There seems to have been a huge amount of people posting requests for information regarding the lower ball joints in the First Generation LS. Given this, and my recent experience with this process, I figured I'd post all the inforamation I was able to gather about the subject in one spot for ease of reference.
I was in contact with Ed of Euromarque (the eBay distributor for replacement lower ball joints) during the end of last week. I must first express my thanks to Ed for his patience, and willingness to help me through this process as well as a few other items that were a problem for my car specifically. Just as an example of his willingness to help, the man answered his phone late on a Saturday night to answer any and all questions I had for him, and I had simply purchased one ball joint from him. Much Thanks again Ed!
Below I have attached the instructions that Euromarque provided me for the r&r on the lower ball joint, and steering knuckle of the first generation LS. I know some of the long-term members and mechanically inclined will be very familiar with this information, but for those of us who are either inexperienced or new to this setup should find the following very helpful, I sure did. One note regarding the recommended torque specifications of the upper and lower ball joints, the pictures in the attached document recommend 111 lb/ft, however it was a recommendation by Euromarque that this be closer to 85 or 90 lb/ft. I personally used 85 lb/ft as I found the 111 figure to be entirely too high for such a small shank, and it's my opinion that this could be a contributing factor, aside from the under-sizing of the 14mm ball joint, to premature failure.
I'm obviously very satisfied with the customer service I received from Euromarque, and am exceptionally happy with the repair and the quality of the replacement ball joint.
As clarification, I am in no way associated with Euromarque, nor do I receive any sort of financial or product support from them, simply a very satisfied customer who was wanting to pass along a recommendation, and a positive story for once!
I was in contact with Ed of Euromarque (the eBay distributor for replacement lower ball joints) during the end of last week. I must first express my thanks to Ed for his patience, and willingness to help me through this process as well as a few other items that were a problem for my car specifically. Just as an example of his willingness to help, the man answered his phone late on a Saturday night to answer any and all questions I had for him, and I had simply purchased one ball joint from him. Much Thanks again Ed!
Below I have attached the instructions that Euromarque provided me for the r&r on the lower ball joint, and steering knuckle of the first generation LS. I know some of the long-term members and mechanically inclined will be very familiar with this information, but for those of us who are either inexperienced or new to this setup should find the following very helpful, I sure did. One note regarding the recommended torque specifications of the upper and lower ball joints, the pictures in the attached document recommend 111 lb/ft, however it was a recommendation by Euromarque that this be closer to 85 or 90 lb/ft. I personally used 85 lb/ft as I found the 111 figure to be entirely too high for such a small shank, and it's my opinion that this could be a contributing factor, aside from the under-sizing of the 14mm ball joint, to premature failure.
I'm obviously very satisfied with the customer service I received from Euromarque, and am exceptionally happy with the repair and the quality of the replacement ball joint.
As clarification, I am in no way associated with Euromarque, nor do I receive any sort of financial or product support from them, simply a very satisfied customer who was wanting to pass along a recommendation, and a positive story for once!
