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Napa's NEW Fleet chassis line = Mevotech TTX

@drag sgt so he's saying ttx isn't good??
To add insult to injury, I finally had time to change the ball joint tonight.. I finally got the old one to come out, and I went to put my brand new shiny TTX ball joint in.... I can slide it right up into the hole. And it will fall right back out. Now I guess I got to buy another freaking control arm... And try not to kill myself putting it in...this couldn't have possibly happened at a worse time.
So now I need opinions... Does it really matter what brand control arm it is..?
 
Stoney said:
@drag sgt so he's saying ttx isn't good??
To add insult to injury, I finally had time to change the ball joint tonight.. I finally got the old one to come out, and I went to put my brand new shiny TTX ball joint in.... I can slide it right up into the hole. And it will fall right back out. Now I guess I got to buy another freaking control arm... And try not to kill myself putting it in...this couldn't have possibly happened at a worse time.
So now I need opinions... Does it really matter what brand control arm it is..?
Click to expand...

Opposite. He's saying that TTX (and by extension the NAPA Fleet Black/Orange discussed at the beginning of this thread?) = good.

It's the NAPA Chassis line (which may be the lower grade blue/black Mevotechs?) and Moog that he won't use anymore due to part poor lifespan/quality.
 
drag sgt said:
Opposite. He's saying that TTX (and by extension the NAPA Fleet Black/Orange discussed at the beginning of this thread?) = good.

It's the NAPA Chassis line (which may be the lower grade blue/black Mevotechs?) and Moog that he won't use anymore due to part poor lifespan/quality.
Click to expand...

For comparison, here's the NAPA Fleetline (orange/black) and TTX (green/brown) LBJ both on the NAPA site. Fleetline about $30 cheaper for the same thing. Doesn't look like they have any complete control arms, though.

Fleetline: https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/FLTFTC50570

TTX: https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/TTXTXMS50570
 
I can't recall the model but some used a snap ring on the top side to keep in from falling out. you's @Stoney should be knurled and have a slight taper to it. last resort is to tack weld it into place. if you do tack it. make sure you do so in a couple of areas where you can get to it with a grinder or cut off wheel in the event it has to come out.
 
@Stoney if you have a torch handy, here is something I found on another thread. it might actually work!

www.chevelles.com

Fix for loose lower ball joint holes...

Guys I wanted to pass along a way to possibly save your lower control arms, that have the ball joint hole that has gotten too big to hold the ball joint securely. I just replaced the lowers in my 1970 with AFCO low friction ball joints, and they are serrated where they press into the control...
www.chevelles.com www.chevelles.com
 
Since yours is a 2WD there shouldn't be any issues like the 4WD and different sizes. If the LCA is old and rusty, it could be due to a variety of things, but if the old bjs were hammered out instead of pressed out it, that's a common reason that a new one won't fit. Tack welding, heating the metal to expand it, or just buying a new LCA are the typical solutions.
 
@drag sgt , I beat it out with a big socket and hammer cause it wouldn't press out. So possibly my own fault.. weird though cause that's the hardest time I've ever had getting one out.. I don't think I've ever seen you on here before so you're probably not aware of this but I have gone through half a dozen ball joints in this truck.. the driver side one broke about 2 weeks after I bought the truck 7 years ago... At that time I put in the one that I'm working on now... So I can't b**** about the longevity of that one... However in the past I would say 4 years or so I broke the passenger one four or five times... I've actually lost count... Although part of that problem was I was always putting in AutoZone ball joints...
So I guess that one being in for 7 years it did its job... I'm almost convinced that that one was a Moog.. but I don't remember...
 
if heating it with a torch to shrink the metal doesn't work. try to very slightly tap it inward when cherry red. don't go very much at all though.

I would taking the info in that thread I linked and try heating it up like that in three different places. from what it says, heating about a 1 inch section cherry red and letting it cool shrinks it a slight amount. it also will harden the steel too so be careful when installing, the LCA can crack instead of stretch when you try pressing it in.
 
Okay giving an update.. I noticed the new one did not have a taper on it like the old one... The old one still fit tight. As in you would have to press it in if you wanted to go in all the way.. couldn't get my hands on torches or a welder... So I went to advance and bought a carquest brand ball joint.. this was to compare... The carquest one had to be pressed in.. wasn't difficult but it wasn't loose like the TTX... I don't plan on leaving that one in, but I needed my truck drivable... Temporary solution so I can find a way to do the permanent fix
 
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