BALL JOINTS - 66 Chrysler TC, New Yorker, Newport

[SF-66TC]

Has anyone replace their Upper and Lower Ball Joints in a '65-'66 Chrysler TC, New Yorker or Newport?

I'd like to know if the Upper BJ stud is the same SIZE as the Lower BJ stud. I was told they may be different.

 

[PST]

Can I ask why you are wondering? The upper screws in and the lower bolts in so they are not interchangeable?

Thanks
James

 

[SF-66TC]

I got a pair of spindles for a disc brake conversion & told it would work, but before dismantling everything I decided to check if the ball joint would fit. I had an extra lower ball joint and decided to try it, but it does NOT fit - fits half way, but threaded portion too large to fit through.

 

[commando1]

James, I wanted to say the same thing but I was afraid it would sound stupid.

SF: Where did the spindles come off of?

 

[68plymouth383]

I haven't done a 65-66... but I completely rebuilt my 68 c bodys front end. I agree the lower ball joint is completely different from the upper.

 

[commando1]

It's the same, Jason.

 

[68plymouth383]

Thank you my friend. I was pretty sure it was...

It's the same, Jason.

 

[SF-66TC]

Thanks commando1. I believe the spindles were from a '73 - I think the shipper grabbed the wrong ones off the shelf.

 

[commando1]

The 73's are the ones you want.
So, what was shipped wrong?
The spindles or the ball joints?
Next question to the Best n the Brightest.
Were not the disk brake lower ball joints different than the drum brake ball joints?

 

[68plymouth383]

Only on 66-68 disc brake cars were the lower ball joints different there a special 4 bolt one for the Budd brake cars. The 65-73 drum brake lower ball joint, and 69-73 disc brake lower ball joints are all identical.

 

[saylor]

ya there was Kelsey hayes and budd discs? something like that. id haveta go look in the book somewhere

but with 68plymouth383 and P-S-T help (thanks guys) I also rebuilt my front end soup to nuts from the gearbox out to edge - gratuitous plug for P-S-T - buy their stuff !

 

[SF-66TC]

The 73's are the ones you want.
So, what was shipped wrong?
The spindles or the ball joints?
Next question to the Best n the Brightest.
Were not the disk brake lower ball joints different than the drum brake ball joints?

I was shipped the spindles. I had not dismantled the car yet, but before I did I wanted to make sure I had ALL the CORRECT parts necessary before I dove into converting. Nothing worse than getting mid-stream and then finding out one of the parts is wrong or missing and delays the entire project.

I'm pretty anal about things so I REALLY wanted to verify everything before I started. On most cars I've worked on both the Upper and Lower Ball Joint (BJ) threaded shafts were the same size. With that in mind I wanted to test my theory. Since I had an extra Lower Ball Joint I wanted to see if it would fit properly in the spindle. As you know a BJ's shaft is tapered with the threaded portion slightly smaller than main body. When I inserted the BJ into the top of the spindle it didn't feed through completely. It appeared the threads were wider than the bottom hole of the spindle. Based on previous experience replacing BJ' and Tie-Rods I thought I must have received the incorrect spindle for the application and thus my question on this forum.

Based on the responses I received it appeared I was shipped the incorrect spindles. So as not to make an *** of myself with the shipper I decided to double check personally. To validate my suspicion I thought about using an OD and ID measuring tool. Well gents, as it turns out the Upper BJ's threaded shaft IS SMALLER than the Lower BJ's theaded shaft. There's only about a 1/16" difference, but that was just enough in preventing the entire BJ threaded shaft fit through the spindle using the LBJ as my test part. The OD of LBJ = 5/8", OD of UBJ = 17/32", Bottom Spindle Hole = 9/16"

Photos - http://share.shutterfly.com/action/...shareprintsharer&linkid=link5&cid=EM_sharshar

 

[commando1]

Would you like to share who you got the spindles off of or is better we spare that person any embarassment.

 

[SF-66TC]

Would you like to share who you got the spindles off of or is better we spare that person any embarassment.

commando1 - THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE SPINDLES.

Your answer "It's the same, Jason" to my question, "I'd like to know if the Upper BJ stud is the same SIZE as the Lower BJ stud" was validated to be incorrect by my measurements. Perhaps your answer would have been correct if for some other vehicle, but it wasn't correct in my particular case and in referance to my question.

My test of using the Lower Ball Joint to see if it fit in the spindle failed because the Lower Ball Joint IS LARGER than the Upper Ball Joint. By measuring the threaded Upper Ball Joint shaft on the car, it was determined it would fit fine in the spindle.

There's NO point in advertising the shipper if there was no fault on their part.

 

[commando1]

Sorry, SF. It was clear as mud to me.
I'm sure it is because I am lacking.

 

[SF-66TC]

Sorry, SF. It was clear as mud to me.
I'm sure it is because I am lacking.

No problemo commando1 - my question was probably clear as mud as well... You're not lacking my friend, I was/am 'cause I was the one who posed the question :Groaner: