Warning! T2 Lower Control Arm Issue

[Tinman]

On one of our back country rides, my lower control arm dropped - the ball joint near the outer CV-joint dropped out of its hole.

AT SPEED; THIS COULD RESULT IN A SERIOUS ACCIDENT OR DEATH.

Worse yet, the issue wasn't one of breakage - it's a design defect.

As you can see from the pics, the bolt used to retain the lower ball joint has a shaft (non-threaded portion) that's too short. The threads actually hold the ball joint in place, not the bolt shaft. This, and the fact the bolt material sucks, means that it's easily stripped, as you can see from the marks.

My temp fix - buy a grade 8 bolt with a longer shaft (see pic2). But I'm still not comfortable. I'm thinking of shallow tapping a 8 mm hole on top, just so I can add a retaining bolt.

Have you guys experienced this, and if so what is your fix?

[rocmoc]

I believe this happened to Lenny and he posted a fix a whill ago. Search his posts.

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico

[Kinarfi]

Good photo of what happens, Here's a better fix than just a shanked bolt, I tried that and it still fell out, http://www.utvboard....ndpost__p__4883 , and here's lenny's post, http://www.utvboard.com/topic/778-front-ball-joints-need-checking/page__view__findpost__p__2085 and on my fix, I found that the nut was too long and need to be replaced with a jam nut because the full nut would hit the A arm.

[bigdan120]

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I missed that one one the issue bored..............Next thing to fix ......

[Tinman]

Good photo of what happens, Here's a better fix than just a shanked bolt, I tried that and it still fell out, http://www.utvboard....ndpost__p__4883 , and here's lenny's post, http://www.utvboard....ndpost__p__2085 and on my fix, I found that the nut was too long and need to be replaced with a jam nut because the full nut would hit the A arm.

Thanks for the link Kinarfi! It always helps.

I had looked at the MUST DO list and didn't find this, so I had supposed I was the first

I'm going now to buy a 12 mm tap and 4 bolts. Figured that with the little meat left, a 12 mm is a good compromise instead of the 1/2. HAD NO IDEA THERE WAS AN ISSUE WITH THE UPPER SUSPENSION ARM! Figured that with the shock pushing it down, it would be hard to have the ball joint shaft slide out...

[bruhaw]

Lenny - what if you just drilled it out for a 12 mm using a hardened bolt and lock nut and did not tap it out. It would then be more like a clamp and with the hardened bolt you could torque it very tight. The shoulder on the bolts I am using match up with the stock ones so there is no problem there with mating to the ball joint notch. What do you think? Any opinions?

[bigdan120]

There's prob not exact way to do it.. I think it comes down to your own preference most of all.....I like both ideas very much......I'm sometimes the easy way guy and others the hard way...Never know.......I feel anything is better then stock...LOL as long as includes a grade 8 and a nylon lock nut...

[Guest Lenny]

Lenny - what if you just drilled it out for a 12 mm using a hardened bolt and lock nut and did not tap it out. It would then be more like a clamp and with the hardened bolt you could torque it very tight. The shoulder on the bolts I am using match up with the stock ones so there is no problem there with mating to the ball joint notch. What do you think? Any opinions?

That wold probably work fine but I would use loc-tite on the nut. Be sure the bolt threads and nut are real clean or the loc-tite won't work as well. Make sure the nut is grade 8 too.

Lenny

[bruhaw]

Thanks guys for the replies. I was going to use a Nylock nut with the loctite as well. Ok to use the Nylock? I don't think it is grade 8 though. Not sure if they even make a grade 8 Nylock.

[bigdan120]

I think your right I don't think I have ever seen a grade 8 nylon nut either now to mention it LOL

[Guest Lenny]

The loc-tite used correctly is far superior to the nylock nut. I'm talking the red loc-tite which is something like #272 which is the non removeable type. It will remove anyway but sometimes requires a bit of heat. I sujest a standard grade 8 jam nut.

Lenny

[Tinman]

It's the bolt that has all the fun. The nut is just there for the ride.

