Ball joints

I will say this from my experience with both 555 and OEM LBJ's. Back when I first got my truck and was on a budget, I bought 555 LBJ's. They were fine for the time they were on the truck. I checked and regreased them semi-regularly and never noticed any slop or play in the joint. The ride was always rough, like I was driving a locomotive, but I attributed this to cheap coilovers and too much preload.

When I switched to OEM LBJ's before a road trip, I was floored how much better the ride quality was. My suspension actually flexed and absorbed bumps instead of rattling me all over the road. I don't even know how the 555 joint was able to adversely affect ride quality like that, but they did. I actually enjoy driving my truck now, and my Fiancée actually chooses to ride in the truck now that it doesn't ride like a Willy's Jeep. FWIW, I've heard that the 555 LBJ is metal-to-metal inside the joint, with the grease being a medium, whereas the OEM joint is sealed with some sort of plastic/teflon cup and grease between the metal parts.

 

I ordered through Ourisman for my LBJ and UBJ , Rack n Pinion very good prices and very fast and inexpensive shipping. Camel Back in Az is good too.