It warmed my heart when you invoked the old man’s help getting that jamb nut loosened. I was in the exact same place last year: control arms in the vice, joints wouldn’t budge. My son was happy to help using the torch and the old man helped budge them loose. It was a great little family experience, thanks to a chemical reaction :)
The lubricant is only there to help during install. The joint has been designed not to require any lubrication and still remain usable. 65k is great! Your mileage may vary based on how hard you wheel and flex your Jeep out.
I’ve decided metalcloak is my top choice. I feel like you’ve proven thavthey are pretty great. 65k miles? That’s awesome. I know guys that rebuild joints way sooner. They are more extreme than me but it seems like these are a great design.
I also think 65k is a good life span. We are not easy on this Jeep, by any means. It’s rock crawled for a lot of its life, carried far to much camping weight, and driven a lot of harsh off road miles. I like how simple the design is. And one less thing to grease is an added benefit depending on how often you like to do maintenance.
I put these on my 2016 jkur in 2016. 75kmiles and 37-38” tires the whole life of them and my rear control arm joints have split/ torn apart. Front arm joints still good. Multiple wheeling trips running blacks and reds. However I never took them apart to regrease them throughout that time.
thanks 4 sharing. helps 4 sure !! I've got a death wobble emerging. This will be the 2nd time. im @ 175k miles, plus I probably drove a good 30k the first time I had the wobble. Took it to the shop where they did bushings & shocks. yeah, this time I'm just gonna do it myself. Get better parts. 2001 wj
Glad you liked the video! I recommend it. It's nice doing things your self. If you have death wobble, double check the track bar mount and bushing. Super common for that to cause death wobble.
I just replaced my bushings. They were mostly worn with some play between the bushing and housing. The rear lowers no grease, half had play. All of the rear uppers no grease and had play. The front lowers no grease, some wear but probable didn't need to be changed. The front uppers, one side was greased and had no wear, the other side needed to be replaced. Even though these don't require service, it seems like the grease helps with wear.
I just received my MetalCloak crows foot wrench. WOW what a beefy piece same thickness as the jam nut. I’m very impressed kinda pricey but my observation well worth it.
I'm running the Metalcloak lift so it's good to know that the new Duroflex bushing fit the older C. arms. I have 45k on mine so i'll be good for a bit longer.
At that mileage I'd be happy to replace them. Johnny joints will last just as long. Johnny joints have the spherical sleeve/bearing so I prefer them. Any aftermarket joint lasting that long is pretty good. Oem clevite bushings can last the life of the vehicle so I don't see why these can't.
Antiseize! I also find locktitgh keeps the crude out as well. Oph… a torch would have been so much easier. I’m keeping that locked away for next time lol! I would also assume that aswell. But the “grease passages” the metal cloak build into these things seem like they are suppose to hold the lithium grease.
How are the new bushings holding up so far. I am torn between these or the Core 4x4. Core has a lifetime warranty on them but run a little more pricey and have zerk fittings to grease them and a little more beefier.
They are holding up great! No issues to speak of, thus far. I can’t speak to Core 4x4. I’ve herd good things, but I’ve not had any experience with them. That’s a hard one though. I’d have to do a bit more research into the design of core4x4.
65k hard miles on stock would be a disaster. Given the performance and holding up that long my opinion is money well spent. These are top of list for arms on my Gladiator.
They seem to be lasting a lot longer. This winter I’ll be taking the jeep down for some maintenance. We’ll pull one apart together and see how it’s looking.
How do you know what replacements to buy? There are tons of options. Bould the jeeps with the lift. Not sure what arms they were. The measurements on their site and the meiasurement of.my actual joints don't seem to match up.
You’ll need to figure out the manufacture of your control arms. I know who made mine cause I installed them originally. If you can find that out. Than you’ll be able to figure out which replacement bushing fit.
That’s a fair opinion. I think 100k is achievable if the rig rock crawls less then mine has. Rock crawling like we do is pretty hard on joints. Though I can’t disagree, having 100k maintenance schedule would be really nice!
In the future put anti sieze on the threads I made the mistake by not doing that and when I had to replace my joint I caught pure hell unscrewing it because I live in the Salt belt and the salt water and rain water over a period of 3 years the threads were rusted
Not an expert. I have there arms. And getting ready to install 3.5 game changer in my sons jk. I would say that is acceptable. With the amount of flex the rubber cycles through, and using your Jeep like a Jeep. I would rather rebuild than have a failed arm. JMO
I’m always for products that last longer. Personally I thought that was a decent milage considering how hard I am on it. What do you think is a better joint and how long should these last?
Interesting. I know it’s very easy to have new controls/joints in a bind when first installing them. If you do that the life will shorten dramatically. I wonder what caused yours to have such a short life span?
It warmed my heart when you invoked the old man’s help getting that jamb nut loosened. I was in the exact same place last year: control arms in the vice, joints wouldn’t budge. My son was happy to help using the torch and the old man helped budge them loose. It was a great little family experience, thanks to a chemical reaction :)
The lubricant is only there to help during install. The joint has been designed not to require any lubrication and still remain usable. 65k is great! Your mileage may vary based on how hard you wheel and flex your Jeep out.
I’ve decided metalcloak is my top choice. I feel like you’ve proven thavthey are pretty great. 65k miles? That’s awesome. I know guys that rebuild joints way sooner. They are more extreme than me but it seems like these are a great design.
I also think 65k is a good life span. We are not easy on this Jeep, by any means. It’s rock crawled for a lot of its life, carried far to much camping weight, and driven a lot of harsh off road miles.
I like how simple the design is. And one less thing to grease is an added benefit depending on how often you like to do maintenance.
