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I have a 89 944 S2 that I am working on putting new suspension bushings on. When I removed the control arms I checked the ball joints; the driver's side feels tight but not very stiff, as I think a ball joint should feel, I can move it around with one hand. The ball joint on the passenger side is very stiff and had a broken boot on it when i removed the control arm. This ball joint takes two hands to get it to move. Neither ball joint has any noticeable compliance. When I pulled the boots to inspect the joints and control arm they looked good but I noticed that they were different. Through some research on the forum I realized that the driver side control arm was made in 97 and thus has the pressed type ball joint while the control arm on the passenger side was made in 88 and has the rebuildable circliped ball joint.
Here are pictures of the ball joints in the control arms left side is passenger, right side is driver.
This leads me to my dilemma; I have a Rennbay ball joint kit (from PO) and was just going to rebuild both arms, but I can't rebuild the driver's side. I was hoping to autocross next sunday after I finish my bushing install. So I was hoping some other experienced people could chime in on what I think my current options are:
1) Put new boots on the control arms and run them as is until noticeable wear occurs and decide on new course at that time. (primary option currently)
2) Look for used drivers side control arm which can be rebuilt with the Rennbay kit, creating a pair of good matched control arms
3) Look for used 968 passenger side control arm to match the current driver's side control arm
4) Buy rebuilt control arms or aftermarket control arms
This car is used for autocross at the moment and when its well sorted will also be used for track days. I don't have the budget for aftermarket control arms at this point but I figure that is probably the best long term track option. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.
My car was exactly the same - one 944 arm and one non-rebuildable 968 arm. I just got another set on eBay and rebuilt those.
I just checked which was which and unfortunately my non-rebuildable one was also the driver's, side so my left over rebuildable arm would be no use to you.
I took the cheap option on my 944 and bought a used one on eBay chucked it on as is and never had any problems with it for the next 5 years or so I owned the car.
There's no need to get a pair if you can find just the one you need with the correct offset. I imagine most people will want to sell them in pairs though. Plus, if you buy a pair you have the advantage of being able to rebuild them both before you take the old ones off your car (although in your case it looks like you've already done that) ) That proved helpful for me because I ended up having to take the new ones to a machine shop to get the front bushings pressed in, so this way I didn't have to have my car on stands during that time.
When I first bought my S2 Cab, I could tell they were going bad. I didn't have the time to rebuild them, so I just bought rebuilt OEM ones from Ian at 944online.
So I ended up getting a rebuildable drivers side control arm. My question now is about the Rennbay Ball Joint Kit.
I have a ball joint kit from 2011 that the previous owner bought, it has the plastic upper bushing. Since the planned majority of use for this car is autocross and DE's ; will those plastic upper bushings be ok? I noticed that Rennbay has switch to aluminum-bronze bushings and no longer sells the plastic ones. I would love hear about other's track experience on the plastic vs bronze.
So I ended up getting a rebuildable drivers side control arm. My question now is about the Rennbay Ball Joint Kit.
I have a ball joint kit from 2011 that the previous owner bought, it has the plastic upper bushing. Since the planned majority of use for this car is autocross and DE's ; will those plastic upper bushings be ok? I noticed that Rennbay has switch to aluminum-bronze bushings and no longer sells the plastic ones. I would love hear about other's track experience on the plastic vs bronze.
I'd contact Travis at Rennbay about that if I were you. He might be able to supply you with the newer bushings.
My car was exactly the same - one 944 arm and one non-rebuildable 968 arm. I just got another set on eBay and rebuilt those.
I just checked which was which and unfortunately my non-rebuildable one was also the driver's, side so my left over rebuildable arm would be no use to you.
02-26-2015, 11:08 PM
Ball Joint Issues Late Aluminum Control Arm
) That proved helpful for me because I ended up having to take the new ones to a machine shop to get the front bushings pressed in, so this way I didn't have to have my car on stands during that time.
