Ever see upper Balljoints break like this??

[gnfanatic]

Moog problem solvers (K5208) roughly 8 years old. Mounted on the tubular upper control arms GBody Parts sell's. Car drove really funky, de-ttached and dangerous, did some investigating and found this on BOTH sides. Ever see this???, BTW< boots were filled with grease, no rust.

 

[Frederickdav]

Good examples of Chinese quality! Lucky nobody was hurt!

 

[gnfanatic]

American made

 

[Chuck Leeper]

Powdered metal.
Do the a arms have upper bump stops?

 

[gnfanatic]

yes, the smaller ones I forgot for what application they are orange

 

[gnfanatic]

hmmm, these bump stops were installed when I had the front lowered because stockers were slamming agaisnt the frame. These are 2 3/4 tall from lower arm. BUT I now have factory height Moog springs in the car and kept the smaller bump stops. Is it possible thats what destroyed the balljoints? Bump stop not working properly?

 

[Turbo6inKY]

I don't see anything on that bumpstop that makes me think it's been hitting the frame.

You should contact Moog. They should be interested in that balljoint.

 

[gnfanatic]

I agree, the bump stops are not hitting the frame. Question is how crucial are they? Dont they rot overtime on older cars? Could this have caused the failures?

 

[gnfanatic]

Just spoke to a real cool tech from Moog. He owns a 85 El Camino as well. He asked me if the upper control arms have bump stops and these obviously do not. He says when I hit a dip or a pothole the suspension will bottom out causing a sudden shock the balljoints due to no bump stop softening up the blow. He says upper arms need bump stops. But alot of guys on this board have these arms and have no issues?

 

[Chuck Leeper]

What I thought was/could be happening.
Powdered metal doesn't react well to hi impact shock.

 

[gnfanatic]

So, the upper Global west are $699 I do not want to spend that kind of coin. Who makes a street freindly one that is also friendly with the wallet?

 

[Pronto]

Take them off and fabricate a stop...

 

[turbo nasty]

when I had the front lowered

How low?

 

[Bullnerd]

Don't the upper bumps only touch at full droop?

You playin general lee with this car?

Seems like a lot of stories about upper arms causing issues.

Do these aftermarket companies really know suspension geometry or is some "fabricator" just making something that looks cool?

 

[gnfanatic]

Nah, this is regular driving car. No launches of steep hills. I literally cruise with it and have some fun with boost. thats it

 

[gnfanatic]

How low?

I HAD the car lowered about 2in , now it is stock ride height

 

[Bullnerd]

Just curious, did you do all the work or did a shop?

Changing the uppers, lowering, raising, etc.

I'm going to guess the damage is from someone smacking them with a hammer at some point.

 

[Hotfoot]

Don't the upper bumps only touch at full droop?

You playin general lee with this car?

Seems like a lot of stories about upper arms causing issues.

Do these aftermarket companies really know suspension geometry or is some "fabricator" just making something that looks cool?

Got Hotchkis upper arms 13 years ago and they don’t have bump stops the new ones today do but not back in the day.

 

[Bullnerd]

Got Hotchkis upper arms 13 years ago and they don’t have bump stops the new ones today do but not back in the day.

Yup, so I dont think thats the OP's problem.

Just my opinion of course.

 

[Turbo6inKY]

Yup, so I dont think thats the OP's problem.

Just my opinion of course.

I'm going to agree here.

Even if the car suddenly leaves the ground, the damper (if it's working at all) is going to slow the spring down enough that the UCA won't slam the frame and shock the ball joint. And again, that photo earlier shows no evidence the LCA is bottoming out.

Look around in the wheel wheel where the arms would hit stuff. An impact hard enough to shatter a ball joint is going to leave witness marks on the frame and the arms.