Should the Ball Joint socket fit loose?

[SCOTT EVIL]

Happy Holiday All ! During Christmas I will be renewing all my front suspension.

The strange thing is, the new upper ball joint I got from NAPA is 1.8 inches across flat to flat, but two sockets I have for the A body are 1.9 plus.
This makes the socket fit very loose on the ball joint and I just am not used to that. I would expect it to fit tight like any other socket on a plain bolt or nut.

I am worried that with alot of pressure to unscrew it from the a arm, that the socket will be easy to slip off and that means a trip to the hospital for stiches. ( with my luck )

So, is the loose fit socket normal for the A body tools? I know there is another ball joint size of 2 plus inches, but my joints are the small ones.

 

[BlackBrick]

Scott, what year is the car? Have you done a dry fit on the parts to make sure you got the right ball joints?

If you have a pre 72 with the smaller ball joints, you need the smaller socket. Sounds like you got the 73+ size one.

americanmuscle.biz has both of the sockets and their dimensions.

72 and earlier have the 1.8 while 73 have the 1.9 ball joints.