Why is my lower ball joint welded in the lca

[cdub2010]

Does anyone have a good reason why someone welded the lower ball joint into my lower control arm? Im new to c-10 trucks so is this the correct process to install a ball joint?

[projectking]

Absolutely not right, perhaps they used the wrong ball joints and "made them work"

[toiletbowl54]

the few trucks I have worked on, the lower is pressed in, upper has bolts. My guess is the hole was messed up so it would not hold a press fit with the outside snap ring installed so he welded it in. Only way I know to correct it is to replace the lower a arm. Thats my .02.

[LockDoc]

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Looks like it is spot welded, probably in two places. I would split the welds carefully with a cutoff tool, remove the ball joint and see what you have.

LockDoc

[Steeveedee]

That's a long enough bead that I would think that the grease got cooked. Adding more grease wouldn't get rid of the coked up stuff. If that LCA was mine, I'd replace it.

[mikeshome]

I have seen this done many times.I holeis just not holding the pressed in ball joint tight.If there is no play in it i would leave it alone and keep it greased as normal.

[cdub2010]

Originally Posted by LockDoc

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Looks like it is spot welded, probably in two places. I would split the welds carefully with a cutoff tool, remove the ball joint and see what you have.

LockDoc

Thats my plan for later this week. They also welded in front to, gonna be abugger to split that weld in that tight area.

The real crappy part is I had purchased this rolling frame from a member here last summer. It was said to have a lot of all new suspension parts so I wouldnt have to do this. Turns out I bought someones trash that was made to look good with a coat of chassis paint. The more i dig into this thing the more i hate it, ill probably just throw most of it away.

[Boog]

The bj will not fall out. The coil spring pulls upward on the bj keeping it in place. The stitch of weld is just insurance. While this is not the prescribed method of bj retainment it does suffice to keep that lca in use. You could remove the bj and place some spot welds around the inside of the hole to tighten it and press a new bj in place if you want.

[saxart]

I see nothing wrong with this. While I do agree that that weld is a bit on the long side and may have put a bit too much heat into the ball-joint, it's just insurance to make sure that the joint doesn't bobble around. Yes, the spring pulls up on the ball joint keeping it in place, but if the ball-joint isn't tight into the a-arm, when you go over a bump, the ball-joint will slide up about 1/4" until the control arm hits the spindle.

If the ball-joint is good and tight, I'd say it's fine to run like that.