Lower ball joint replacement questions
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 281
Likes: 0
From: overworld
Lower ball joint replacement questions
ive done this in the past and know how hard it is to do. i do have some questions though that will hopefully make my life easier.
is there a particular brand of LBJ that is closer to the size of the factory joints? all the aftermarket joints ive ever come across are easily 10-20 thousandths larger than the factory ones. im worried this is putting too much stress on the a arm. should i be?
is it safe to heat the a-arm up with a propane torch to expand the hole? im worried about weakening the aluminum with the heat which is also why I was hoping to find a brand of replacement LBJ that are not so hard to press in without heating or cooling any parts.
any other tips other than just using a press to pop them out and then hopefully press them in without too much trouble. thanks
is there a particular brand of LBJ that is closer to the size of the factory joints? all the aftermarket joints ive ever come across are easily 10-20 thousandths larger than the factory ones. im worried this is putting too much stress on the a arm. should i be?
is it safe to heat the a-arm up with a propane torch to expand the hole? im worried about weakening the aluminum with the heat which is also why I was hoping to find a brand of replacement LBJ that are not so hard to press in without heating or cooling any parts.
any other tips other than just using a press to pop them out and then hopefully press them in without too much trouble. thanks
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 281
Likes: 0
From: overworld
thanks. i forgot to mention that ive tried the freezer thing before. i still had to heat the arm up.
i really like Moog myself, but ive yet to try them for the C4 stuff. does anyone know if they are smaller diameter than the other replacement ones?
i really like Moog myself, but ive yet to try them for the C4 stuff. does anyone know if they are smaller diameter than the other replacement ones?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 5,556
Likes: 0
From: Jenison MI
Cruise-In VI Veteran
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St. Jude Donor '06
a propane torch should not make enough heat to hurt anything. In fact I doubt that it would even make enough heat to move the aluminum .001 of an inch. Putting the joint in the freezer would do a little more then a propane torch but still not much. The right way would be to put the joint into some liquid nitrogen then press them in. This is how we press guide pins into diesets.
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 17,551
Likes: 26
From: El Paso Texas
You will never be sorry if you use Moog. I would be very cautious of no name stuff. I don't want Chinese knockoff suspension parts.
The lower A arm is very simple to remove. If you don't have a press, take it off and take it to a brake shop. They will press the old balljoint out and the new one in in about 5 minutes. My shop charged me $25 to do the pressing.
The lower A arm is very simple to remove. If you don't have a press, take it off and take it to a brake shop. They will press the old balljoint out and the new one in in about 5 minutes. My shop charged me $25 to do the pressing.
Racer
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 342
Likes: 0
From: new orleans La
Originally Posted by Ram Air Formula
ive done this in the past and know how hard it is to do. i do have some questions though that will hopefully make my life easier.
is there a particular brand of LBJ that is closer to the size of the factory joints? all the aftermarket joints ive ever come across are easily 10-20 thousandths larger than the factory ones. im worried this is putting too much stress on the a arm. should i be?
is it safe to heat the a-arm up with a propane torch to expand the hole? im worried about weakening the aluminum with the heat which is also why I was hoping to find a brand of replacement LBJ that are not so hard to press in without heating or cooling any parts.
any other tips other than just using a press to pop them out and then hopefully press them in without too much trouble. thanks
is there a particular brand of LBJ that is closer to the size of the factory joints? all the aftermarket joints ive ever come across are easily 10-20 thousandths larger than the factory ones. im worried this is putting too much stress on the a arm. should i be?
is it safe to heat the a-arm up with a propane torch to expand the hole? im worried about weakening the aluminum with the heat which is also why I was hoping to find a brand of replacement LBJ that are not so hard to press in without heating or cooling any parts.
any other tips other than just using a press to pop them out and then hopefully press them in without too much trouble. thanks
I had the exact same problem when I changed mine. Luckily my neighbor is a machinist, It was his opinion that the extra 20 thousanths stretch would split the A-arm so, he reduced the diameter of the balljoints on a lathe by about 18 thousanths, then we pressed them into the A-arms.
Pro
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 729
Likes: 4
From: Yukon OK
I had this same issue recently and made a post that got almost no repsonses about the proper specs for the LBJ. I called Vette Brake Products where I bought my polygraphite kit that came with the joints and they agreed that 20 over was way too much and 8 over was about right.
I ended up taking mine to a friend with a lathe and put them both at 6 over as I recall and they went in just fine with a press. Firm but not causing them to dig into the a-arm. I measured the ones I took out and found that they also have a slight taper and rounded on the leading edge. I also did that to my new ones and they went in perfectly.
My opinion is to clean up the A-arm with some emory cloth then measure the hole and machine the LBJ to match the current size of the hole with about 6 thousanths over.
The good news is that you won't have to do this for another 20 years.
I ended up taking mine to a friend with a lathe and put them both at 6 over as I recall and they went in just fine with a press. Firm but not causing them to dig into the a-arm. I measured the ones I took out and found that they also have a slight taper and rounded on the leading edge. I also did that to my new ones and they went in perfectly.
My opinion is to clean up the A-arm with some emory cloth then measure the hole and machine the LBJ to match the current size of the hole with about 6 thousanths over.
The good news is that you won't have to do this for another 20 years.
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Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 281
Likes: 0
From: overworld
see thats exactly my problem. yes i can get them in the arm, but i feel that the oversize of the replacement LBJs is way too much.
are GM LBJs any better? why are the replacement ones so much larger? seems that people even the ones from VBP dont bother to make a correct LBJ they just grab something close off the shelf.
is my only option to go to a machinist and have them lathe them down? id prefer not to.
thanks everyone
are GM LBJs any better? why are the replacement ones so much larger? seems that people even the ones from VBP dont bother to make a correct LBJ they just grab something close off the shelf.
is my only option to go to a machinist and have them lathe them down? id prefer not to.
thanks everyone
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 197
Likes: 0
From: East Amherst New York
I to replaced the lowers in my 89 with VBP ball joints.I did some research and found out each time you install and remove a ball joint a certain amount of material is removed from the arm.It is my understanding they are only good for one replacment.I got a ball joint replacment press at no charge from AutoZone with their free rental program.The replacments went in tight but no splits or cracks.Their is a lot of give in that forging and that ball joint requires substantial compression to hold it tight.
Pro
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 729
Likes: 4
From: Yukon OK
Just a guess on my part, but the vendors might be assuming the hole has been stretched out over the years and that a new part exactly the size of the old one would not fit tight enough. Also it is easier to make a part smaller than it is to make it fit a little tighter.
Besides the ball joints are not manufactured all that precise and are not perfectly round. When I got done mine was straight, square, and perfectly round.
Besides the ball joints are not manufactured all that precise and are not perfectly round. When I got done mine was straight, square, and perfectly round.
Racer
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 312
Likes: 0
From: Las Vegas / Scotland
Hmm, I recently replaced both of mine whilst I was polybushing and just used a set from AutoZone - don't remember the make.
They went in with no problem with a press.
Just a couple of cents worth
They went in with no problem with a press.
Just a couple of cents worth
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 873
Likes: 2
From: Whittier ca
any other tips other than just using a press to pop them out and then hopefully press them in without too much trouble.
You just have to raise the car up a little higher to get the tool under the a-arm.
Keep a careful watch when you release the ball joints.
The uppers were more of a pain than the lowers.
Good luck
Subman
