So: my passenger side ball joint needs to be replaced, after all I do have over 325,000 miles on the bluestang hehe. So I pull it in the garage and proceed to disassemble to front end. With new ball joint in hand I slipped it into place and..... Wait... What did he say? SLIPPED it into place???? Yep that's right, the new ball joint slid right into place without having to press it in and here's why... Some MORON that owned the car before me decided to FORCE the wrong ball joint in, thus stretching out the opening to the point where the one that is supposed to be the right one will not work. They also shaved off a potion of the lower part of the control arm so it wouldn't rub on the inner rotor... I guess if this was the apocalypse and you had to do what you had to do it would be fine, but what the F where they thinking.... DUHHHHH
My buddy at Meineke said he could heat and cool several times the control arm so as to reform it back into it's original circumference, but in light of the cut off area and the weakened metal if he does actual reform it, I really have no choice but to put in a "new" control arm.
Here's a picture of the two next to each other. The one on the left is the one removed and the one on the right is the proper one. Notice the differences in the seat sizes, the length of the spindle and also the location of the cotter pin holes. They are like night and day and I still don't understand how this worked in the first place, but it did.
Figured you guys could use a good laugh, funny though, I'm not exactly happy hehe.
My buddy at Meineke said he could heat and cool several times the control arm so as to reform it back into it's original circumference, but in light of the cut off area and the weakened metal if he does actual reform it, I really have no choice but to put in a "new" control arm.
Here's a picture of the two next to each other. The one on the left is the one removed and the one on the right is the proper one. Notice the differences in the seat sizes, the length of the spindle and also the location of the cotter pin holes. They are like night and day and I still don't understand how this worked in the first place, but it did.
Figured you guys could use a good laugh, funny though, I'm not exactly happy hehe.