Thread: Best way to weld on ball joint sleeves

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Sketch, Balljoint mod, 58 Pont lower control, v0_1.jpg
So far have not found instructions for welding ball joint sleeves.
Can someone with experience modifying control arms with a ball joint sleeve tell me the best way to weld on threaded ball joint sleeve?
See picture of control arm.
I have lower control arms that were designed for a downward facing bolt-on ball joints. I need an upward facing ball joint that will fit a Camaro drop spindle. I have bought Moog K719 ball joints which are "Small Chrysler" screw-in ball joints used on lower control arms of 73 Dodge Charger. They fit the Camaro spindle perfectly. I have bought threaded sleeves that are designed to hold these ball joints.
I have read to weld slowly to allow cooling to prevent warp of the sleeve.
I will have to cut a hole for clearance of the ball joint.
My question relates to the best way to weld the sleeve to the arm.
Seems like there are three options:
1) Should I cut a tight fit hole for the sleeve to fit through and then weld along the diameter of the sleeve with the sleeve flush with top of the arm?
or
2) Should I cut a tight fit hole for the sleeve to fit through and then weld along the diameter of the sleeve with the sleeve positioned above top of the arm?
or
3) Should I cut slightly smaller hole that will clear the balljoint and weld the sleeve to the bottom of the control arm?
Thanks

I'd go with a tight fit hole, center the sleeve midway in the control arm and stitch it up on both sides.

Thanks again for your help

Hey Mutt,
Do some mock-ups with your LCA, spindle and wheel/tire. Pay close attention to where the LCA is in relationship to the spindle AND wheel, especially at full steer left and right and full rebound and jounce. Getting the ball stud to high or too low will make thinngs real nasty for clearances.
Also pay attention to where the ball stud is when the LCA is level to the ground. You want the LCA level (or close to it) with the suspension at ride height. You will also want to check the relationship of the steering arms to the LCA and wheel\tire during steer.
There are a lot of design parameters involved in doing this and you have a tough row to hoe to get things right.
Mark

Thanks all for the feedback. I would like to position will be the top of sleeve slightly above the control arm top and weld from top and bottom similar to attached picture. Don't want to position it too high because I'm using 2" drop spindles. Positioning higher will add more drop and move control arm closer to the ground.
There may also be issues with the attached steering arm being too close to the wheel and tire. I'm limited on wheel backspace and I've seen pictures of this style spindle installed on Camaros. I will be initially be designing the suspension in CAD and will also mock up and test on the car.

1) Would this 1/4" position would not work OK from strength standpoint?
2) Would be reasonable to have the sleeve down to 1/8" above control arm, or even flush?
Thanks

As far as the installed height goes I can't tell you what will work. You will have to figure that out in your design.
For strength I would suggest a doubler plate. Once you have your design height verified, weld the sleeve in top and bottom, then make a doubler plate. Weld it on whichever side has more height and make it as large as the footprint on the LCA will allow.
Mark

Thanks again for your help.

Along with what Mark and others have brought up, you might want to put a caster camber gauge on the spindle and make sure you're going to have adjustment room to obtain caster/camber settings on the car that will make it driveable.----Distance between the arms does have an effect on these settings, changing the installed height of the ball joint will change the camber considerably.....

Thanks for the recommendation. I'm doing a variation of the upgrade described at:
http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/w...ension_upgrade
The caster and camber are adjusted by the angle and postion of the upper control arm mount.
Had planned on using an angle meter, but will definitely check into a caster camber gauge.
Thanks