Front lower ball joints

[vangremlin]

Kennedy American shows them as available.  Also, I just picked up some off eBay (from someone who had bought them from Kennedy American) so keep an eye out on there also.  Good luck!

[Canoe]

Do we have to start thinking about how to rebuild or rehab a lower ball joint?

We have the mounting plate from the old lower ball joint. As an easy fix, can we mount a ball joint off something else to that plate? 
Needs a lot of clearance due to the half-shaft CV going into the hub right above it.
As a starting point, is there a stud that matches the Eagle lower?

An all-steel - no plastic insert - ball joint should be weldable?

[Taylor]

Rockauto has lowers ball joints for a 1975 Hornet, I would think they are the same. I haven’t been able to confirm this. I do know the Delphi (TC6390) part number for the upper ball joint is the same as a 1985 Eagle

[Canoe]

Rockauto has lowers ball joints for a 1975 Hornet, I would think they are the same. I haven’t been able to confirm this. ...

The photos of that I've found for those show a different bolt pattern and a tapered plate instead of a straight & square plate. But, it might be a good match for the same size shaft, possibly the ball too.

Some of the Jeep lowers look interesting. Might be able to weld to our lower plate, then bolt into the lower control arm like a stock part. May even be able to regrease, when the half-shaft is taken out first. I have a new spare Eagle lower, Moog K3153 (and upper, K3082), that I could take to a parts store to compare for a match to the shaft and centre of ball.

[MIPS]

You wouldn’t happen to have found a part number with those?
Also, I believe espo springs n things can get upper and lower ball joints.

One of them was factory and has no identifying marks on it.
The other was an aftermarket bolt-in and also has no identifying marks other than 32(0? 9?) 5 stamped on the plate.

By the way if anyone asks how hard it is to dismantle an old ball joint and have it like I did on the last page I put a video up on the process...but only discovered near the end of filming that it wasn't going to work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7rUH07k8bA

Question: If a tapered sleeve was spun on a lathe to increase the diameter so it did fit in the knuckle correctly, would an upper even be able to handle the weight of the car for any extended period of time or are uppers as strong as lowers?

Edited:

Kennedy American shows them as available.  Also, I just picked up some off eBay (from someone who had bought them from Kennedy American) so keep an eye out on there also.  Good luck!

Problem is that after CAD conversion, $119USD is $156CAD and we still have not factored in shipping, so it's not much cheaper. :/

[Canoe]

...
By the way if anyone asks how hard it is to dismantle an old ball joint and have it like I did on the last page I put a video up on the process...but only discovered near the end of filming that it wasn't going to work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7rUH07k8bA...

Now the question is, is the old/stock lower ball the same size ball as the ball in a new upper?
As in, can you reassemble the lower using the nylon socket off a new upper?
If the lower ball fits the nylon, but the nylon's outer dimensions are too large, can the nylon socket's outside be trimmed down?
If the lower ball had to be refurbished, one could remove all rust with vaporust, but could you repair any pits in the ball:
- with JB-Weld?
- by welding the pits and machining the ball back to original size?

And easier,
Is there a different upper or lower off _______ vehicle, that fits the lower taper?
Is there one with the right taper that fits the lower plate like that upper did?
One with the low-profile greasing port?

[MIPS]

I would not under any circumstances attempt to resurface and reassemble an already worn out ball joint. Hacking the drivetrain and steering like that is far too dangerous if it fails.

My recommendation is either the tapered shaft insert, or finding a replacement that we can adapt to the plate without impacting the integrity of the joint.

[Run-AMC]

I was able to source a set.

In early July of this year, I placed an order for 2 Rare Parts #10492, AMC Eagle Lower Ball Joints from Autozone. They were approximately $80 each. I have not installed them, but they look terrific and come with all attachment hardware.

Here is the link:
https://www.autozone.com/suspension-steering-tire-and-wheel/ball-joint-lower&filterByKeyWord=rare+parts+10492&fromString=search&isIgnoreVehicle=false

[MIPS]

Well at considerable expense (parcel forwarding AND paying $62 in UPS import brokerage fees....) I got a set of ball joints on the table.
Now for some solid information this Rareparts component, since we don't have any solid details on it. Many pictures beyond this point, sorry.







The actual ball joint is a welded two piece assembly. Upper half is stamped 3170 and the lower half is stamped 3116. It is bolted to the bracket plate which is IDENTICAL to how I cut the bottom out of mine, so that CAN be reused. So if we can reuse our existing brackets with a bit of one-time machining the key is to find the joint. Here's some precision measurements that might help anyone willing to spend a while going through parts catalogs for something that's a close fit.

[B.rad256]

i recently replaced both upper and lower ball joints on my 83 sx4 and i purchased them from AMClives.com. I bought them as a kit but i think you can buy them individually if you just want the lowers. Obivously though it will be expensive either way.

[MIPS]

Update as of December 6 2023 (just over three years since they were installed) both lower assemblies require replacement again. The failure is presumed to be excessive side-loading wear from improperly installed lower control arm bushings and not due to lack of lubrication, abuse or quality issues. Will report back once they are removed from the vehicle and inspected.

[Evenprime]

Hey MIPS, what the verdict?
Did you end up replacing them again?
Lessons learned? Etc?

I am most likely going down this rabbit hole soon myself so most likely need to order from rareparts are well and pray they still make them.

Cheers

[djm3452004]

Hey MIPS, what the verdict?
Did you end up replacing them again?
Lessons learned? Etc?

I am most likely going down this rabbit hole soon myself so most likely need to order from rareparts are well and pray they still make them.

Cheers

RareParts is currently out of stock of the Eagle lower ball joint (their P/N 10492), but they're listing for $191.75/piece for when they are presumably back in stock.  I have an extra NOS pair for sale and have had them listed here for some time with no one biting.

https://forums.amceaglesden.com/index.php?topic=47370.0


https://www.rareparts.com/RP10492A-10492-Ball-Joint


Good luck in your search --

David

[MIPS]

I did indeed have to change them again. Even with annual greasing and no "heavy" dirt road use they began to develop play.

FYI, read the fine print, these have a lifetime warranty however all warranty claims MUST be honored through whoever you purchased them from and YOU must be the name on the receipt. My first set I bounced through Birdman and as a result they could not honor the warranty without me shipping them back to him first.

The two new lower ball joints, after shipping, taxes and customs came to $700cad, not including the time to install them.

[EagleSX4_5Speed]

I also got a set of the RareParts ball joints. I decided that they just used a Moog upper joint (# k3082) with a pressed on sleeve to adapt it to the larger bore of the lower ball joint. It is the same taper just bigger. Along with the adapter plate. If you could make an adapter plate and find the correct taper adapter it could be cheap to replace the lower ball joints.