Factory 73 upper control arms. Removed factory ball joints and putting in new moog k772 made in usa and these do NOT feel tight enough at all. I could've threaded them in with 3/8 ratchet. Does moog just suck now or are the not supposed to be as tight as factory? Should i use something different? Any ideas? Weld em in? Jb weld the threaded surface?
Upper BJ tightness ('moog)
- Thread starter Boduke
- Start date
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Scody21
Just send it
The UCA threads most likely stretched. The ball joint is about 140# torque.. might want to look for new arms.
Mopar Upper Control Arms
Mopar Upper Control Arms
F*! I just bought these.. i cant see how they stretched they had factory stuff in there but im not even close to 140. The dr diff site has none avail when you click the 73-76 box. Guess ill just weld em in if i have to
67Dart273
Well-Known Member
With the forum posts I've seen on the www about Moog I would not be surprised, poor fit. There's been some guys talk about tack welding them in. I'm not advising, one way or other, but some claim "it's OK"
The factory used to weld them in, just a small tack weld on each side. I have removed a lot of them that were welded. I would not have a problem with welding them in, all you need is a 1/2 inch of weld on each side.
Any new ball joint will be loose. Lemmie splain why. When the control arms were factory new, they had no threads. The original ball joints are self threading and cut their own threads, just like aftermarket replacements. So, they will never be as tight as the originals. I would tighten them as tight as I was comfortable with and then buzz 4 spot welds in a cross pattern and call it done.
Absolutely! Not a thing wrong with tac welding them. Just place the welds where you will be able to grind them back out should you need to replace them.
Ain’t always a joint problem. But no sense trashin the A arm when it can be salvaged.
It's hot roddin. Happens everyday.
jos51700
Green Bearing thread connoisseur
You're assuming this is the second set of ball joints those arms have ever seen. They might be on the tenth set if a previous owner had Chinese trash with a lifetime warranty.
Mine torqued up fine but the only reason I didn't weld em was a lack of welder. I'd weld em no matter what.
no way.. these had factory chrysler rotors and calipers with pentastar to prove it. Def facory bj's.
Just curious,Were they moog?
The ball joint you bought says it presses in?
Well then i just got f'd!! I love wasting money
ok yeah it does say press in. But that has to be wrong. Or perhaps where it says 54mm diameter is wrong.. idk. But i know this. Those arms were mint and if both joints wont thread in tight. Its a prob with the joint. I have to try.
and FWIW..Two of the moog control arm bush were junk. Thats coming in a separate thread when i figure out the balljoint thing first
all cash i wasted i shouldve just bought new loaded uppers.
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Just for posterity, Heres a pic of the factory brake rotors. When was the last time you saw a brake rotor with one of these. No way balljoint changed ten times with china and still on factory rotor with no wear. This will all be settled when delphi shows up. Ill admit defeat and tack weld moog or ill be a genius.
jos51700
Green Bearing thread connoisseur
That's not saying a thing about the ball joints, which were probably purchased from no less than three different vendors in a given year.
Not saying you're wrong, there's just no correlation. My car has factory calipers and discs. Doesn't mean the motor is original, and for that matter the calipers and discs aren't even from that platform!
But there's still pentastars on em and they virtually new.
To me, that indicates a HIGHER likelihood that the ball joints aren't original.
Supposed to be, but the boots were crap and didn't say moog anywhere.. I have more faith in them being Chinese trash and being lied to, than I do in the ball joints themselves.
Technical data that means nothing. If they're a quarter inch over what you have, you want them less than what you have now.
And half the time the website guy is filling in a block on some website so he gets paid. He don't care if it's right. He probably doesn't speak English or know how to use a caliper.
Dude, just weld em and move on. You ain't gonna cure cancer on this deal.
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not saying your wrong but not my first rodeo. The arms were mint. I almost couldve threaded these in by hand. Ill blow $50 just to try. If im wrong il admit it openly and gladly. Whats funny is that the bush and joints in the arm were such good quality i shouldve left em. But i thought i was doing something good
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More than a 90% chance thats how its gonna go down.
Keep in mind most Moog stiff for older cars is the "problem solver" series. So it's very possible the Moog is a larger diameter on purpose.
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