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ok, so where can ball joints be found? has anyone tried to use something esle? its hard to believe that with all the cars out there that another type cant be substituted with a little tinkering.

i know ray has a way of making them last forever if you can find another set. but what if you cant?

has anyone else tried anything. what works and doesnt?

neil

Ther is a method i amexperimenting with that requires some macine work. It will use the ball joint drom a dodge truck...whick is awesome hugely stiff. It has a flange and a snap ring at the top. A 3 corner ring will have to be machined from something strong to bolt it up. A new taper will have to be bored in the control arm...which should not be a problem as the pin on the dodge is about 1mm thicker. It will look strange, but should be stronger than stock. There are ball joints out there ...here and there...but are rare. The superbeetle balljoint can be made to fit with about as much machine work as the experiment above...but would be very weak. No nothing else that I have seen is remotely similar to these joints. Ray

so is there any way to rebuild a stock ball joint?

where can i find replacements? ive called around to local parts store. and noone has them.

so when will your experiment be done. and if it works do you think you can sell them to us meager underlings? lol.

thanks neil

Hi - I found ball joints on ebay and I see them pop up from time to time. I have two sets of new ones and I have two type fours. Do you need them now?

i dont need them quite yet. i havent bought the car. but will soon possibly. going tomorrow to take another look more closely now that i have a little more knowledge.

im sure i will need them at some point. i might gt in touch with you then. ill keep my eye out for some and make a few moe calls. i have never seen a typr 4 here in south alabama. so hhopefully i can find a few parts.

thanks

neil

ok tried everyone around here. no luck.

ray when will you be finished with the dodge idea?

arent the SB ball joints three sided like the 411? or did i see it wrong? is there any good site to see and compare the differences?

i also saw a pic of a transporter ball joint. top i think. it was three sided but only two bolts?

am i way off track with this?

neil

Don't bother with the SB ball joints. Look if you will...but they are way smalland totally differnt and mount offset anyway. The Dodge ball joint is low on my list of priorities right now. I just have too many other things to do. Buy those ball joints wether you want the car or not. You can always sell them later. Better than not having them. If you buy a car with bad ball joints...and can't get something...then the car will never roll again.

A way to rebuild the joints? yes and no. There are two differnt types. The older ones, on the inside ...have a cap that is swaged in. They look just like the top of a tie rod end. If the joint is not rusted...or has not been run dry and ground up....the cap could be cutout...leaving the rim/edge that was crimped....and the joint cleabed out. The nylon packing on top of the ball would have to be replaced. That should not be too hard, wut will have to be machined from nylon or delrin. The spring will have t be replaced...no problem....them a stiff, thick flat washer for a cap..held in under he original rim with a stiff snap ring could complete it.

The second version had the inside as a one piece casting. The outside lips were generally machine swaged over and around the pin/ball/spring/cp assembly. Not sure anything can help that one. Working on this. Collect those joints while you can. Even good non rusted non ploppy ones from the junkyard...with bad boots (which can be replaced)...are to be had. Ray

Kirt

I need some now how much you want for a set?

e-mail me

alsehendo34@hotmail.com



Ray

Did you get my e-mail can you sell me a center link rebuild kit?

Yes production of it is really quick and easy...but I am out of town right now ..and I have to see how quick I can get into the machine shop. Ray

I have bought a set of ball joints some months ago via eBay from a shop in the US. Here is the email address of the guy I had contact with to organise payment and shipment:saybrook@cinti.net. There is also a website listed: http://www.importautopart.com. They appear on eBay every now and then, so, they may have some pairs in stock.
Jan Peter