Upper Ball Joints -

[JK McDonald]

I've finally taken the time to scratch off a few maintenance projects that have been on my to-do list for a while. During a recent trip up through the hills of Arkansas and Missouri I had a sense of a slight random shift in the front suspension when taking some of the tighter curves. It only seemed to happen when it was raining a bit. Plus some of those country roads were well grooved from all of the overloaded 18 wheel logging trucks so I wasn't sure if I was simply being caught in the worn road tracks or if there was a real problem.

My upper ball joints are the only remaining suspension component that hasn't been replaced so once home I disassemble both sides. I found that on the right side, the ball socket liner was in pieces and the left side wasn't far behind. Since both of the "A Arm" rubber pivot bushings on the inner fender wall are all in great condition, I don't see the need to replace the whole assembly unless this is the best way to go (?). Has anyone tried one of the upper ball joint "Rebuild Kits" ? Several write-ups make it sound pretty straight forward.

https://928motorsports.com/parts/balljointrepair.php

By the way that area of the central states was beautiful this time of year and with $2.00 gas Miss Purdy was in hog heaven.

Thanks for your input, Michael

[JK McDonald]

After chasing down all the evaluations and comments I could locate on 928 and 944 owners who have rebuilt their upper ball joints - there didn't seem to be a down side as long as the "A Arm" mounting bushings are in good condition. The parts are on the way.

Does any know of any long term ball joint problems with this kit ?

Thanks, Michael

[Mal81]

I have the same questions too and they are high on my bucket list along with replacing the aluminum lower ball joints (purchased and in my toy box).

I saw Rocketansky's YouTube video. 928 specialists say it can be done on the car.

[JK McDonald]

The Upper Ball Joint Rebuild Kit arrived on a vacuum sealed back board that included the instructions and everything necessary to completely replace all the wear parts on both sides. What made it even better than installing OEM parts was that the Rebuild Kit included a machined brass ball socket insert while the original ones were made of a hard plastic. Installation was very clear, reasonably simple and you do not have to remove the upper "A Arm" from the car (as advertised) that might have disturbed your alignment. The added grease fitting is a nice long term maintenance touch......

The only snag I found was the final replacement of the circle clips that hold the ball joints together. The new circle clips were designed as a multi-layer circular or SPIRAL design that I found easier to thread or spin into it's groove. 1st slightly separate the spiral clip so it looks like a spring - then if you start one end of the layered spiral into it's groove and use a small curved pair of needle nose pliers to gradually feed it forward until it is completely in position, the install goes fine. The OEM circle clip was a standard "C" clip that you compress slightly with the tip of a small screw driver to remove and install. I did use the new circle clips provided in the kit but they were a bit of a PITA to install them at first.

Over all this was definitely a Thumbs Up Project as far as I'm concerned -

Michael