OEM, Adjustable, or Fully Rebuildable?
Black Ops Machine Might Just Have It All…
Words & Photos: Provided by Black Ops Machine Inc.
One of the most important components of your suspension is the ball joints. These are what enable it to constantly flex up, down, left, and right. Motion with metal parts brings friction, which ultimately equals wear and tear. A lot of the force and weight of the car is placed directly on these ball joints. This is why it is important to have a solid, heavy duty ball joint on your car.
There are a few different styles of ball joints. Let’s start with the stock/OEM style. These are basically throwaway parts. You install them by pressing them into the control arms. They come pre-greased and sealed. The problem is that there is no way to add more grease or tighten them up later. Once the grease dries up or the joints loosen over time, they are done and need to be replaced. Depending on how hard you ride, these will generally wear out pretty quickly.
The next step up from that is a greaseable, adjustable style. Where the OEM ball joints dry up or slowly loose grease over time, this style has a grease zerk fitting that lets you regularly regrease them in between rides, prolonging the life of the ball joints. As for adjustability, the more and harder you drive, the more the ball joint pin loosens up. This style of joint allows you to tighten the housing down onto the pin when it loosens up. This adjustability, just like adding grease, can greatly increase the life of your ball joints.
The final style we’re going to talk about has it all. They have a grease zerk fitting and the adjustability, plus they are fully rebuildable. You can completely disassemble them, clean them out, and put them back together. This style of ball joint is the best bang for your buck. If you regularly service these ball joints, as long as they are made with strong lasting materials they will last the entire life of the vehicle.
Generally, OEM parts are going to be the least expensive, but they will not last and you will have to replace them pretty regularly. The price generally goes up from 30 to 60% for the adjustable, greasable style. The fully rebuildable styles are generally about double to triple the cost of OEM.
There are a few ways to look at the cost for these options. You can buy OEM and expect to replace them regularly. You could buy the next step above, grease them and keep them tight, and replace them less often. Or, you can buy the fully rebuildable style, and stay on top of servicing them, and they will last forever.
The OEM style is generally readily available on Amazon or direct from the manufacturers. For the other styles, you will more than likely be looking at buying from an aftermarket parts manufacturer. At Black Ops, Black Ops aims to make these products at the highest quality, with the best materials, at the best price. You can buy these ball joints at BlackOpsMachine.com, call them 480-900-9991, or email contact@BlackOpsMachine.com.
