Front knuckle ball joint replacement. Whats the real story?

[A.S. Motorsport]

i'm getting a pair of bare hubs to recondition, but i'm in England, so sourcing ball joints will be easier than sending uprights back and forth across the atlantic!

I should have a pair still in stock and a reconditioned knuckle

 

[britlude]

i have 2 bare uprights now... what are your prices?

 

[A.S. Motorsport]

you've got pm

 

[NSXBenny]

you've got pm

Can u give me your price as well

 

[scammy]

We did some testing and our design worked well. They have about 2.5 time the lateral load strength as the OEM ones. We originally designed the outer part of the ball joint from Titanium. Because of the difference in thermal expansion from the aluminum to the titanium there was some added stress on the control arm bore. We are looking at possibly undersizing the outer housing by ~.001" and installing them from a frozen state (putting them in your freezer overnight). This will allow the part to slide in easily and when it comes back to operating temp. the fit is the same as the OEM ones. Also, we are now testing the joint housing in aluminum and stainless steel and making some geometry corrections for lowered cars.

Unfortunately I have not been able to spend as much time as I would like on this project. Like everything else, It will take some time to get it perfect.

Hi Jeff
Any updates on this from 2yrs ago I know you have been working on some suspension parts, I have started to develop just a little bit of play in my lower front ball joints so am looking at options

 

[Jeff@Carbon6]

Yes. We have a few sets that we are prototyping/testing now. We hope to have final production pieces this fall.

 

[scammy]

Yes. We have a few sets that we are prototyping/testing now. We hope to have final production pieces this fall.

cool I will be waiting

 

[Brendan]

Hello, any update on what ball joint will fit? Im in the process of changing mine.

Cheers

 

[Jeff@Carbon6]

Hello, any update on what ball joint will fit? Im in the process of changing mine.

Cheers

Many people (including me) have scoured the oem and aftermarket lists for an exact fit, with no luck. We did contract out to an off-shore manufacturer to price out making direct oem replacements but once we looked at the oem design we felt we could do better.. That was the reason we decided to build our own. In the process we feel we build a much better overall part. By getting rid of the oem style plastic liner ball joint and replacing it will a very high strength all metal design... you should get much more wear and tear out of them. We are testing no less than 7 different meal alloys in our joints to find the best options. We are down to final pre-production pieces and hope to have the final production in our schedule soon.

 

[Bone]

I have been waiting for updates on this. I dropped by autozone yesterday and asked for ball joints. To my supprise, they had them for 199.

- - - Updated - - -

http://www.autozone.com/suspension-steering-tire-and-wheel/ball-joint-lower/rare-parts-ball-joint-lower/acura/nsx/1991/6-cylinders-3-0l-fi-dohc/572549_335351_5770_2940/

 

[mochanges]

I have been waiting for updates on this. I dropped by autozone yesterday and asked for ball joints. To my supprise, they had them for 199.

- - - Updated - - -

http://www.autozone.com/suspension-...linders-3-0l-fi-dohc/572549_335351_5770_2940/

Whoa, I even see they offer the control arm ball joint. Interesting, I've never heard of "Rare Parts" before.

 

[Brendan]

PM sent Cheers Jeff. Just wondering when they will be available and at what cost?

 

[britlude]

I have been waiting for updates on this. I dropped by autozone yesterday and asked for ball joints. To my supprise, they had them for 199.

- - - Updated - - -

http://www.autozone.com/suspension-...linders-3-0l-fi-dohc/572549_335351_5770_2940/

very interesting....

 

[mochanges]

Found the rare parts website, they have more than is listed: http://shop.rareparts.com/smtp/shop...product=0040|SUSPENSION, SPRINGS & COMPONENTS

 

[britlude]

rare parts are on Amazon too.... just bought front upper and lower joints.....

i'll let you know how i get on!

 

[Bone]

Are the front upper, lower, rear upper and lower all the same size?

 

[britlude]

no, that would be far too easy... add to that, the front upper and lower are both in the knuckle, rear lower is in the knuckle, rear upper is on the top arm

 

[boca rat]

I have some used pieces I will be listing shortly in the classifieds.

 

[britlude]

the front top and bottom ball joints arrived today, look like they should do the trick!!!

the two different joints


and each in turn with a used one i took from a spare knuckle...




came from Amazon, and were cheaper than Rare Parts direct. they do the rear bottom ball joints and refurb the top wishbone fitting a new joint into your top wishbone...

 

[mochanges]

the front top and bottom ball joints arrived today, look like they should do the trick!!!

the two different joints


They are in Stockton, not very far from me. That's good to know.

 

[TonySeagle]

How did they fit?

 

[britlude]

not fitted yet, i'll probably do them over the christmas break, as i use my NSX every day!

 

[Jhillen86]

wow thats great news since i live in Holland and need to do alot of ball joints as well... subscribed!

 

[Jeff@Carbon6]

Our first batch of our custom developed ball joints have been sent out for special coatings. I will be doing a write up on them including all our testing and development once we have the finished parts. I know this has been a long time coming but needed to do our due diligence to make sure they were strong and safe. I think once everyone sees our finished product(s) they will see they were worth the wait.

 

[scammy]

Excellent news, looking forward to these