StarGeneral

alright guys, got a mystery for ya. So I bought these two lower ball joints on ebay for 69.99 a piece. I bought them for my 1965 delta 88.

I know you can get brand spanking new ones on rockauto and similar for about ten bucks more but when you're on a budget like me I went for the cheapest thing I could find. Trouble is I got em both in the mail today and they aren't the same. I got a message from the seller shortly before he shipped em saying that the dust boot design was slightly different and that both boxes came from moog and maybe it was an earlier design, but there are some pretty radical differences between them. One of them looks exactly the same as the new ones you can get through moog, one looks completely different. I'll let the photos talk. What do you guys think I should do? will these work together?
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67442HT

The ball joint with the grease fitting in it is exactly like the Napa part #2601031. It looks like a Moog to me, I don't know about the other one. I would try to void the deal.

StarGeneral

Yeah, Im certain the normal looking one is Moog, the other one I have no idea. Thanks for your input, Im gonna wait till some of the other guys chime in before I take action.

brown7373

It looks like they both will fit. If that is the case, they would function the same, assuming they both are the same quality. Different brand of any part often have a different appearance, but I know we all would like a matched pair of anything, rather than 2 different ones.

Lady72nRob71

The one with no grease fitting LOOKS to have a longer tapered stud (the non threaded part). Measure it and compare to the one with the grease fitting, which looks to be a Moog part. If it is longer then void the deal.

rocketraider

Andres, if they are the same length from the lip at the bottom to the end of the threads, and the same diameter as the hole in the control arm, they should work as there are several manufacturers whose products sometime look different. Inland and Saginaw were the OE suppliers to Oldsmobile but Moog and TRW/Thompson also supplied replacement parts.

Parts book shows 1963-70 both sides use the same part number grp. 6.170 p/n 5693464, with different p/n for the rubber seals between Inland and Saginaw. I think you have one of each style- the rounder one will probably need some type of clamp to retain it to the ball joint whereas the angled one will fit into the bevel on the ball joint. wildaboutcars should have a picture of the seal and tool.

The one thing I would look close at is the length of the threads. There need to be enough threads to tighten the castle nut and keep the steering knuckle from moving on the ball joint stud.

In all honesty, my young friend- if these are old stock pieces I'd rather have them than new production Chinesium.

If you install them yourself, be careful. You're dealing with a compressed coil spring when fooling with lower control arms, so make sure you have something substantial to hold the control arm up so the spring doesn't fly out and break your face.

MDchanic

+1.

Get out your caliper and measure them.

- Eric

StarGeneral

Thank you all for the input. These are indeed stock parts. I will measure them and see if they come up the same. I think despite the different grease boot design I will keep them. I was planning to install them myself (and I will be doing upper ball joints at the same time) but it wont be for a while as I'm planning to do all of the front end components at once. I will no doubt come crying for advice when I attempt this so I don't put my face at any more risk than I need to

An additional question:

I want to flush out all the old grease that is in these since they are old stock parts....do I just pump new grease in there till i see fresh grease come gushing out?

Lady72nRob71

Oh, and verify the taper is the same. If the stud does not fit the taper in the spindle exactly, the stud can break while driving, which would be bad.

StarGeneral

BTW rob where in Oregon will you be on vacation? Maybe I'll be around

UPDATE:

Ugh...threaded section length as well as overall stud length is different. Guess I gotta send em back :/

Lady72nRob71

You are right with the grease flushing. Keep pumping till the new color grease comes out. (Hopefully it will be a different color!)
Seller should reimburse you in full since it was their screwup. Of course there is the wait.....

Will be in Roseburg 10-11 to 10-12, Grants Pass 10-12 to 10-13, medford 10-13 to 10-14, Brookings from 10-14 to 10-21. From there I will travel up the coast the next week. Where are you located?

SBORule

Clearly isn't the right part, if you didn't install it, send it back for a refund. Get Ebay involved and tell them they sold you something that won't fit, or wasn't as advertised, you should get your money back.

StarGeneral

Im trying to get in touch with the seller, hopefully don't have to get Ebay involved. Will be keeping the standard Moog ball joint but returning the unknown one.

Rob, sadly the closest of those places is 90 miles away....and I don't have enough money to drive all the way there (I'd have to take the Delta since she's my only car xD) but if you're ever near eugene, corvallis or somewhere similar just holler!