TKS

My friend and I did a bunch of work on the car today, including an oil change, OPRV clean-up, re-install of the oil pressure sending unit (since the jacknobs at the dealer put the wires on backwards and finger-tightened the unit to the car), and one of my two Rennbay ball joint kits since the joint was good and busted.

Everything went fairly smooth until we got the control arm off and found out the previous owner left it cracked and (very slightly) bent

It's not an immediately life-threatening crack, so we did the ball joint and put it back on temporarily, but I'll definitely need to replace it before I do any sort of autocross/DE--which means SOON Aside from that the install went good and I'm very happy with the kit, now I'll have to take it off and put it on the replacement I get! Speaking of which, anyone have a front left lower control arm with a busted ball joint but good bushings that I can buy?

On the plus side, the new joint got rid of the wobble at 60-65mph+, and the work we did on the oil system seems to have completely fixed my oil problems. Gauge shows 5 bar at start, 5 bar running, drops to ~2 on idle when warm, and in general works like it should. It used to drop to below 1 and flirt with the warning light when warm (and did some crazy **** after I let the dealer touch it), so this makes me feel much better.

Step by step, I'm getting there. Can't wait until I get the car in good enough condition to *really* drive it!

Travis - sflraver

Drop me a line when you get the new arm. I will send you a new set of cups to put in it so you dont have to use the ones out of the cracked arm again. If the arm is cracked then who knows how true the pocket is. A warped pocket may warp the cups between now and when you get the new arm.
email me at travis@rennbay.com when your ready for them.

TKS

Wow, awesome! That's customer service

944_S_TYPE

I've got a question........ Whats with the rubber boots included in the kit???? They dont even seal? I purchased that kit about 3mo. ago. It is great but I feel the boots were not the best. I had a heck of a time finding oem replacements. (they have metal rings th keep it in place.

Matt O.

Yep -- Travis/Rennbay is one of those guys/vendors who "get it."

Travis - sflraver

The polyurethane boots I use seal when installed. They get compressed down over the lip on the arm by the spindle when it is in place. It forms just as good of seal as the OEM rubber boots but with the advantage of being able to reuse them. With OEM boots, when the ball joint is taken loose from the spindle using a fork bar, will rip and must be replaced. The polyurethane ones I use can take this abuse over and over without even the first sign of wear.

And thats the story with the boots.

TKS

I was able to get my control arm off without using the pickle fork too much, and hence able to save the stock boot. I removed the bolts from the other end of the arm first and got it loose so I could wiggle it around and work it free with minimal fork-persuasion needed. I wasn't sure on the re-usability of the Rennbay boots and didn't want to waste one on a busted arm.

Does anyone have ideas of places I could find a control arm with a busted ball joint and good bushings? I've checked 944online.com, but they only sell rebuilt pieces, and I'm waiting to hear from partsheaven.com. Anyone have a parts car?

944_S_TYPE

Thank you for the reply. I understand.

Joe Jackson

Who's using a pickle fork to pop out their balljoints? Just pry the clamped area apart slightly with a screw driver/pry bar/chisel and the balljoint will slide right out. No boot damage necessary.

Travis - sflraver

I came across an original set (haven't been removed since installed in 86'). You want to see something that does not want to come out... thats it. It took a fork bar, 1 days worth of soaking with wd-40 and a hefty tap on the top with a large hammer to get it loose.
In a perfect world, where grease was used last time they were put in, the screwdriver trick works. The sad part is, the factory, and probably even the PO, did not take this step.

Joe Jackson

You are probably right on this one Travis. The only two 944's I've done ball joints on were a low mileage NA and my turbo which only had about 30k miles on "rebuilt" a-arms (aka, machined and ruined a-arms with Febi pressed in joints). Both came out easy but I can see how they could easily rust in place.