width of the bracket they need to go into?

 

[muddeprived]

Here's what I could get off the two sets that I replaced:

Lower big joints:

Hole diameter: 9/16"
Width of bracket (or ball) 2 5/8"
Width of joint casing: 2"
Width of thread: 1 1/4"
Length of thread: 4 3/4"

Upper arm joint:


Hole diameter: a little larger than 3/8", probably metric
Width of bracket (or ball) 2"
Width of joint casing: 1.5"
Width of thread: 1/2"
Length of thread: 4 5/8"

Didn't get a pix of the upper cuz battery died. These are measurements from a tape measure. Pretty exact but not EXACTLY accurate.

 

[rkates]

Ok guys the big joint is 1 1/4 x 12 and the smaller one is 3/4 x 16
big joint is 2 5/8 wide and the smaller one is 2.

Ballistic has the big one as a direct bolt in havn't looked for the small one yet.

Here you go, posted up earlier. I havn't done anything with the uppers yet but replaced the lowers with ballistic. Direct swap. Other than I opted for the bigger mounting bolt. Just have to drill out the mount

 

[muddeprived]

So this is the one we need for the lower big arm?

http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/Forged-Chromoly-263-Ballistic-Joint_p_1636.html

I want to replace the upper flex joint with a bushing style joint? Does ballistic have anything that would work?

 

[ROBZ95Xj]

So this is the one we need for the lower big arm?

http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/Forged-Chromoly-263-Ballistic-Joint_p_1636.html

I want to replace the upper flex joint with a bushing style joint? Does ballistic have anything that would work?

Currie and RE also have joints to look at

 

[foxwar71]

I want to replace the upper flex joint with a bushing style joint? Does ballistic have anything that would work?

This:

http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/20-Ballistic-Joint_p_1722.html

+

http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/Billet-threaded-stud_p_1505.html

 

[muddeprived]

This:

http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/20-Ballistic-Joint_p_1722.html

+

http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/Billet-threaded-stud_p_1505.html

That's a flex joint. I want to replace it with a bushing, rubber preferred. I don't have anyone around here who can weld it together either.

 

[BallisticDave]

This:

http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/20-Ballistic-Joint_p_1722.html

+

http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/Billet-threaded-stud_p_1505.html

Thank you! I was just coming on to offer my assistance on this, but you got it answered before me. Appreciate it. Dave

 

[BallisticDave]

That's a flex joint. I want to replace it with a bushing, rubber preferred. I don't have anyone around here who can weld it together either.

Would this work?

http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/Single-poly-bushing-with-DOM-sleeve_p_1197.html

 

[muddeprived]

Would this work?

http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/Single-poly-bushing-with-DOM-sleeve_p_1197.html

Only if it comes in 2" width cuz my flex joint is 2" wide. Got any 2" bushings?

 

[Dan Fredrickson]

A 1.25" Heim joint would be a direct swap and stronger.

http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=381