Michael Harley

I just pulled my hubs so I could replace my front wheel bearings. In the process, I accidentally ripped the boots on the "ball joints" on the control arms. I checked the parts diagram (I cropped the page with my item below), but I don't see them listed as an individual item... can they be rebuilt or replaced?

Thanks in advance.

- Mike

insite

you can't replace the ball joint. the boot comes off if you use a chisel to separate the boot collar from the control arm. you can then replace the boot with a generic one. IMO, this is pretty unnecessary since the ball joint is the dry / nylon race type rather than a wet, steel lubricated piece.

boot or no boot, the thing will squeak like hell someday.

FYI, Vertex Auto has been rebuilding these control arms w/ new ball joints, but you really can't do this without special equipment.

Michael Harley

It's a race car, so I really don't care about the noise... but I don't want it to become contaminated, wear, or become loose.

I can replace the boot with a generic one? What do you mean?

- Mike

insite

you can buy generic rubber boots from pep boys. just find one that looks to be about the right size. push it on & secure it with baling wire.

i use a little pb blaster to lubricate the ball joint internals. regular grease is to thick to get down into the race. the pb blaster usually keeps the squeaking to a minimum.

insite

one more thing: when you DO finally replace the control arms, use the GT3 shimmable versions. this does two things:

1. provides for greater camber adjustment w/ shims
2. allows you to just replace the outer portion of the arm in the future if a ball joint goes south

i'm pretty sure you can use the GT3 arms in BSR, but i think they give you a choice between the GT3 arms or camber plates.

Michael Harley

You can use them in BSR, but you can't use them in BSX... the class I will be running for 2009.

Thanks for the advice - I appreciate it!

- Mike

insite

you should find out if you can use the GT3 arms in BSX without shims. this gains you nothing from a performance standpoint, but allows adjustment later if you change classes. also allows you to buy the cheaper ball joint option.

Michael Harley

I probably can... as long as I don't get more negative camber. If I need to replace the control arms, I'll head that direction.

- Mike

seafeye

Dallison28 was kind enough to send me an old control arm to mess around with. I wanted to see if the rubber could hold up to oven temps while i powder coated the metal.
It did. And then because the ball joint was messed up i decided to take it apart and see if it is replaceable.
There is a small metal clip at the top of the boot. You can easily remove this, then take a chisel and it looks like two washers holding on the boot. Just pound the chisel to break this loose and then the boot will come off. I have been looking on the TRW website to find a replacement but unable.
Now i have no idea how to get the ball joint out properly. I think you can put a nut on the threads and with the arm supported you can press the ball joint out.
The bottom of the ball joint is held in by a steel disc that is pressed in. That is all i can see that holds it in. There shouldn't be any downward movement anyway.
Oh and there is a quite a bit of grease in there.
My neighbour has a '63 corvette. (I know i tell him everyday). And he wants to paint his valve covers. This color was a test.