Jim Chambers

My new to me 133K '78 still has originals. Checked them to find no perceivable play. Dr. Bob was watching and likely thinking "replace them anyway you idiot." Keeping my fingers crossed.

dr bob

Confirmed. I worked the jack while Jim had a hand wrapped around the balljoint, feeling for movement. Not particularly objective technique, except the joint didn't pop apart on its own when we raised the car on my 2-post lift. Jim, thinking objectively, added a 4-post lift to his garage... probably thinking "Much less chance of the balljoints popping apart if I raise the car by the wheels instead of letting them flap around."

outbackgeorgia

Lower un-sprung weight is the purpose of aluminum in this application. Same as aluminum lug nuts and wheels. Porsche obsession of reducing weight where it counts

Fronkenstein

I'm in

VanD

I'm in for about 20...

Jerry Feather

Mark, your and those you work with about these kinds of things have very creative minds. I recall about three or four weeks ago there was a thread on here about how one might convert late model steel ball joints to early ones. You said that you didn't think it could be done, and after I compared some I have in my extra stuff I pretty much reached the same conclusion. However I was looking at it from the standpoint of changing the mounting tang on one to work as the other.

One thing I learned, however, is that the mounting tangs on both early and late steel joints are nearly identical. Except for the taper shaft on the ball pointing in opposite directions, the only other difference between them was the slight angle that the early joints have between the mounting tang and the round end where the ball is.

Therefore, I am now wondering if the later ball joints could be modified by removing the ball and bending the ball end a bit to match the angle of the early joints (if that is even needed) and then remachine the ball end of the later joint to have this same or similar steel ball and socket pressed in from the other direction. Thus you would have an endless supply of steel early ball joints.

Now, I an curious about all of the reasons that this will not work.

dr bob

Tapered reamer (with the later balljoint taper...) suitable to update early uprights to the later steel ball joint? Just thinking outside the litterbox here.

randoma

Mark, any chance of rebuilds for the mid-model ('84-86, I think?) steel lower ball joints?

leiplouis79

I'm interested- seems no one even has the rebuilds -since they had a recall as well per Roger & Carl. Last time I talked to them -it was 30 days+ out from having any. Unless they are in now???

Mark Anderson

We do have a few rebuilt aluminum joints available now and the new joints are about 2 weeks away. They just got the first batch of raw castings.

Mark Anderson

more progress