Ball Joint Delete vs Dynatrac, Synergy & TeraFlex: Which Front End Is Right for Your Build?

This question shows up on every forum about once a day. "Should I run HD ball joints or deletes?" And the answers are usually from somebody who's only ever run one of them. We make deletes, so yeah, we're biased.....but we're also not going to tell you that you need our part if you don't. Let's lay it out straight.

What's the actual difference?

Synergy and TeraFlex all make good stuff and plenty of people run their heavy-duty ball joints. But at the end of the day an HD ball joint is still a ball joint. It's a ball & socket design that depends on how well it's pressed into your knuckle or C, and it still has the ability to misalign where your front end doesn't need it to. Each brand does its own thing inside, so check with them on their specifics- we're not going to pretend we know their spec sheets. Dynatrac joints have been around for awhile now and is a kind of "cousin" to the Delete System in the fact it too uses sphericals. The difference is the smaller parts like set screws, wiper seals, ect that overcomplicate a joint and make it less user friendly. 

A Ball Joint Delete™ System is a different animal. Instead of a plastic liner stuffed inside a body and only retained from one end, we use clamping force on a spherical bearing. The joint still rotates the way it needs to for steering, but it takes away the accessory movement that amplifies death wobble and wears things out.

Quick breakdown: HD ball joint vs Delete

• Design- HD ball joint: ball & socket. Delete: clamped spherical bearing, kingpin style.
• Fit- Traditional joints rely on the press fit. Every time a joint gets pressed out & a new one pressed in, that bore can lose material. After enough swaps it's hard to make ANY joint last.
• Service- A traditional joint gets thrown away. On our system the body stays put in the axle and only the spherical bearings get replaced, no pressing.
• Build- Ours are made in-house in Moberly, Missouri.

So which one is right for my build?

Here's how we'd talk it through at the counter:

1. Is it mostly a street Jeep on stock-ish tires with no front end issues? A quality HD ball joint may be all you ever need, and that's fine. Don't let anybody (us included) upsell you on a problem you don't have.
2. Are you on bigger tires, wheeling hard, or driving long miles to the trail? This is where traditional joints start to get replaced over & over. That's literally how American Iron started- Josh was wearing out ball joints on a rig he drove to & from parks 4+ hours away and it wasn't a good option.
3. Have you already replaced joints more than once? Then your bore may already be wallowed, and another press-in joint is fighting a losing battle.
4. Do you want to rebuild instead of replace? If you'd rather swap bearings in the axle than wrestle a ball joint press every time, a delete makes a lot of sense.

What about noise?

Fair question and we won't dodge it. A spherical bearing is not a rubber-booted ball joint and it doesn't behave exactly like one. Josh answers the noise question head on in our FAQ video (the "Are all sphericals noisy?" part), along with street use & salty roads. Watch that before you decide, it's honest about it.

Watch: Ultimate Ball Joint Delete™ FAQ | American Iron Offroad Tech & Troubleshooting

Will a delete fix my death wobble when HD joints didn't?

Maybe....maybe not. If the joints were the worn link, a delete stabilizes that connection better than a traditional joint does. But if your track bar, tie rods, control arms or wheel bearings are shot, no ball joint of ANY brand is going to fix it. Run through the death wobble checklist first. We'd rather lose the sale than have you buy our kit and still be shaking.

Which kit fits my Jeep?

Most people asking this are Jeep owners. For 1990-2017 JK, TJ, YJ & XJ that's the AI-1103 Gen 2. JL and Gladiator JT get the AI-1101. And when it's time for service down the road, there's the AI-1500 rebuild kit instead of a new set of joints.

If you want Josh to explain the basic idea himself, this one's short:

Watch: What is a Ball Joint Delete™ System with Josh Dodsworth

Bottom line

HD ball joints are a fine answer for a lot of rigs. If you're on big tires, beating on it, or tired of pressing joints every couple years, a Ball Joint Delete™ System is built for that. Be honest with yourself about how you use it, fix what needs fixed the best way possible because fixing it twice ends up being more expensive. If you need us, you know exactly where to find us!