Lower ball joint premature wear

[Rufton]

66 2WD GMC

Investigating 65+ mph steering vibe.

Both LBJ had approx 1/16" vertical and 1/16" horizontal play.
Neither OEM UBJ had any detectable play.
No detectable PA, IA or tie rod play.
LCA, UCA no play RH, LH TBD.

Funny thing, driver side LBJ was replaced w/ Perfect Circle FA481 LBJ in 2006 (roughly 5,000 to 10,000 miles ago). It never seemed to accept grease right. Grease went in zerc but out bottom seam. Could never get dust boot to balloon. I'd expect factory grease to last longer than a few thousand miles?

Getting ready to pull LH LBJ and UBJ. Already placed order for MOOG UBJ (K6024), LBJ (K6023), TRE (ES370R, ES350L). Already replaced PA (K6086) and IA (Parts Master 13969-07063210)

Goodyear Wrangler tires do have approx 1/8 to 1/4" horizontal and vertical run out.
I wonder if defective tires/rims can wear LBJ that premature?
Maybe the new LBJ was low quality metal?

[Wrenchbender Ret]

There are some cheapy front end parts out there. I put idler arms & pitman arm on a early 90's truck one time & a year latter they were worse then the original.
When you grease them make sure the weight is off of the ball joints.

[Rufton]

Most of my new parts are MOOG. MOOG still holding up on car I did many years ago. Hope they still make em like they used to.

Sounds like good idea to unload ball joint before grease.

[gofastnut]

Moog offers a Problem solver upper and lower ball joint. Supposed to grease better than regular old ball joints. Is the truck lowered or extra wide wheels? I've heard sometimes this can mess with ball joints/wheel bearings.
Upper P/N K6024
Lower P/N K6023
Hope this helps

[Rufton]

6.5" tread P235/75R15.
Kinda medium I guess.

[1963c-10]

I run 235/75r15 on my 63 with bone stock suspension, so I dont think its the wheel size. Sounds to me like either bad part or lack of grease.

[Rufton]

Has grease.
Surprised the 2006 boot already dry rotted.
The 1966 OEM boots look better

[Rufton]

I cut open 2006 LBJ while waiting on parts.

The 1966-2013 LBJ dust boot is still supple and sprung back to orig shape; minimal cracks.Has mild slop. Minimal galling.

The 2006-2013 dust boot is stiff and did not return to orig shape; wider cracks. I think it's safe to say 2006 LBJ rubber is far inferior. Mild slop as well. The 2006 LBJ has deeper galling (roughly 3/8" wide by 0.01" deep). I only used Mobil 1 grease.

[gofastnut]

I'd say just maybe a bad LBJ? I would also say you're wheel size/width is fine. I've seen people run wider, with less wear.
Just for conversation, what kind of Mobil 1 grease? I like the extreme pressure/moly fortified myself, but also have a coulple of friends who have only ever used disc break wheel bearing grease in EVERYTHING and have had zero problems.

[Rufton]

Mobil 1 Universal Synthetic Grease. Been using it for years in other cars w/o failure. Only complaint is it separates in cartridge after time (as do some other brands).

I think I found defect in FA481 LBJ. The carriage bolt seat (tech term...lol) has what appears to be a burr. Easily catches finger nail. This burr wore a groove into half sphere seat. By contrast the 1966 LBJ appears perfect.

[64fleetside]

Had the same issue on a buddy's truck, offshore BJs are no good, MOOG parts fixed it. Can't go wrong with MOOG stuff.

Bad thing is all four offshore joints cost less than one MOOG lower bj.

[Rufton]

I installed MOOG LBJ.

The compression fit area is ribbed.

I'm impressed w/ the boot. Design looks cool w/ MOOG logo. Has internal molded metal rings around holes. Rubber feels and flexes like quality. Has overfill vent. Floatong design minimizes rubber stress.

Time will have to judge internals.

5/16" zerk (not metric).

[Rufton]

MOOG UBJ has about 0.5 degrees camber slop (bolts not tight like OEM rivets). Made fine tuning camber easy. I painted position to see if UBJ walks; looks good so far.

All steering wheel vibration gone after replacing ball joints and front shocks The truck cab still has some vibration above 65 mph. Probably the tires. Vibrates in gear and in neutral. I suppose U-Joints and rear (leaf spring axle) shocks are suspect also. Didn't order rear shocks because haven't decided if the Monroe Sensa-Trac (shock w/ small coil spring) are good. I like KYB gas-a-just shocks in cars.

I installed KYB GR-2 344068 OEM replacement shocks on front. They are very soft shocks but I can notice an improvement over the worn out old shocks. The ride is very smooth and handles pot holes nice but I prefer the stiffer gas-a-just.

[gofastnut]

Hey Rufton,
Do you tow, or haul anything heavy? My experience with the load leveler type of shock is a rougher ride unless your towing or hauling.
I agree with you on KYB gas adjust--a little bit more firm is nice.

[Rufton]

Thanks gofast. No towing. More concerned w/ no load ride. The leafs seem a little soft but don't seem to be sagging like some of my old cars did. Truck floats over bumps right now. I don't mind if a bit rougher. I wouldn't mind if rear sat an inch higher.