Question about new ball joints...

[Lord Stanley]

I just picked up the $105 set of four bolt LCAs off of eBay... Today I was looking them over, and I noticed on one LCA I could not move the ball joint at all, but on the other one the ball joint moved when I applied a fair amount of pressure (I am not overly strong)... So, are both of these conditions normal for a new ball joint, or is one defective? Thanks!

 

[SHOgoFast]

How much is a fair amount? They should be quite firm if new. I've had to tap them with a hammer to 'break' them loose in the past. Once nudged they move around more freely, but still require a quite a bit of force.

 

[Lord Stanley]

Okay, I tapped the stuck one lightly with a hammer and in "broke" free... It still requires a great deal of force to get it to move...

Now, the other one... When to try to jiggle it the joint will not move, but once you apply about the force of a thumb it will move... You can feel resistance when moving it though, but not much compared to the one that I had to "break" free...

 

[95_Mystique]

thats alright, they're supposed to be tight. What brand did you get?

 

[Lord Stanley]

thats alright, they're supposed to be tight.

So the one that I can move with pressure from my thumb is "tight"?

What brand did you get?

I am not sure... Fuz said in a different thread that his Dormans had a stiff rubber boot on the ball joints, but mine have more of an OEM feel... Also, mine do not have any white stamping on them like the Dormans appear to do... I will get pictures up here later this week to see if anyone else can identify them...

 

[montrese04]

yes please do that. I'm waiting for some extra change to come my way and would like to know WHICH BRAND OF BALL JOINT SHOULD I BUY?

 

[Lord Stanley]

Here is one... Who is going to guess? :laugh:

 

[zorrex]

In the pics on ebay they look like Dorman. The ones you got...not so sure.