weld in lower ball joints on new tubular arms?
 

I noticed that the lower ball joints are tac-welded into the stock lower control arms on my truck. I was wondering if its even necessary and whether or not I should do the same on the new tube-CPP arms

Re: weld in lower ball joints on new tubular arms?
 

Ball joints get tack welded when the arm is worn. Generally its done as a precaution on stock arms to prevent the ball joint from falling out. The hole will get looser over time. I would worry about welding on the new arms. The hole should be plenty tight that the press fit will be absolutely fine. They were never welded from the factory.

Re: weld in lower ball joints on new tubular arms?
 

Lower balljoints are press in. The control arms you have are probably worn out and the balljoints were tack welded to hold them in. You shouldnt have to weld the balljoints.

Re: weld in lower ball joints on new tubular arms?
 

if the ball joint needs to be tack welding in order to stay in the control arm then you need new control arms.

sounds like a half-ass fix to a serious problem

Re: weld in lower ball joints on new tubular arms?
 

You do not need to weld the ball joints into the tubular lower control arms. Some sheetmetal arms get stretched around the lower ball joint so a small weld will help the ball joint stay tight in the arm. Some ball joints are made over-sized. If the arm had an over-sized ball joint installed it will be loose if a regular ball joint is installed afterwards.

Danny Nix
CPP