S13 and S14 front ball joint messurements?

[BeerBringer]

Hi

I have a possible simple and cheap solution for adjusting the front rollcenter.

Basicly I have found a BJ with a unusuall long shaft that I thing will fit in the stock controllarm. All I need to do is design a adapter/spacer for the RC-adjustment and tapper differences.

My main concern is that the shaft is too long and that I'll make the LCA hit the brake disc or that the BJ will bind. I thing the minimum spacing of the LCA will be about 50 mm and maximim about 60.

I have also made some RC projections in Autocad and even a relative small changes in LCA angle makes a big difference in RC.

Does anyone have a loose BJ that they can messure for me?
I need every possible messure you can get.

[djsilver]

The S14 Ball joint bodies are 41.05mm in diameter front and rear. That's all I have right now.

http://www.freshalloy.com/forums/showthread.php?t=185079

[cazman]

Ive posted this up many times

S13 Front
Taper low diameter 15.8mm
Taper High diameter 18mm
Taper length 19.5mm 20mm
Diameter where it presses in 41mm

S13 Rear
Taper low diameter 15mm
Taper High diameter 18.6mm
Taper length 23mm or 23.5
Diameter where it presses in 38mm

R32 front
Taper low diameter 15mm
Taper High diameter 18.6mm
Taper length 23mm
Diameter where it presses in 41mm

[turtl631]

Andy, stay the hell outta here. The "BJ with an unusual long shaft" and "loose BJ" jokes are just gimmes.

[Matt93SE]

I hate it when my BJs bind because my shaft is too long....

[CodyAce]

I hate it when my BJs bind because my shaft is too long....

'kids and meth these days'

[BeerBringer]

LOL... =P

If I have time I will try to make a sketch tonight when I get home from work.

After taking some more messurments of the ball joint last night it looks like we might get away with a 40-45 mm spacing of the LCA.
It also has a 41.5 mm base and a 13 mm errr....pin.

[BeerBringer]

Finaly had 5 mins to do a sketch.
If the stock ball joint and the new has the pivot point the same distance from the LCA it looks like a 38 mm spacing of the LCA is possible.

Do you guys think the top tappered portion will be possible to machine? At the very top it is only 0.8 mm thick.

Light blue = LCA
Green = Ball joint
Blue = Spacer
Orange = Spindel

[djsilver]

OK, I found some parts and some time today. This is for an S14 ball joint and it fits the front and rear lower control arms. The dimensions are as-installed (diameter on left and length on right). The drawing is not CAD and is not to scale. I also measured the tapered holes in the FLCA and RLCA and they are the same. 18mm big end, 14.5mm small end and 24.5mm length (depth). My rusty trigonometry skills tells me the tapered section has an included angle of 8 degrees. Most aftermarket ball joints are 7 degrees but reamers are available to make the change. Are you worried about binding? If you're trying to correct roll-center after lowering the vehicle you'll most likely only be putting the angle back to stock so it shouldn't be a problem. Beyond that it would be fairly easy to notch the stock FLCA to change the angle, then wrap some flat stock around it and weld it up. Here's a link to a set of pictures with it installed in both.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157623248212515/

[BeerBringer]

DJSilver: Thanks!

I'm trying to make a design that is as simple as: Buy the ball joint, buy/machine spacers and bolt it to the car.

There are a few solutions for the front RC on this site but to me they all seam so complicated with bearings, spacers, washers, drill bits ands so on.

[djsilver]

DJSilver: Thanks!

I'm trying to make a design that is as simple as: Buy the ball joint, buy/machine spacers and bolt it to the car.

There are a few solutions for the front RC on this site but to me they all seam so complicated with bearings, spacers, washers, drill bits ands so on.

I don't know if anyone has done the work/calculations on the 240sx, but I've read that on a Fox body Mustang for every inch you lower the front, you drop the RC two inches. The simple fix would be drop spindles but they're $$$$$$$!. The alternative you're going for (extended shank ball-joint) is the simplest but you also need to drop the tie-rod end the same amount. Just remember that whatever amount you've lowered the car, that's how much you need to move the ball-joint/tie rod back down to get the RC back to where it started. Remember that the roll-center axis on the 240sx is seriously angled down toward the front on the OEM design. I've seen stock versions hike a rear wheel on an autocross course just like a Civic. The problem is that when it happens to a Civic, the drive wheels are still on the ground