Help!! Balljoint pulled out of control arm.

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BrianT

BrianT

Here we go again...
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My buddy who is helping me get my brakes sorted out just sent me this picture.

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Some time between the alignment shop and now, the ball joint has pulled out of the upper control arm. These are all brand new parts that were pre-assembled by Master Power, but are long out of warranty because of time they sat on a shelf. They have less than 50 miles on them.

Is this savable or do I need to buy a new control arm and balljoint. I've heard of people tack welding these in place, but would it hold?!?
 
i have seen many tack welded and worked untill the ball joint wore out screw it back in and tack it good run it untill you get a new c.a jmo for wat its worth
 
Drove one for years after I replaced balljoint, new one spun in with no grip... A friend put 4 half inch beads on it...good as new!
 
Thanks guys, you just made my night!! My buddy spent the evening pulling the control arm off and is bringing it to work tomorrow. We will snug it up as best possible and then another co-worker will take it back to his shop and weld it in good. Then back to work to realign it.

I'll get this thing back on the road yet!!
 
I had the same problem with my old UCA.I put a new BJ in it and tacked it at 4 corners.I could always grind the tacs to replace the BJ.You,ll have a harder time if you weld solid.Just 2 cents
 
cool it between tacks there is plastic in them. It wasn't threaded in properly. It went in cross threaded and tightened straight. been there myself and saw the results like yours first hand . After I threaded it in crossed.
 
Tack welding is the factory fix for a worn out arm. I'd be on the hunt for a replacement for the next time, though.
 
Oldmanmopar said:
cool it between tacks there is plastic in them. It wasn't threaded in properly. It went in cross threaded and tightened straight. been there myself and saw the results like yours first hand . After I threaded it in crossed.
Click to expand...
Either that or someone pressed it in/out......if I've seen that once, I've seen that......
 
This is what greeted me when I got to work this morning.

IMG_20120404_082706.jpg


We cleaned up pretty good with a 3M buffer pad and had my other buddy the welder look at. He said, no problem. He took it home today and is bringing it back tomorrow. I bought a new caliper hold down at Autozone on the way home. It should go back together this weekend, and then back to work to align it...again.
 
I like to do mine "a little bit more than tacked" if that makes sense. Enough of a bead to where I KNOW the sumbitch'll hold and not so much that it's impossible to remove......maybe a pain in the ***, but not impossible. I mean....last thing you want is it comin out drivin down the road. I usually go like 1 solid inch 180* apart. Kinda tough to grind through, true enough, but it ain't goin nowhere.
 
I told him to weld them in good without over heating either piece. I don't intend to replace this ball joint ever again.
 
Yes, it probably is. Unless someone else is re-popping these. They don't say specifically made in the USA anywhere that I could find on their website.

Master PowerBrakes
 
Not the prettiest welds, but the price was right, and he said he got good penetration. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

IMG_20120405_080111.jpg
 
Are you using A-body spindles or Aspen/Diplomat spindles. There was some concern brought up by an engineer about the geometry of the newer arm was slightly different from the A-body spindle that could cause ball joint pivot binding at full extension drop angles and full travel up (crushing the jounce bumper). This could explain the condition you have.
 
Ditto the query on the use of FMJ spindles, and...

The factory had fit issues, too. Their solution was a collar that went on the ball joint after it was threaded in. My control arms had them and I remember it being a ***** to get them off. I did not put them back on because I wasn't sure what they were and thought they might be aftermarket trash, but Rick Ehrenberg mentioned them in an issue of Mopar Action recently.

I'm going to look at my control arms in short order though!
 
The question about the taller F-body spindles has been put to rest a long time ago to the satisfaction of EVERYBODY who has used them, including us.

As for foreign control arms...don't get me started...
 
To the best of my knowledge, these are A body control arms and spindles. Again, I have no idea where Master Power gets their control arms.
 
All this talk about Bj's was gettin me excited until i figured out what you were talkin about...

Oh, I agree to go with more than a "tack" on the weld.
 
Hi BrianT,Nice looking Dart,Hate to see it become a low rider up front....I would look for another control arm at a local automotive market. Just my 2 cents..
 
Glad that happened now rather than on the road later. Just looking at the parts, it appears that both the BJ and zerk fitting were cross threaded. At some point someone used a BFH on the arm and nocked the BJ socket out-of-round. When the BJ and zerk are correctly threaded, they will fit flush with the control arm and BJ respectively.
 
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