I did the ball joints on my 97 tonight. I had the spicers in hand, but imagine my surprise when the ones I pulled out were knurled. At one time I thought I read that once you used knurled you HAD to stay with knurled but I don't know if that's fact or just an old wive's tale that's been repeated over the years.
The bores on the passenger side had slight indentations from the knurling, but nothing that would even catch a fingernail. The bores on the drivers side didn't have much in the way of marks, which is what has me worried. I've done like 7 or 8 sets of ball joints so I have a decent feel for how much effort it takes in general, but also know that it can vary quite a bit from one jeep to the next. These were definitely among the easier ones to get out & back in (yes, I put the non-knurled spicers in), but I still had to work the press a little. It wasn't like they just slid in/out.
So I guess my questions are
(a) once knurled always knurled? Or nah, or does it just depend?
(b) if a knurled ball joint didn't leave indentations in the bore does that mean the bore is already worn out?
(c) if a knurled ball joint did leave indentations in the bore.....I don't even know what question I should ask.
I have it all back together, but haven't driven it because it's 1am. I'm not afraid to drive it as-is, but I would love some second opinions other than the low-effort replies like "better safe than sorry" without any science.
The bores on the passenger side had slight indentations from the knurling, but nothing that would even catch a fingernail. The bores on the drivers side didn't have much in the way of marks, which is what has me worried. I've done like 7 or 8 sets of ball joints so I have a decent feel for how much effort it takes in general, but also know that it can vary quite a bit from one jeep to the next. These were definitely among the easier ones to get out & back in (yes, I put the non-knurled spicers in), but I still had to work the press a little. It wasn't like they just slid in/out.
So I guess my questions are
(a) once knurled always knurled? Or nah, or does it just depend?
(b) if a knurled ball joint didn't leave indentations in the bore does that mean the bore is already worn out?
(c) if a knurled ball joint did leave indentations in the bore.....I don't even know what question I should ask.
I have it all back together, but haven't driven it because it's 1am. I'm not afraid to drive it as-is, but I would love some second opinions other than the low-effort replies like "better safe than sorry" without any science.