Need New Ball Joints.

[bmwpride]

Looking for some new ball joints. Mine are destroyed. So was wondering if there were any performance ones out there.

[mike-tracy]

Haha, any new ones will be performance compared to what you have. :smile: I did some digging in the 4x4 offroader sites, and found that Moog and XLR seem to be favorite brands. I bought the XLR ones (since they seemed better constructed) directly and couldn't be happer.

[bmwpride]

whiteline doesnt have any?

[bobbyjimmy]

Whiteline do - they are part of their Roll Centre Kit, part number "KCA313", you get ball joints and tie rod ends.

[chuckthefuk]

I am all for when it breaks upgrade it! But those Roll Center Kits are around $200+ shipping and what not....

Is there a reason why you want upgrades or are you just going with the flow.

I am with Mike... stock ones will do the job.. don't fuck around with your suspension geometry unless you have a plan of action.

-Chuck

[rougeben83]

I would budget some of that "upgrade" money towards a spare hub, because those stupid things are a PITA to get out, especially if your area uses salt in the winter.

My right hub cracked when we tried to get the old balljoint out. Had to wait a week to get a used hub.

[02_Legacy]

ahh yes... ball joints are fun to get out. When we replaced them in auto class once our teacher (who was a mechanic for over 20 years and is pretty proficient and can get things done) went and got a piece of steel rod about 2 inches thick and about 6 feet long, wedged it in there and pried the ball joint out by putting all his weight on the end... It gets the job done. The only thing is you have to be able to get the rod in there.
Then when I did my parents honda van I found a video that showed a neat way to do it. You put a jack under the ball joint and jack it up. Then you jam something between the control arm and the spindle/hub on the inside (basically from where the ball joint is to what it goes into) then when you lower the jack and it will pinch and hopefully force the ball joint out.
I don't know if either of thoes methods would work with a subaru but its worth a try.

[bmwpride]

i would just like to get the best of everything as i go to change them. At some point the car will have everything upgraded. So if i can get them now, i will just go head and change them

[jamal]

if your car is lowered pick up the whiteline roll center kit. Otherwise oem balljoints are your best bet. The moog aftermarket ones are actually more expensive.

to remove them from the control arm, an impact hammer with a pickle fork does it really quickly. To get them out of the hub you can buy this:

http://turninconcepts.com/product_info. ... ts_id=1134 (http://turninconcepts.com/product_info.php?cPath=1_178&products_id=1134)

[bmwpride]

so i think i want to go with the whiteline kit. Now does it matter that i have an 05 sti steering rack?

[rougeben83]

No it doesn't matter. Also, I suppose you like having your tierod ends snap while you're driving. Then by all means get the whiteline kit then.

Are you even lowered beyond 2"? That's the only reason to get that kit to begin with.

[mike-tracy]

Tell us how you really feel, Ben. :smile:

[bmwpride]

Yes my car is lowered more than two inches and so the tie rod ends are the same in both steering racks

[rougeben83]

Tell us how you really feel, Ben. :smile:

sometimes I feel like... :razz:

But seriously, the last time I heard of WL's roll centering kit, some guy in an STI broke the supplied tierod while going 100mph into a turn at a track. The roll centering kit is suppose to correct the front suspension geometry on an extremely lowered car back to factory spec. That's all it does, there's no "magic" or real performance gain.

I know I sound harsh but even though I'm all for upgrading "while youre already in there", slapping parts on for the sake of slapping parts on with no actual, factual research on why you're going to do it is just a good way to waste money. It just looks like youre doing it because you heard on the interwebz that it was a good idea to do. Unfortunately, a lot of "enthusiasts" fall into this trap all too easily.

[bmwpride]

no i looked into the kit and i knew what i was looking for. But asking the question was the determining factor of whether to get the part or not. I asked because maybe some one on here would have swayed me either way on them from personal use.Since i can get the same out of part store replacement and still get the same upgrade might as well do that.

[jamal]

Tell us how you really feel, Ben. :smile:

sometimes I feel like... :razz:

But seriously, the last time I heard of WL's roll centering kit, some guy in an STI broke the supplied tierod while going 100mph into a turn at a track. The roll centering kit is suppose to correct the front suspension geometry on an extremely lowered car back to factory spec. That's all it does, there's no "magic" or real performance gain.

I know I sound harsh but even though I'm all for upgrading "while youre already in there", slapping parts on for the sake of slapping parts on with no actual, factual research on why you're going to do it is just a good way to waste money. It just looks like youre doing it because you heard on the interwebz that it was a good idea to do. Unfortunately, a lot of "enthusiasts" fall into this trap all too easily.

No. The only problem the WHITELINE roll center kit has had is the first version of the ball joints didn't seat quite as firmly as they should have. Then whiteline revised the ball joints, and the boots to a more heat resistant material, and all has been well.

The tie rod end that has been know to break is the one made by 6-gun racing.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthr ... ?t=1685745 (http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1685745)

6gun. not whiteline.

On top of that, there is a very real performance gain once the car is lowered about an inch. When you lower the car two things happen:

The roll center move farther away from the center of gravity, which causes an increase in body roll all else equal

Once the control arm goes past level, the wheel loses negative camber.

So, the Roll center kit reduces body roll and puts the car in a better part of the camber curve. Both serve to inprove front grip.