Hi Folks

I am about to order some goodies from Rodney. Can anyone share experiences with the 1" lowering balljoints for 88? I need to buy a complete poly kit, sway bar bushings, links, etc and would prefer using the lowering balljoints instead of cutting my springs if possible

any feedback would be appreciated

I have Rodney's one inch lowering ball joints on an 88 and coilovers on the rear. I have been running the Rodney ball joints for about three years without any problems. The pictures may give you an idea how they look on my car. BTW, I have 265 x 50 x 15 tires on the front and rear.

Nelson

[This message has been edited by hnthomps (edited 04-22-2011).]

very nice, thanks.

anyone else? Is it pretty simple to weld them in the correct position?

All of Rodney's products are top quality. I don't use the lowering ball joints, but I helped someone install them on his car. I recommend tack welding them in place. Just press them in with a ball joint press and put a couple tack welds to make sure it stays put. It's just as easy as using OEM ball joints.

[This message has been edited by Formula88 (edited 04-22-2011).]

quote Originally posted by Formula88: All of Rodney's products are top quality. I don't use the lowering ball joints, but I helped someone install them on his car. I recommend tack welding them in place. Just press them in with a ball joint press and put a couple tack welds to make sure it stays put. It's just as easy as using OEM ball joints.

I was thinking about buying them too, BUT I have to ask, why tack weld them in place? Fiero suspensions in the front have the spring on the lower control arm thus the ball joint is always being pulled, never compressed, because it connects in under the spindle. as long as the lip on the lowering ball joints is sufficient it never needs to be tacked? Sorry that reccomendation just confused me, never heared of that!

quote Originally posted by hnthomps: BTW, I have 265 x 50 x 15 tires on the front and rear. Nelson

Really!! One the front without rubbing. What are the wheel offsets??

(sorry for the hyjack)

[This message has been edited by My1stMidEng (edited 04-23-2011).]

These tires are on Stock Chromadora wheels (option on the 88 Mera) and I have no idea what the offset actually is. All four wheels appear to be identical but they are installed on a nonstock 88 vehicle body. It is possible to get a slight rub at very low speeds when turning hard in a parking lot but there have been no problems when on the road.

Nelson

quote Originally posted by My1stMidEng: Really!! One the front without rubbing. What are the wheel offsets?? (sorry for the hyjack)

[This message has been edited by hnthomps (edited 04-23-2011).]

quote Originally posted by Racing_Master: I was thinking about buying them too, BUT I have to ask, why tack weld them in place? Fiero suspensions in the front have the spring on the lower control arm thus the ball joint is always being pulled, never compressed, because it connects in under the spindle. as long as the lip on the lowering ball joints is sufficient it never needs to be tacked? Sorry that reccomendation just confused me, never heared of that!

Rodney also recommends tack welding the 1 in. lowering ball joints. Even though they are a press fit the added height of the ball joint may put some additional stresses where they press into the control arm. Tack welding them is sort of like safety wiring a bolt head. I have recently installed these on my 88 Mera and also tack welded them. I did not need to cut the bump stop as I would have with a shorter spring. I still have to replace my front shocks, but I do not think they current ones are running out of travel and they are tired.

I've had Rodney's lowering balljoints going on 5 years now on my 88 daily driver with no problems. I didn't have them welded.
Marc

My boots are starting to get a bit cracked looking after a few years... I will admit I have not greased since install.

quote Originally posted by Racing_Master: I was thinking about buying them too, BUT I have to ask, why tack weld them in place? Fiero suspensions in the front have the spring on the lower control arm thus the ball joint is always being pulled, never compressed, because it connects in under the spindle. as long as the lip on the lowering ball joints is sufficient it never needs to be tacked? Sorry that reccomendation just confused me, never heared of that!

It's a press fit. 20+ years later, the fit may not be as tight as OEM. I have Rodney's regular replacement ball joints and they're not welded either. They do have a lock ring in addition to being press fit; however.

quote Originally posted by Formula88: It's a press fit. 20+ years later, the fit may not be as tight as OEM. I have Rodney's regular replacement ball joints and they're not welded either. They do have a lock ring in addition to being press fit; however.

20 years later mine still were a PITA to get in. No way they are coming out IMO. I used the regular replacement ones.

quote Originally posted by Gokart: I've had Rodney's lowering balljoints going on 5 years now on my 88 daily driver with no problems. I didn't have them welded. Marc

Same here. They are a perfect addition to any '88. They adjusted the fender gap perfectly in my opinion.

I have them also. I have 2 88 GTs and both have been lowered 1". The first one I use 1" lowering ball joints and the other, I used the Fiero store 1" lowering springs. If I had to do it all over again, I would go with the 1" lowering ball joints as the car can still be aligned. With the 1" lowering springs, the caster is really hard if not impossible to get aligned correctly. With the caster off, the car will wonder a little on the freeway. The only down side I have with the ball joints is that if you combine them with the West Coast Fiero C4 12" brake upgrade, the 12" rotors will rub on the A-Arm.

My old 88 looked just right with them. No alignment issues. Previous owner had them installed. But I have installed a few sets since then and it was fairly simple and straight forward. Much easier than springs too.

I did them in conjunction with the 12" WCF brake upgrade and can attest to the LCA scrape. The control arms have to be ground down and the ball joints have to be tack-welded in place. My first set of welds, around the outside edge of the control arm on top, cracked in a few thousand miles. It's difficult if not impossible to weld the back without removing the LCA. Now on my second set of welds, Doug Chase re-did it and he welded the top and the bottom of the ball joint to the control arm. So far so good. These things do move around and make the car handle funny if they're not welded in place, and it was also the only way to get the LCA to stop hitting the big brake rotors around sharp turns.