Replacing a ball joint and found some suprises

[chevymotocross]

Had a bad upper balljoint on the truck. While replacing the ball joint, I found this:



And the other side is just as rusty. Looks like I may have to pull this truck off the road soon and hold off on getting it painted. I plan on replacing everything on the front end of this truck. New upper/lower a-arms, poly bushings all around, and at that time I will install lowering spindles. I thought my suspension job was going to consist of just spindles and shackle/hangers.... obviously not.

What do you guys recommend? Those aftermarket tubular arms sure do look great, but are they worth the extra cost? Should I just look for an oem set? Are there any companies that offer a complete suspension package or must everything be bought separate? Also, any companies out there sell complete bolt sets for the front end? Those bolts can't be re-used, and hopefully they come off!

My plan was when I get home in May from Air Force basic training, finish the body work on the cab, swap my new bed on, and paint it. Obviously this is more important so I may have to get myself a cheap extra set of wheels to drive.

[Big Port Jimmy 6]

Crap that makes me shiver all over. I would poke the chassis all over to see if i could find some more. Some western or southern suspension would be on my list to find.. Jay

[cableguy0]

you should be able to find the whole deal in a junkyard. rebuild it and replace yours with it. I wouldnt be driving that truck too far. The strength of that control arm is gone and its prone to bending in half.

[leddzepp]

If the control arm looks that bad, I'd be looking over the frame very carefully too.

[ratty 46]

WOW ..... New England, salt on the roads & what a combo. You my man are very lucky that you saw this while you were in the driveway versus 75 MPH going down the road ...

Ratty 46

[glock35ipsc]

I echo the "check the frame" statements.

[benoit454]

My dad's 84 is the same way, not as bad though but he found it when we worked on his 305 and he bought a new uca from lmc and still hasn't put it on yet. The pass. is rusty but no holes or that bad.

[chevymotocross]

Frame is quite bad actually at the rear bumper area. When I take the bed off this spring I will have to figure out what to do. It really is ashame. This is the last winter this truck will see. After the body work and paint, this truck will be parked for the New England winters.

I already browsed through the local paper and found an ad for a complete front suspension setup out of an 82 c10 for $150. I'm going to take a look at it. If I can't find anything local, I was taking a look at this kit http://www.customclassictrucks.com/t...rms/index.html Anyone have experience with that complete setup? I like how everything is ready to go with the ball joints etc. Also, it states with their tubular arms, you can run a 3'' drop spindle with a 15'' wheel no problem. That would be another plus. Instead of going with my intended 2.5'' spindle, I can go with a 3.

At $327 for the Upper Pair and $529 for the lower.... it is quite steep! At that price, I can find a complete and probably running c10 parts truck!

[72freak]

Unfortunatley, that should not be a surprise in Ct.!!!

[MAK191]

You should get a complete front setup from a wrecking yard or classified ad. I removed my upper control arms on my 72 and they were good but the crossmember just behind it had holes rusted through. the "L" shaped part just behind the control arm likes to trap water and whatever(ie road salt) and eat it away. I had to use a different crossmember to be safe.

[SBTork]

Originally Posted by chevymotocross

Frame is quite bad actually at the rear bumper area. When I take the bed off this spring I will have to figure out what to do. It really is ashame. This is the last winter this truck will see. After the body work and paint, this truck will be parked for the New England winters.

I already browsed through the local paper and found an ad for a complete front suspension setup out of an 82 c10 for $150. I'm going to take a look at it. If I can't find anything local, I was taking a look at this kit http://www.customclassictrucks.com/t...rms/index.html Anyone have experience with that complete setup? I like how everything is ready to go with the ball joints etc. Also, it states with their tubular arms, you can run a 3'' drop spindle with a 15'' wheel no problem. That would be another plus. Instead of going with my intended 2.5'' spindle, I can go with a 3.

At $327 for the Upper Pair and $529 for the lower.... it is quite steep! At that price, I can find a complete and probably running c10 parts truck!

It's more expensive than stock, but you're getting better than stock too. With stock, junkyard or otherwise control arms, you still have to figure in ball joints(which you already have), control arm bushings and to clean and paint them. It really depends on how much you have to spend on the truck and what you want from it.

[cableguy0]

if you got frame issues too. It might be a better idea to just start over. the money in frame repairs plus suspension you could get a parts truck thats probably in overall better shape than what your starting with.better condition now means a ton less money when it comes to restoration.

[Jim85IROC]

Originally Posted by cableguy0

if you got frame issues too. It might be a better idea to just start over. the money in frame repairs plus suspension you could get a parts truck thats probably in overall better shape than what your starting with.better condition now means a ton less money when it comes to restoration.

That's more or less the conclusion I've come to on my truck. As much as I love my truck, the fact is, Vermont winters have done a number on it, and these trucks are actually worth enough up here that I can sell my truck for more than a clean Texas equivalent will cost me.

You may want to do the same.

[arkracing]

Typical New England control arm. Is the only other bad spot on the frame in the rear where the bumper bolts on or is the whole thing rusty? If it is just the back I would repair it and get some southern control arms shipped up.

There are good SWB chassis around you just have to know where to look, and be willing to spend a little cash

If you get in a bind, let me know maybe I can locate some parts for you.

[chevymotocross]

Originally Posted by arkracing

Typical New England control arm. Is the only other bad spot on the frame in the rear where the bumper bolts on or is the whole thing rusty? If it is just the back I would repair it and get some southern control arms shipped up.

There are good SWB chassis around you just have to know where to look, and be willing to spend a little cash

If you get in a bind, let me know maybe I can locate some parts for you.

Exactly where the bumper bolt area is. No way am I quitting now. I can fix this, just a bit more involved than I thought. I finished most of the cab work this past summer, new fenders are on, doors, have a southern bed sitting in my driveway. I realized I won't drive this year round when finished. Crappy in the snow anyways but it is amazing how fast the road salt eats away. Going to have to get something dedicated to winter use I guess.

[pcwillsie]

great time to put in tubular control arms though

[Mr.Scary]

Man thats just scary makes me wanna go out ans check my truck all over

[78 Chevyrado]

What ever you end up doing, you need to invest in whatever undercoating is the heaviest dutiest on everything that aint body color.

[chevymotocross]

Originally Posted by 78 Chevyrado

What ever you end up doing, you need to invest in whatever undercoating is the heaviest dutiest on everything that aint body color.

Have been using a product called Zero Rust. Basically like POR 15. You brush it or spray it directly on the rust and it's suppose to adhere to it and stop it. I also go over this with spray on undercoating.