[bruhaw]

Went with 12M X 55 X 1.75 and the shoulder was exactly the same as the stock 10M. Easiest way to do was to pull the wheel and jack up under lower control arm to put pressure on both upper and lower joints. Drilled out with a 15/32 and this included the ball joint area as I left them in like Lenny and Kinarfi said to do but not after doing only one with the joint out and then not being able to get the bolt to go through without hammering it in. So learned my lesson on the other 3 and left the joint in and just drilled away. Went back and did the other one the right way. Did not tap but rather put a washer on the nut side and used a Nylock nut which by the way is grade 8 along with loctite. So there are Nylocks that are grade 8. Was able to torque to 100 pounds and the clamp that locks the ball joint in has no gap in it unlike before where there was a decent amount there. Besides being clamped tight the shoulder on the 12M will hold it in there very well. Wish I would have done all of this when I changed out all the ball joints with zert fittings and new urethane bushings but OH well. Thanks for bringing this up Tinman. I know this goes way back to 2009 when Lenny and Kinarfi and others had problems. I figure better safe than sorry as it would cost a helluva lot more if it popped out at a higher speed in bad terrain. Done now and on to the next project whatever that may be. Thanks Guys!

[Kinarfi]

Did you check to see if the nut hits the A arm when turning

[Tinman]

Chuleta, where do you guys think up this stuff??? Checking now.

Thanks Kinarfi

[bruhaw]

Kinarfi - I have very little bolt thread past the nut - only a few threads. The other night when I did one side I did check when completed and it wasn't hitting anything. Had the wheel off and was able to go back and forth without interference. Will check again the other side too but think there is no clearance problem at all.

[Guest Lenny]

You have to check it turning it all the way from side to side while the suspension is all the way up and all the way down to look for bolt/nut interferance.

Lenny

[bruhaw]

Turned both ways and it is not close to hitting anything. So, looks good. From the way it looks it would have to be a pretty long bolt through the ball joint to come close to hitting the A arm.

[Kinarfi]

Good deal, your's must be built slightly different than mine.

[bruhaw]

Kinarfi - I put a pretty clear picture of the A-arms / ball joints in the picture gallery. If you look at that you can probably tell if it is a different configuration or not. I was able to get both the upper and lower ball joints in the picture along with the surrounding area. Might be different but that is hard to imagine it would be.

[nocturnalsixer]

So which is suggested? 12m bolt or 1/2" bolts?

[Guest Lenny]

So which is suggested? 12m bolt or 1/2" bolts?

Either one is fine. The main thing is that he bolt is large enough to get into the groove in the ball joint stud. On mine, 12mm didn't get into the groove by much where as the 1/2" did better. They both should be strong enough to be able to draw the clamp around the stud tight. Just remember that a non lubercated bolt will only transfer about 42% of the torque put into it into clamping force. The rest is lost to the friction in the non-lubercated threads. A lubercated bolt transfers about 85%. The tighter the clamping, the better.

Lenny

[bruhaw]

12MM worked fine on mine and I had to drill out with ball joint in so that bolt would go through so I know that it definitely was interfacing with the ball joint. There is not much of a difference and with the 12MM you would use a 15/32" drill bit and you will be set. Use cutting fluid when drilling it out as it will be easier on the drill bit and you will get it done faster.

[Tinman]

I found little meat left on mine, so I opted for 12mm for two reasons, cus everything is metric on this vehicle, and cus I save a whopping .015/side leaving more meat

However, the nuts on the back do SLIGHTLY interfere at full turn, but it's so little I'm not worried about it.

[bruhaw]

How long of bolt did you go with? I used the 55 and had no issues.

[Tinman]

It wasn't the bolt, its the nylock nut. But the contact is so little at max turn I'm not worried.

[Guest Lenny]

There is enough meat in the a-frame end casting that holds the ball joint that you can grind a little clearance into it without any worry. I probably ground mine in about 3/16" and have had no issues and I have hammered it hard a lot since. If your hitting, which happens at full compression or extension of the suspension while turning tight, you will eventually brake off the ball joint stim from it flexing each time it hits. I broke one of mine off while out on a ride. Someone happened along who had a bolt that would clamp in place of the ball joint stud. I put the hex head up about 1-1/2", removed the balance of the ball joint and just put the round hole for the ball joint over the bolt sticking up. That got me home. You can also grind a bit of a flat on the side of the nut. Just don't grind so much off that you can't get a hold of it with a socket. Mine are also ground. So far with the many part failures over the years, the Trooper has never stranded me.

Lenny

[Tinman]

That's reassuring. Because of the horrendous terrain where I take it, I'm always a bit worried wife will have to walk back with me. No big thing - lots of friendly people along the way, but still. However, with one major issue (snapped u-joint) and this one, I was able to get out both times.

I'll be doing some adjustments come Monday eve. Tomorrow and Monday will be taken up volunteering on the same trails.