Customs What US company makes the best front end parts-ball joints, etc.?

That generation of Dakota was known to eat ball joints as well as the Durangos.

 

There is a set of TRWs ball joints on ebay. I never could understand why Big car Pontiac ball joints were smaller than tempest ball joints. A better question who still makes ball joints for a 65 Bonneville?

 

McQuay Norris was a good supplier, think they got gobbled up by a bigger company, Affina group? TRW was also good. Best bet is evilBay these days. I buy a lot of NOS and obscure parts there.

 

I pulled the left front wheel off and they were the 3 bolt ones so I'm glad that I did. Now if I could just find a set of 4 ball joints that are made in the US and a center link too then I'll be all set. I'll keep checking Ebay regularly for them. Thanks for the comments and advice....

 

Unless you know the complete history,,,,
Anyone could have swapped in later control arms in the past 50 yrs.
original equipment issues seldom apply after a 10 yr period anyway. I believe you'll count a full 5 10 year periods since 1965 plus a partial.

 

I always use moog if I remember correctly NAPA suspension parts are made by Moog

 

Have you looked at Ames? http://www.amesperf.com
They may not be US made, but in a pinch, they will get you on the road. The catalog covers all the big cars, so you may be able to widen your search.

 

They have the center link and upper ball joints but not the lower ones. Are their parts made overseas?

 

NAPA's prices are much higher than all the other places. The center link alone is $270....

 

I got offshore ball joints and tie rod ends for my Ford... weird **** to say the least. If the Ames stuff is US made, dig down deep and get it. Centerlinks have been pricy for a while.

 

Might be a good idea to see what the vatos do for their lo-lo's.
This is what I found in a cursory look on the interwebz.

https://www.go-parts.com/store/product/itmgroupdetail.aspx?groupid=70373&make=PONTIAC&aid=9207625


Ch***is Data
Model Wheelbase Overall Length Front Tread Rear Tread Tires
Bonneville 124 in 221.7 in 62.5 in 64 in 8.25 x 14

http://www.unisteer.com/bel-air-impala/65-66-impala-bel-air-power-rack-pinion-kit.html
Wheelbase, front track, rear track
119.0" 62.5" 62.4" -- 1965-'70 Chevy Caprice

 

Moog, Raybestos, or factory parts if applicable.

Sent from my XT1585 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

How many miles on that car, ..that it needs upper ball joints?
What about the gas tank?
The emergency brake?
The shop manual?

 

USE MOOG AND MOOG ONLY!!! Trust me after four front end rebuilds on two different OT muscle cars, you would think I would have learned the first time.

 

I use moog , then Raybestos ( which buys some from moog ) if I can't get the first , but lately the boxes have globaly sourced parts in them according to the box label and sometimes theres a tag on the part were its made , some of them look exactly like the US made ones just the tag , threads and machining are sharp like before and no poor finish ( machine marks ) I rebuilt a O/T 96 exploder ( changed the right side upper control arm ) and the lower ball joints , I/o tie rod ends , that was 6 years ago and the kid is still driving it around and the alignment is still good ( he keeps it greased ) most of the parts other than HD truck parts are now made overseas . and some of my truck stuff is now coming from overseas ( I got a kingpin kit for a Pete that says was globally sourced )

 

It has 38k miles, I plugged the leak using JB Tank Weld but am only buying half a tank of gas at a time, I fixed the emergency brake and I still have the factory shop manual. I also had the gl*** packs replaced with a nice pair of US made mufflers. The guy spent almost 2 hours welding them in and made the tailpipes the same length since the genius who installed the gl*** packs a few years ago had one a couple inches longer than the other. Total cost for the installation labor was $60....

 

MOOG...

You know if you pay 15 bucks for a TRE...It'll be great stuff... lol

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Good progress.
Now I have to question the front end work . I'll leave the MOOG, Si..TRW ,no...Chinee, no, to everyone else.
1, How did the first guy do an alignment , if it needed those parts first?
2, Now the second guy says you need both upper ball joints. I doubt that a NYC taxi could wear out the uppers, @38 K, on that style suspension. Maybe the boots are deteriorated, and can't be maintained properly.
3, Is # 2 doing the work then? Wouldn't he want to get his own parts? I would think it would be part of his garage profit gig. He's already spent time on it, by poking around and diagnosis.
4, If you guys are doing the work, do you have air chisel, splitter fork, etc.?

 

1. I don't know, you would have to ask him. All I knew is it didn't steer right so I figured that a front end alignment was a good place to start. Plus there was a big scuff mark on the right front tire where it looked like it hit a curb or something similar pretty good which could have changed the alignment.

2. He said 3 of the 4 should be replaced so I decided to replace the fourth one at the same time.

3. Yes, the second shop would do the work. He's also the guy who installed the mufflers (which I brought with me) for $60. He's in a rural county and I guess they do things a little differently out there because $70 an hour for labor is a lot lower than shops in Louisville charge.

4. He said he's a "full service shop" and has done this kind of work many times before in the 17 years he's been there. The only thing he wouldn't do is the front end alignment when the job is done so I would obviously have to take it somewhere else and probably not back to shop #1.

After I get the stereo installed I'm going to start looking for ball joints and a center link again....