I put these on my 2016 jkur in 2016. 75kmiles and 37-38” tires the whole life of them and my rear control arm joints have split/ torn apart. Front arm joints still good. Multiple wheeling trips running blacks and reds. However I never took them apart to regrease them throughout that time.
Sounds like you have very good life honestly. 75k miles is pretty decent for abused bushings. Thank you for sharing!
thanks 4 sharing. helps 4 sure !! I've got a death wobble emerging. This will be the 2nd time. im @ 175k miles, plus I probably drove a good 30k the first time I had the wobble. Took it to the shop where they did bushings & shocks. yeah, this time I'm just gonna do it myself. Get better parts. 2001 wj
Glad you liked the video! I recommend it. It's nice doing things your self. If you have death wobble, double check the track bar mount and bushing. Super common for that to cause death wobble.
Rick Flair in the HOUSE!
Woot woot! 😂
😂same thing I was saying WOOOOOOOO!!!
Whooooo
I just replaced my bushings. They were mostly worn with some play between the bushing and housing. The rear lowers no grease, half had play. All of the rear uppers no grease and had play. The front lowers no grease, some wear but probable didn't need to be changed. The front uppers, one side was greased and had no wear, the other side needed to be replaced. Even though these don't require service, it seems like the grease helps with wear.
I just received my MetalCloak crows foot wrench. WOW what a beefy piece same thickness as the jam nut. I’m very impressed kinda pricey but my observation well worth it.
I’ll have to buy a set for myself!
I'm running the Metalcloak lift so it's good to know that the new Duroflex bushing fit the older C. arms. I have 45k on mine so i'll be good for a bit longer.
Yea, and depending on how hard you are on the suspension they may last even longer!
At that mileage I'd be happy to replace them. Johnny joints will last just as long. Johnny joints have the spherical sleeve/bearing so I prefer them. Any aftermarket joint lasting that long is pretty good. Oem clevite bushings can last the life of the vehicle so I don't see why these can't.
I always try to mess with jamb nuts while things are still attached on the vehicle. Tends to make things easier to work with.
That does make it easier!
Use antiseize on all threaded components like that. Torch will burn rubber off but not needed. the lube is for install (I assume)
Antiseize! I also find locktitgh keeps the crude out as well.
Oph… a torch would have been so much easier. I’m keeping that locked away for next time lol!
I would also assume that aswell. But the “grease passages” the metal cloak build into these things seem like they are suppose to hold the lithium grease.
The last longer than I expected with no luberaction
Agreed!
How are the new bushings holding up so far. I am torn between these or the Core 4x4. Core has a lifetime warranty on them but run a little more pricey and have zerk fittings to grease them and a little more beefier.
They are holding up great! No issues to speak of, thus far.
I can’t speak to Core 4x4. I’ve herd good things, but I’ve not had any experience with them.
That’s a hard one though. I’d have to do a bit more research into the design of core4x4.
65k hard miles on stock would be a disaster. Given the performance and holding up that long my opinion is money well spent. These are top of list for arms on my Gladiator.
Well said!
😂😂😂😂
Any update on the new bushings with kevlar? Similar wear?
They seem to be lasting a lot longer. This winter I’ll be taking the jeep down for some maintenance. We’ll pull one apart together and see how it’s looking.
How do you know what replacements to buy? There are tons of options. Bould the jeeps with the lift. Not sure what arms they were. The measurements on their site and the meiasurement of.my actual joints don't seem to match up.
You’ll need to figure out the manufacture of your control arms. I know who made mine cause I installed them originally. If you can find that out. Than you’ll be able to figure out which replacement bushing fit.
Were they sloppy
Not very sloppy, but coming apart. Just old.
What if you broke loose the jam nuts while still on the Jeep....
Yea, that would be the smart way to go. I never claimed to be smart though.
Only had 50k on the origional control arm bushing and they made your frame end bushing look new lol
Haha! Those factory bushings can look pretty bad after a lot of abuse.
I would think every 30k would be a good time to grease them even though they don’t require it.
Yea, I think that is a good idea.
How the hell did you get Rick Flair to help you?
😂
For the cost of the kit . You should get 100 thousand out of them in my opinion .
That’s a fair opinion. I think 100k is achievable if the rig rock crawls less then mine has. Rock crawling like we do is pretty hard on joints. Though I can’t disagree, having 100k maintenance schedule would be really nice!
Antisieze those those ends!
In the future put anti sieze on the threads I made the mistake by not doing that and when I had to replace my joint I caught pure hell unscrewing it because I live in the Salt belt and the salt water and rain water over a period of 3 years the threads were rusted
Not an expert. I have there arms. And getting ready to install 3.5 game changer in my sons jk. I would say that is acceptable. With the amount of flex the rubber cycles through, and using your Jeep like a Jeep. I would rather rebuild than have a failed arm. JMO
Agreed! Maintenance > fixing a failure.
Nice lift! I’m sure your son will love it!
Should have lasted longer than that. Thier “maintenance free” joint now need to be replaced. Metalcloak is over rated i kept saying this for years
I’m always for products that last longer. Personally I thought that was a decent milage considering how hard I am on it. What do you think is a better joint and how long should these last?
Try like 15,000 miles….that’s all I got
Interesting. I know it’s very easy to have new controls/joints in a bind when first installing them. If you do that the life will shorten dramatically.
I wonder what caused yours to have such a short life span?
@@EmbarkWithMark that’s their quality control then
@@flex-jsteve540 I’m talking about installing the control arms in a vehicle.
@@EmbarkWithMark you can’t install them wrong
Did you tighten/torque the control arm bolts at ride height or with the suspension drooped out?