Ball joint boots

eastmedia · Post by **eastmedia** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 6:46 pm

I took the front end apart to put in the Comp Springs. As I took it apart I realized I better put new boots and clean it up. I pulled the ball joints out and cleaned them the best I could. Removed all old grease and dirt. I wasn't about to shell out for new ones. I didn't remove the A-arms. I also put in new shocks at the time. Kind of like a minor rebuild. Took me about a week to complete. Actual working time about 10-12 hours?

I would say if you keep the same springs you shouldn't need alignment unless you needed it anyway. If you change springs you definately need it. I still haven't done mine and it feels squirrely.

Be sure to torque everything to spec.

Post by **Linda** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 12:00 pm

Ron,
How did those parts from suspension.com work out? Did you replace tie rods etc?
I'm bummed because my car may need some of that stuff. Went in to get it aligned and they said there was some 'wiggle'. Have to get a second opinion.

Linda
68 1600

eastmedia · Post by **eastmedia** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 5:40 pm

I just replaced the rubber boots. No actual suspension parts. I did remove the ball joints and completely clean them and use new grease. I'm sure all the old cars have a little "wiggle." But until you get new ball joints ($$$) you'll have to do the best you can. I'd think that a good cleaning, fresh grease, and retorquing everything (things get loose after 40 years) would help a little bit. I believe you can replace the upper A-arm bolts with grade 8 bolts from a hardware store, but I haven't tried that yet.
Ron

Post by **itsa68** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 10:17 pm

Anybody know who is rebuilding lower ball joints and selling them on e-bay?
They look good so I'm wondering if more could be done for interested forum members.

Ray B.

bandit610 · Post by **bandit610** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 11:42 pm

Definatly a good idea to shop around, Linda, I took my '63 Nova to 3 different places before I was confident enough to even let them rack it. I installed all new bushings, lower control arms, outer tie rod ends, ball joints, springs and so on. the first 2 shops told me I needed additional work done. Hard to find someone to trust.

Conner · Post by **Conner** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 9:40 am

itsa68 wrote:Anybody know who is rebuilding lower ball joints and selling them on e-bay?
They look good so I'm wondering if more could be done for interested forum members.

Ray B.

I'm not sure anyone is rebuilding worn-out lower ball joints. I actually bought a pair of cleaned-up lowers from an ebay seller. I think what they do is pull the lowers off low-mileage cars, make sure they are pretty tight, and then clean, paint, and grease them, and replace the boots. The pair I bought weren't perfect but were much tighter than the ones I pulled off my car.

garth · Post by **garth** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 7:06 pm

I recenly rebuilt both uppoer and lower ball joints. Took them apart and found the springs to be fatigued. Just cleaned and polished the balls and replaced the spings and packed with a high pressure lubricant.
Now they appear to be very tight. Maybe too tight? I'll find out if they perform in about a year when I get the Lady on the road again.

Post by **spl310** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 7:46 pm

Where did you source the replacement springs?

garth · Post by **garth** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 10:20 pm

They are industrial springs from a local spring specialist that I purchased 20 years ago for a non-automovite application. They just happend to have the right diameter. Any specialty mechanical supplier should have a comparable spring that could be cut and trimmed to size. They weren't exotic.

Post by **itsa68** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 10:21 pm

How did you take them apart and do you have pics?

Obviously someone is also re-building the ball joints and it would be nice to be able to have them as an alternate source for these $$$$ items.

Here is the rebuilt ball joints on Ebay I was referring to.
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie ... B:AAQ:CA:1

Item number 300005211509

Ray B.

garth · Post by **garth** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 10:37 pm

A very big wrench and bench vise! About 200 ftlbs of torque required to break the retainer nut lose. Sorry I did not take any pics.

Garth

Conner · Post by **Conner** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 9:32 am

Aha! I did see those on ebay and wondered what they were.

The listing says "THESE BALL JOINTS ARE NEW REMANUFACTURED WITH A HIGHER TOLERANCE FIT. " I wonder if that means they are new reproduction parts or remanufactured old ball joints. To me that statement implies they could be either. The best way to figure out what we have here is to contact the ebay seller and get some answers on what he/she was selling.

Post by **Linda** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 12:45 pm

Interesting discussion here. Would be nice to get more info on the rebuild process. If the springs were available would a machine shop be able to clean and rebuild, especially since Garth mentioned the high torque?
I went to another shop and this one said I could use lower ball joints on the Roadster, but that the upper ball joints were good. A differing second opinion.

Linda
68 1600

Post by **Linda** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 1:35 pm

And, has anyone checked with these guys lately for suspension parts or rebuilds?
http://www.rareparts.com/partslist.html
Linda
68 1600

Just sent an email for info.
This was the source mentioned for the shop I was just at.

Post by **Linda** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 7:59 pm

The response from my email this morning to rareparts.com regarding suspension parts for the Roadster

..We are good in suspension but do not have part #'s for your
request, but love a challenge, and can probably help you
but it would be best if you call us ....to talk this out...We cover cars and trucks, foreign or domestic, from 1930 to current year. If we do not have it
and you can not find it we may be able to match or make it

I guess I can call them if someone helps me by providing a wish list with numbers for suspension parts.
thanks,
Linda