Upper Ball Joint Inspection

With tens of thousands of miles stacking up on the first installations of the Dodge Ram Upper Ball Joint, we finally have a baseline to really dig into the engineering behind the material, machining and processes that comprise the extreme duty assembly. Recently we removed one of the pins and sent it back to the engineer after about a thousand miles of Mex in the dirt, which is like double dog years on hardware. Initially we discovered a bright luster on the surface which was a contrast to that of the newly machined and lubricated assembly piece. What we got was a lesson on metallurgy and just how deep the design was on the processes chosen for this component.


Shown here is a drawing of a magnified view of a machined flat surface. Although by eye and touch, this isn't what you'll find, but with high magnification, any "flat surface" has texture. This is a dramatization shown to explain the engineer's intention with the design... BURNISHING, or to polish by friction was part of the process. The 2-stage dry lubricant applied after machining and hardening, filled some of the pores of the metal and covered high spots. This is a view of the brand new ball joint surface.


Now we get to our latest discovery. When you disassemble the component after some hard use and consistent pressure from normal activity, you will quickly notice a metallic luster on the surface. The two parts burnished, similar to a cylinder wall break in period when the rings find their seat, yet on a much more micro level, the hardened surface will polish itself into an even smoother surface and work even better.

Still flowing the Redline CV2, the ball joints just keep getting better after they've been in for a while.