 

yep got have good tunes while waiting on the tow truck or ambulance to arrive ....

 

I did a search on MOOG site they don't show your ball joints anymore.

 

Ebay.....on older not in stock stuff - which is the odd ball stuff that doesn't fly off the shelve and not produced in m***....just saying.....

 

So I ordered both brands, house and MOOG for some DD parts. The MOOG was about $18 more than the house brand (O'riely's). Took em out of the box, I-****in-DENTICAL. Now, I didn't bring a double-throw-down-atomic-metallurgical-gas powered-sub sonic ****yzer to inspect it on a molecular level, but both parts were exactly the same right down to the numbers on the forging. He brought out 1 more to be certain someone didn't stick a cheapo in a 'good' box. Still the same. NORS will be the only defense against profit margins aquired overseas. Or perhaps one of those ****yzers...?

 

Yeah get a stereo that plays Creeddence anything but The Eagles, man.

 

Try, Original Parts Group 1 800 243 8355 original Pontiac parts from 1955-1981

 

Your ball joints and center link have not been available for years. I had a new 69 full size Catalina. It required new ball joints at 40,000 miles. I rather fix the ball joints before I installed a new radio. If a ball joint lets go you'll be needing a new fender inner fender and maybe so rocker repair. The Pontiac is a heavy car with a wide track. Allows for lots of stress on the suspension parts. Lower joints wear much faster than uppers. This is my opinion and you don't owe me a dime.

 

I bought two lower ball joints tonight on Ebay which the seller says were made in the US for $70 including shipping. There isn't anyone selling two US made upper ones on Ebay right now so I may have to go with the overseas ones as well as a center link made overseas. If anyone knows where I can get two upper ones or a center link that were made in the US please let me know....

 

Take a peek here. Just in case you haven't already.
http://www.pontiacparts.net/fullsizeparts.htm
http://www.pontiacparts.net/Ch***is/default.htm

SUSPENSION & STEERING, CENTER/DRAG LINKS
SKU Years Loc. Details Price Cart
C5672756RK 1939-60 Center Link Repair Kit $172.50/kit [VIEW/ADD]
C25316 1959-60 Center Drag Link Repair Kit $177.91/kit [VIEW/ADD]
C5672756R 1959-60 Center Link Tube $667.21/ea [VIEW/ADD]
C5674777R 1961-62 Center Link, $200 core $287.50/ea [VIEW/ADD]
C5697552R 1963-70 Center Link, 1963-70 B All exc Police, HD or Stageway Coach, 1969 F 6cyl $166.75/ea [VIEW/ADD]
C7811835 1971-78 Center Link, All Bonn, Cat & GV, $50 core $86.25/ea [VIEW/ADD]
C25860 1973-76 Center Link, All Bonn, Cat & GV $99.85/ea [VIEW/ADD]
C25926 1973-89 Center Link, 1973-76 Bonn, Cat & GV, 1983-89 Parisienne, 1987-89 Saf SW $174.57/ea [VIEW/ADD]
C25953 1978-87 Center Link, 1982-86 Bonn, Cat & GV, 1978-87 G, 1978-82 (1982 Canadian only) A $51.75/ea [VIEW/ADD]
SUSPENSION & STEERING, UPPER OUTER SHAFT ***EMBLIES/SEALS & BALL JOINTS
SKU Years Loc. Details Price Cart
C506512 1937-48 Upper Outer Control Arm Shaft Package, 2 per car $51.75/ea [VIEW/ADD]
C513376 1949-52 Upper Outer Control Arm Shaft Package, 2 per car $63.25/ea [VIEW/ADD]
C517401 1953-57 Upper Outer Control Arm Shaft Package, 2 per car $69.00/ea [VIEW/ADD]
C531353 1958-58 Upper Ball Joint $63.25/ea [VIEW/ADD]
C542924R 1959-63 Left Upper Ball Joint, 1959-63 Full Size $46.00/ea [VIEW/ADD]
C542925R 1959-63 Right Upper Ball Joint, 1959-63 Full Size $46.00/ea [VIEW/ADD] C548845 1963-70 Bushing, Upper Control Arm, Full Size, used w/ shafts that have internal threads and retainer bolts $13.80/ea [VIEW/ADD]
C9794248RP 1964-70 Upper Ball Joint, LH $71.88/ea [VIEW/ADD]
C9781031RP 1964-70 Upper Ball Joint, RH $71.88/ea [VIEW/ADD]
C10142 1971-89 Upper Ball Joint, 1971-86 Bonn, Cat & Grandville, 1970-81 F, 1973-77 G, 1973-81 A (1982 Canadian), 1983-89 Parisienne, 1987-89 Saf SW, 1975-79 X $24.06/ea [VIEW/ADD]
C9767112RP 1975-87 Upper Ball Joint, 1976-81 B & F, 1975-87 A $21.85/ea [VIEW/ADD]

 

There was nothing on their site saying that their parts were made in the US so I just ordered the upper ball joints and center link from PST because I need to get the loose steering problem straightened out. At least the lower ball joints were made in the US. Hopefully I can get everything installed next week and then get it aligned and it will steer great. I'll post something here when that happens. Thanks for the replies....