Lower ball joint failure

[twblanset]

About six years ago there were a rash of lower ball joint failures. Are the new ones now still failing like they used to?
One of mine failed about 6 months after I replaced both. I bought them from a good vendor and they came installed on new lower control arms. My car sat for about five years since then and I got it going again recently and I was thinking of replacing them just as a precaution. I haven't checked them yet but I have to do some other work on the front end and it would be easy to replace them.
Is anyone having failures like they used to?
Are there some vendors to avoid?
Are there high performance ones that are more rugged available?
Any help would be appreciated.
Todd

[manoa matt]

Either the problem ball joints have been worked through the system and are no longer an issue, or failures are not reported.

TRW and MOOG are reptuable manufacturers for suspension joints.

[vandor]

I don't remember failing balljoints anytime in the last 10 years. The one I remember was individual ball joints, not ones that came on a-arms. Anyways, there is only one Italian manufacturer of a-arms, Vema. Their name is stamped on the a-arm along with the date of manufacture.

[BEEK]

there was a run or 2 from italian vendors that were sealed and never greased. i installed many of them in the late 1990's and had problems with them, i dont remember the manufacturer but i think i remember a panda on the box. but greasing them will fix the problem, but there was no grease nipple. i have not seen the new control arms in the last few years. i still rebuild my own. i just source parts that are not"sealed for life" and ultimatly short term death. i prefer ones with zerk fittings

[vandor]

.... i remember a panda on the box. ...

I'm pretty sure that is OCAP brand.

[124spiderman]

A note worth mentioning is that some failures were due to ball joints being incorrectly installed.
I've heard of cases where the lowers were mistakingly replaced with the upper. This is due to the fact that the upper and lower have the same 3 bolt configuration and could be interchangable.
Internally they are completely differnt. The bottoms had a larger base (protuding approx 1 inch) whereas the uppers had a smaller rounded dome-style top.
WARNING: YOU SHOULD NOT USE THE UPPER BJ AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR A LOWER BJ. It can fail with dire consequences. You can however use the lower to substitute an upper but why would you when they are readily available.

[rodman]

I saw this but was not sure if they were any good ???

http://www.vickauto.com/newstore/index. ... ts_id=3566

http://www.vickauto.com/newstore/index. ... e&pID=3566]
Price: $199.99
Model: 65-5397

Why hassle with pressing in bushings and mounting ball joints when you can have it done right for you?

Prima 1 - Set of all 4 brand new Fiat 124 Control arms. These Aftermarket A-arms come with the bolts, ball-joints, and bushings installed.

The lower ball-joints have a threaded hole in the bottom to accept a grease fitting it comes with a plug for this hole. The grease fitting is NOT included, these are available at most local parts stores. If you choose to not use this as a grease fitting you can leave the small bolt in place.

The shock support on the lower arms requires cutting the lower mounting sleeve on your front shocks down in width. This does not effect the shock durability or handling, and takes about 10 minutes to accomplish with simple tools. The reinforced shock mount rides about 1" higher than original, which may cause shock issues on extremely lowered cars.
Fits Fiat 124s from 1968-85.

[4uall]

I had purchased these however, I was unaware of "The shock support on the lower arms requires cutting the lower mounting sleeve on your front shocks down in width. This does not effect the shock durability or handling, and takes about 10 minutes to accomplish with simple tools." Could someone elaborate or show pics of what they mean?

[vandor]

This was discussed in a thread a few months ago. This is what my colleague Ramzi wrote:

"In the spirit of full disclosure.... Several years ago, both Csaba and I looked at the Lada A-arm for use on the 124 Spiders. We determined that the number of modifications, adjustments & work arounds were not worth the risk to safety. I have seen the direct result of a suspension failure at speed on a major freeway... it's not pretty and certainly not worth saving a few dollars."

Also, the balljoints have a different boltpattern, so when they wear out, good luck finding replacements.

My favorite quote: "The sour taste of low quality remains long after the sweetness of a good price is forgotten"

We have a-arms on the way from Italy, and this new batch will have the same OEM grade bushings that we sell as the individual bushings.

[4uall]

Sooooooo now I am more confused Are you saying that I bought Lada Arms that are NOT compatible? If this is the case I will be looking for a full refund (shipping as well), otherwise see my previous question. I was hoping to install the drivers side this weekend

[rodman]

This was discussed in a thread a few months ago. This is what my colleague Ramzi wrote:

"In the spirit of full disclosure.... Several years ago, both Csaba and I looked at the Lada A-arm for use on the 124 Spiders. We determined that the number of modifications, adjustments & work arounds were not worth the risk to safety. I have seen the direct result of a suspension failure at speed on a major freeway... it's not pretty and certainly not worth saving a few dollars."

Also, the balljoints have a different boltpattern, so when they wear out, good luck finding replacements.

My favorite quote: "The sour taste of low quality remains long after the sweetness of a good price is forgotten"

We have a-arms on the way from Italy, and this new batch will have the same OEM grade bushings that we sell as the individual bushings.

Thanks let me know when they come in so I can order them.

[vandor]

That depends on one's definition of 'compatible'. The arms are not made for a Fiat 124, and they are different enough that I would not use them if there are proper ones available.
It seems the shock mount is narrower than on a Fiat, so the lower mounting sleeve on Fiat shocks is too wide and needs to be ground down.

[4uall]

SOB! Guess I will find out when I get home if I am going to start looking at their return policy

I may be fucked either way as the shipping was $100 and it looks like I may in fact just keep losing money if returned. I will try to make these work with safety as the priority. If not, I will order the correct parts ( I was obviously mis-lead when I purchased these).

ALL OTHER RETURNS -- As cited above, specifying the part that will work on your specific car can be confusing. As the largest importer and distributor of parts for Italian car parts in North America, we have thousands of items on our shelves and with any operation we will occasionally pull a part from the wrong shelf. Or a part number may be incorrectly entered on paper work by VAS staff or the purchaser.

Regardless of cause, call for a Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) number. Return the item in re-sellable condition within 30 days, along with a copy of your invoice, for a refund or exchange on the part.

As with most mail order businesses, we do not pay the shipping cost to have items returned. We reserve the right to charge a fee for returned items.

[4uall]

tried to order the correct set through you guys (using the awesome 10% code) http://www.autoricambi.us/ and got this

A Problem Has Occurred
Please See Below For Details:

Back Ordered Item
This item is currently on back order. Please contact us for availability - Info@AutoRicambi.us.

Auto Ricambi, LLC
6707 Colleyville Blvd.
Colleyville, Texas 76034
Contact Us
All Rights Reserved. Copyright ©Auto Ricambi LLC.
Design by DwD

[focodave]

I bought all of my control arms from IAP, and I am EXTREMELY pleased with them.
Perfect fit, perfect everything -- except there are no grease fittings on the ball joints.