Couple thoughts on upper ball joints ...what do you think?

[Jeepwalker]

I supposed this has been discussed ad-nauseam in the past.

1) What I noticed on my failed upper ball joints is the 'root cause' of b/j failure seems to be the grease dried up (first), then wore out the plastic bushing. What have you guys noticed?

2) I drilled out my old one. The steel cap is about 1/8" thick. Has anyone tried to drill a small hole slightly off-center (not directly on top the main ball pressure zone) to grease with a needle grease tip? For those who've cut one apart, where would be the 'best' location to drill a tiny 1/16" hole? (not one large enough for a zerk)

3) Given that these upper control arms are pretty easy to change anyway, maybe it's not even worth trying to grease up ....and better to replace after 75k or whatever life ya get?

4) I bought GM control arms, but I'm wondering what the value is buying the more expensive GM control arms compared to the cheaper imports that are about 1/2 price? What have you noticed? The b/j is basically a nylon cup and hardened stud pressed in, then capped. Doesn't seem to be the level of craftsmanship or metalurgy as old-style ball joints. The b/j will likely wear out faster than the bushings ever will. What have you guys found, do the less expensive aftermarket control arms ball joints seem to last about the same as the GM/AC Delco's? Anyone make an improved upper control arm/bj?

Like to hear your ideas..

Cheers!

 

[amrg]

I had replaced the control arms on the wifes H3 with aftermarket unit since it sees lower mileage and no offroad. A year and 10K miles later, the alignment center refused to do an alignment due to worn out ball joints on it!
My H3 has the ac delco units, dozen offroad trip and they were still great!

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

 

[4speedfunk]

I’ve drilled them...the cap is alum (not steel). Use a self-tapping Zirk...goes right in with no drama. Make sure you only drill as deep as you need to.
As for the performance of this mod? I have no idea. It was a customer’s truck and it got totaled in an accident not long after installing the grease fittings. So I don’t have any long term results.

 

[Jeepwalker]

4SpeedFunk:

After you drilled through the AL cap, was there plastic immediately beneath the aluminum, or was there an air gap between the aluminum and plastic ball joint? I'm trying to figure out how to keep shavings from getting inside. But if there was plastic immediately beneath the aluminum, then shavings shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks!!

 

[scoreh3]

To help control shavings dip your drill bit in grease. The grease will keep the shavings stuck to the bit.

 

[alrock]

I haven't had an upper ball joint fail in the H3. I've worn out the bushings before any ball joint failures. I have a Dorman UCA and it has lasted but others have not had as good of luck.

 

[4speedfunk]

Score beat me to it...use a blob of grease to capture the shavings. I have no idea what’s inside or even if the mod will allow proper injection of the grease.
Greasable ball joints are probably designed (internally) to accept and distribute the grease to the ball. Not sure if a sealed joint has the same ability but, I figured adding a zirk wouldn’t hurt. Squeeze some in there and hope it gets to where it needs to.

 

[Jeepwalker]

Ok thanks for the input.

It's those one or two inner metal flakes which hold onto the backside of the metal at the moment of drilling through that worry me. Just two aluminum flakes could nicely score the plastic cup inside. If it were a hardened steel cup I wouldn't be concerned.

I did a number of tests drilling through 1/8" aluminum bar stock with different bits and sizes to see if I could puncture through w/o producing a final flake or swarf on the inside. I couldn't. I think a good strategy would be to drill close to the point of protrusion, then switch over to a small carbide tip. I tried that but my little carbide bits aren't that great, and aluminum would load them up. I don't have a tiny end-mill bit that small. If I knew there was plastic directly on the other side, that would prevent chips from being produced that would be nice. Does anyone know of a cut-away? THe plastic in mine are too far gone to be of any help.

I'm just going to leave them be for now. What would help a lot would be, in 10k miles or so, pull off the upper joint and roll it through it's range to spread new grease around. Or, if a guy wanted to take things further at some point, remove the boot and get some grease at the ball and work it into the cup. The problem with most ball joints is they sit and roll in the same area and grease gets worked out.

 

[amrg]

How much are you expecting to do on original uca? I did somewhere in the range of 80K and I used to take my truck to fast desert stuff!

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

 

[Jeepwalker]

How much are you expecting to do on original uca?

I don't know. At least 80k or more would be nice. Right now they're off the vehicle. If I knew I could drill the hole w/o getting swarf inside I'd zerk them. But probbably leave as is.

Your desert driving probably 'helped' add life to the ball joints. Increased articulation should more effectively spread lube around.

 

[Traxx]

This is a solution in search of a problem. The oem arms routinely last to 80-100k, on a mid heavy vehicle that is an acceptable service life.

 

[amrg]

Yes but the frequency of the bumps you get doing 70/80 mph in the desert does have a big impact on life expectency of the ball joints. So its a tradeoff

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

 

[Jeepwalker]

This is a solution in search of a problem. The oem arms routinely last to 80-100k, on a mid heavy vehicle that is an acceptable service life.

I don't disagree.
But for the heck of it, I wanted to pick yer all brains, see how others have approached things. By the time I get another 80 to 100k on this rig, ball joints will be the least of my worries :giggle: But OTOH, if it WERE plastic against the backside of the aluminum cap, no chips would be produced and greasing should definitely extend b/j life ...or help guarantee closer to that 100k mileage mark, or beyond.

Cheers!

 

[Traxx]

I would imagine running through the desert hitting bumps at 70 or 80mph wasn't exactly what they had in mind when designing pretty much anything on these rigs lol.

 

[amrg]

Ill be honest with you, the whole suspension has been replaced except for the torsion bars! The steering rods were replaced and so were the front half shafts! The only parts thats still oem is the lower control arm and thats due to the fact the ball joint and bushing are replaceable!
At 110K miles, im thinking of replacing the torsion bars too!

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

 

[atvspeed4]

We just did a repost on our FB page about inside of the ballpoint. It's not worth drilling and taping. We went over this year's ago. You will introduce metal shavings for sure and not really add much life. The OEM arms seem to last us the longest

 

[Jeepwalker]

What went wrong with the 1/2 shafts?

 

[amrg]

The outer CVs started clicking (if it makes sense). I guess too much full throttle dune climbs put them at high angles leading to their failure. Doing 70 mph in the desert also puts me slightly jumping the H3 (with tires aired down not a big deal) but the front suspension drops the full length also putting the cvs at a sharp angle

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

 

[Jeepwalker]

That's a good running gear 'wear test' . You talking about Obisbo?