Ball Joint Replacement

[SimpleMan]

Hi everyone,

I have a 97 hoe that I bought about 2 years ago. I went to change out the lower ball joints and after fighting with it ( using the proper ball joint tool) I finally got it out. After I removed it I noticed to splines on the lower control arm are mangled and the new joint wouldn't go in. I had to put the old joint back in. Since grinding out the splines would make the hole slightly larger I was wondering if anyone has had success welding the joint in place to remove the chance of it shaking lose. I can replace the entire arm but if it would be strong enough to weld the joint in place I could save over $300 when doing both LCA's. Thanks.

 

[Gzes]

Have you looke on rock auto or eBay? Bet it'd be way cheaper. Yes you cab weld them in but do you trust your welds? Imo I'd just get them online and be good and not worry next time they need to be done

 

[SimpleMan]

I have checked e-bay a couple of times with no luck. I have never checked out Rock Auto so I will do that. The only parts store in my area that has the LCA's is Advance Auto and they are $200 each. Plus I have ordered parts from that Advance in the past and they always show up damaged so you have to order them again. Thanks for the info, I will see how much Rock Auto has them for.

---------- Post added at 10:12 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:06 AM ----------

Gzes,
Thanks that made my quickest decision for this yet. They have the LCA's w/ the joints in them for $77 each. That's a no brainer for me.

 

[Gzes]

No problem I order a lot from rock auto if it's cheaper than my shop discount