After market or custom upper ball joint

[leftynridge]

Hey guys I just dropped my front subframe today and I am getting it prepped to be sent to the powder coater. While taking the upper a-arms off I discovered that the boots were torn. I realized that the upper a-arms would have to be replaced because the ball joints are not sold separately. My question is do you guys know of any one that has went with a threaded in ball joint set up and if so where could I get the ball joints. Pros' Con's to this?

Also I saw a thread that talked about chemical that helps soften the old bushings in the lower control arms and subframes to make it easier to get them out but I can't seem to find the thread. Do you guys know what this stuff is called to help with this process?

 

[bioskyline]

dont know of any aftermarket arms no.

as for getting the bushing out, i burn mine out with a torch, after a while they fall out, so do this outside so you dont set your house on fire

 

[leftynridge]

Not looking for new arms. Wanted to see if there any ball joints that people have used from other cars to either thread them in or press in. Or even just a custom set up.


Lol. Yeah don't wanna burn the house down the fiance would kill me. Actually I take that back she might be ok with it if my Supra gets burnt to a crisp along with it. She hates that I spend all my time on my car.

 

[bioskyline]

oh my bad, didnt read it right.

anyways vid on removing bushings. once enough rubber has been burnt off the metal sleeve will fall out with whats left of the rubber. then just clean with a wire wheel to get the rest of the melted rubber out. for steel just let it burn, for the aluminum ones get a shop to press them out, as the torch can melt aluminum

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbFvp-bbmQM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tvhEEG0fPs&feature=related

 

[leftynridge]

oh my bad, didnt read it right.

anyways vid on removing bushings. once enough rubber has been burnt off the metal sleeve will fall out with whats left of the rubber. then just clean with a wire wheel to get the rest of the melted rubber out. for steel just let it burn, for the aluminum ones get a shop to press them out, as the torch can melt aluminum

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbFvp-bbmQM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tvhEEG0fPs&feature=related

Thats one hell of a torch

 

[bioskyline]

not overly, just a propane powered tiger torch.

 

[leftynridge]

Hey guys I'm trying to find out a solution to replacing my upper ball joints other than buying a brand new control arm. The ball joint is in over all good shape other then the boot is torn. Has anyone ever used a universal polyurethane boot to replace the old one. Energy suspension sales these and I thought it could be a possibility. Here is a link to the boots from energy. I think part number 13025 seems to be pretty close to the dimensions of the boots that are on already.

http://www.energysuspensionparts.com/Energy-Suspension-Universal-Dust-Boots.asp

 

[IJ.]

Maybe find a couple of cheap aftermarket BJ's the right size and use their boots?

Never seen any aftermarket stuff to Mk3 Uppers only new arms from Toyota due to the design, a thing to consider is they're forged heat treated aluminium so you need to be VERY careful if burning out the old Bushings to NOT go over 400c....

I cut the old bushes out using a hole saw then quickly heat the remainder of the bush to loosen it and do a final clean up with a brake hone.

 

[leftynridge]

Well I think that I will probably just paint the upper control arms vs. powder coat them. Finding a different ball joint to have fitted might end up being more then what its worth to just have them powder coated. Besides the joints are in good condition its just the boots are torn. Hey IJ have you ever used energy's ploy dust boots for the upper ball joints. I figured since the weight is mainly on the lower and not so much the upper it could be a possible fix.

 

[IJ.]

Nope never used them, got a link/pic?

A good "indicator" to heat on Al is rub some soap on the Al near where you're heating, if the soap turns black it's TOO HOT and is now T0 (annealed)

 

[leftynridge]

Here is the link. Based on my measurement of the boot part number 13025 is pretty close.

http://www.energysuspensionparts.com...Dust-Boots.asp

Thanks for the tip. Did not know that it was heat treated alum or about the soap trick.

 

[IJ.]

linky no worky

 

[leftynridge]

http://www.energysuspensionparts.com/Energy-Suspension-Universal-Dust-Boots.asp

Ok it should work now

 

[IJ.]

Maybe a smear of silicone around the big end when fitting, should work fine!

 

[leftynridge]

Well I think Monday I'm going to go ahead and place in order with them. Give it a shot and if all goes well I will post the results. It could be a possible solution for people that just need a new boot vs. having to replace the whole control arm.

 

[IJ.]

Very rare for upper joints to wear out, ripped boots on the other hand are very common and lead to joint failure so you might have hit on a winner

 

[Poodles]

Several people have had the stock ball joint removed and had the UCA machined to fit a replacable one, but it ended up costing more than replacing the entire arm.

 

[leftynridge]

Yeah that is the conclusion that I was coming to as well, which is why I was looking into other alternatives. Since the joint itself was fine but the boot was torn I figured I would give the poly boot from energy suspension a shot. If it works I will be sharing the details with the community.

 

[disturbed1]

u can get JIC aftermarket upper arms but they pretty damn rare these days - do pop up on yahoo japan for time to time... (ive bought two sets of them so far)


http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/143540161

replacement ball joints (think they fit)

http://page18.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/w44442120

eitherway - a pretty expensive exercise

 

[supraguy@aol]

$85 each on Ebay right now(new), not too bad, and free shipping.
But I wouldn't paint the uppers, anyway. The forged aluminum looks pretty pimp, IMO.