gruhsy

Has anyone out there ever had any bad issues with the ball joint repair kits?

I have bought 2 of them from different sources. What I am curious about it the snap ring at the bottom. There are four different types I have seen.

1. a spiral type
2. the original porsche snap ring
3. a copy of the porsche design with rounded edges rather than squared
4. a regular style and sized snap ring that works with snap ring pliers.

So has anyone had one fail before, after rebuilding that is? I am not sure wether I trust any repacements other than a proper sized snap ring.

Thoughts or experiences would be appreciated

Thanks
Jason

C ANDERSON

Jason,

I have done at least 6 sets that I know of and have never had a problem all so far have had the spiral .

I too was worried about the different rings but after about 15.000 miles on my turbo car and several DE's the spirals are still holding . A while back cleaned the bottom of the arm to inspect the epoxy and all still looks fine.

However if you are not using the metal rings I would suggest that.

Clifton

gt37vgt

i thought the it was the top epoxy that was always the issue . any of those steel cip or wire arrangemtnts are very reliable and easy to inspect .

carreracoupe997

Be sure to clean the groove out. You can use a dremel with a cut off wheel if need be but be careful.
After putting on the bottom circular plate lay your ring in there. Now compress with large C-clamp. You can use a short length of pipe over the ball joint pin to square it up. Now put the ring in. Then use a flat ended punch and small hammer to "seat" the ring in the grove. Just tap in from the side all the way around. My 951 is track only and swear by the kits sold by Renbay. I use the extended length pins for lowered cars with the bronze bushing.

spyder348

I have done quite a few for my customers. Bad luck with the spiral type. You should be able to use the original. Only use the original square type and clean the groove out well.

azmi951

Make sure to stake or set the clip with a punch when you have assembled it. Start at one end and work your way around.

Jeff N.

I used the SSI kit with good luck to date. KEY is to get the top race FULLY in the unit lest you never get the base on.

Also, look carefully to see if you have any wear in the top of the aluminum control arm that might create a gap between the race and the arm. I had some wear and used some JB weld to fill the gaps when I installed the top race. If you do this, you need to be double sure you have the race at the top. I used a c-clamp to keep it fully pressed in while the JB weld dried.

gruhsy

Thanks for the info.
I have installed them in the control arms. Both arms are in excellent condition and were undercoated so well protected.
Will check them out when I finally start driving the car this up coming spring.

Jason