Here is some information I wish I had known a couple weeks ago when ordering parts. I've been rebuilding my front suspension, and everything went well. That is until I saved the lower BJ's for last. Moog balljoints come in 6145 and 6145t with t being a slightly oversized body and supposedly a more durable internal design. I had no idea this was a thing...
If I knew this I would have gone for the original style, because my LC arms were fine, and after trying to use a rented balljoint tool (no success) I used my buddy's press. As soon as they stopped going in, I stopped and they were nowhere near done. We noticed later on that my buddy's cheap harbor freight press actually bent a little.
The factory bjs were not splined and these 6145t's are, and my attempt at pressing them in made the splines gouge the arms to a degree. The bjs are fine/undamaged. The bjs never went in place, and now I have to decide what to do. I have read of people using the 6145t's with no problem, and I measured them vs the originals with the t's being about .020" larger. Seems like a lot to me...
Should I sand the arms to clean them up, then just get them pressed in by a machinist? I am now considering welding the balljoints to the arms once they are pressed in for extra security, because there's no way in hell I am buying new stuff after finishing rebuilding everything. If I get another 80,000 miles out of these parts that's fine with me.
What do ya'll think?
If I knew this I would have gone for the original style, because my LC arms were fine, and after trying to use a rented balljoint tool (no success) I used my buddy's press. As soon as they stopped going in, I stopped and they were nowhere near done. We noticed later on that my buddy's cheap harbor freight press actually bent a little.
The factory bjs were not splined and these 6145t's are, and my attempt at pressing them in made the splines gouge the arms to a degree. The bjs are fine/undamaged. The bjs never went in place, and now I have to decide what to do. I have read of people using the 6145t's with no problem, and I measured them vs the originals with the t's being about .020" larger. Seems like a lot to me...
Should I sand the arms to clean them up, then just get them pressed in by a machinist? I am now considering welding the balljoints to the arms once they are pressed in for extra security, because there's no way in hell I am buying new stuff after finishing rebuilding everything. If I get another 80,000 miles out of these parts that's fine with me.
What do ya'll think?