I just picked up a couple ACDELCO front lower BJs from Rockauto for my 86 GT and noticed they arrived without cotter pins and were made with no holes for the cotter pins - just a lock nut.

Would there be any issues installing them with the lock nut instead of a castle nut w/ the pin? Anyone here have any issues using these? Kind of strange to me why they would switch to this method in the first place.

Thank you in advance!

(As a side note, I probably wouldn't even be driving more than 1K miles a year, if that means anything)

I know I've seen more current threads on the subject, but this one should do...

Yet another ball joint question, no cotter pins?

I appreciate the link Patrick --- I can see I'm not the only one concerned about it. Instead of returning them and risking the same issue on a different brand I'll see if the old castle nut fits the new shank and use that on top of the new locking nut for added security.

Got the driver side lower pressed out; now the fun part of pressing the new one in. I can see already it's gonna be tricky lining it up before i begin cranking it through the hole with the tool I rented.

Drilling a hole in Class 10.9 or harder metal should be fun... Not.

Most or all BJ studs are hard metal that love to eat most drills and bits that most DIYers have.

Stud, hole and treads must be clean and dry and use right torque to hold.
Nut only keep stud taper engage when you drive and hit things.
Stud taper do all of the real work.

⚠️ Warning: This Is Not a place to use anti-seize etc.

------------------
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave

Thanks for the heads up Ogre -- I'll probably just stick with using the castle and lock nuts together after installing the new bj. I had thought about drilling a hole for a pin but the most I'll likely do is just add locktite.

I made an attempt to install the new ball joint and ran into difficulty. Both the control arm and the bj are ribbed and whenever I started cranking the press clamp it just didn't seem lined up straight so I didn't continue (I can just imagine how much trouble I'd have if it started sliding into the hole crooked).

Is there a trick to getting it lined up before cranking it into the hole? Also I pressed the bj out cranking from the top which was easy. Is it possible to install by cranking it from the top again or must it be flipped to the bottom?

It's been seven years since I last installed ball joints. There might be something relevant in This thread, and maybe specifically in This post.

I know that when I have installed ball joints into the swing arm in the past, I have ended up with a whole mess of adapter rings, sockets and even an old piece of steam pipe bent into shape with a BFH to get everything to line up so the press would work.

Patrick - thank you for the links.. I believe both of them are identical. I think that thread mainly discussed how far the bj is to be pressed in.

My trouble is getting it started without getting it cockeyed. I've noticed on some vehicles, the joints are smooth and you can actually set them in the hole a small amount with your hands before using the press. Not so with the Fieros; they have the spines to deal with.

ltlfrari - Yea, I've been tinkering around to figure out exactly which collars and sockets to use once I'm lucky enough to get it started in the hole straight. I used a 3/4" ratchet with the 7/8 socket (cranking from the top side) to get the bj pressed out. It seems to me that the bj would then have to be pressed in cranking from the bottom, which I don't have much clearance to get it under there.