Its taken quite a while but,I am at the final point of my 1956 wagon stock front end rebuild, putting on the ball joint coverings and I have a question for those who have gone before me. Back in January, Evintho found some Prothane boots and graciously posted the part numbers for us, and I bought the full set. They are much thicker than stock and seem to fit well, pretty happy with them. However, when I torque the ball joint nuts to spec, (upper and lower)it leaves the cotter pin hole above the castle nut tangs. Using a standard split ring lock washer under the nut solves the problem but just doesnt sit well with me. I guess I could try to find taller castle nuts, but the ball joints sit farther up into the spindle, so would that affect the steering geometry? It would seem like the constant movement of the suspension would be wearing away at the Prothane boots, gradually destroying them. I had previuosly bought the stock ball joint seals and metal covers sets, but didn't use them. The stock ones have a metal cup that rides on the spindle, which seems to be a better idea for wear, and brings the cotter pin hole to the correct height. So I would like to know what has been the experiences of others in this area, especially those who used the Prothane boots, before I go back to square one and pull this all apart again?
Beachcruzer, You should consider using flat washers, instead of lock washers. They come in different thicknesses. You may have to use two thin to get your desired thickness. Keep in mind that the ball joint stud is tapered and the spindle is designed with a taper in it also. To become an interference fit when together. Dave
I kept/used the metal cones...then the urethane boots....and used thinner washer as NascarDave said...
I went looking for flat washers to use, but if the hole was big enough to fit the ball joint stud, the outside diamater was too large to work. O'reilly, Autozone, Napa, Home Depot, local hardware store. Sources and services are limited when you live at the end of the road. If it wasn't for Amazon I would be lost. The correct interference fit is what I want to achieve. I guess I could grind the outside diamater of the too large washers, but it was a lot to take off and my bench grinder is toast. I .was thinking of using a combo of stock/Prothane parts as 50sboy suggests, order washers through Amazon if needed.
They are aftermarket, bought off E-bay from Northern Auto Direct After doing much research,calling our regular suppliers asking where they source their rubber,etc, none would/could provide that info. If you visit Northerns site, their advertising makes point that they know our problem with inferior parts and theirs is good quality, offering lifetime warranty. The rubber was stamped made in Mexico, and the steel(cant remember what part I checked) was stamped made in China. There can be quality parts made in both places, its up to quality control at the factories, so does Northern have " tuned in", sharp, advertising dept. or is this true quality? This issue is a **** shoot as far as I can tell after trying to do due diligence. I did use my micrometer to measure diamater of the base of the ball joint stud and the top nearest the threads, overall stud length and made sure the threads were the same. Everything matched up. Bought their "complete" kit with upper control arm shafts. Everything went together as it should, except for the issue I posted, which is my fault. Only time will tell if this is quality parts or not. Northern is the E-bay store for a company called Musclecarcomponents out of Arlington VA since Dec 3, 2014 as far as I could discern and had a 98.5 positive feedback. Since they were the only suppliers that addressed our concerns, I went with them. Time will tell.
THANX! for the comeback. Finding quality parts these days is a trail ... ? ... trail ? Try TRIAL ... At the least they should have given you COUNTRY of ORIGIN. They know exactly what it is.
True, but no other suppliers did either. They did give the durometer range of their rubber, but I couldnt check it without a durometer after purchase. So, considering the facts that they acknowledged the problem, provided a "lifetime" warranty (not counting on that), gave durometer range, and provide suspension systems for most makes/models, I went with them. Best info I could gather from most known suppliers. Probably not any rubber manufactuers that don't use fillers,etc, left. Just glad the parts were a good fit .
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