Upper ball joint castle nut

[Timjtitus]

Should have left the upper ball joints alone...

These have been a hell jog a job, got the driver side done and torqued to spec at 80 lbs. joust did the passenger side and torqued it to 80 lbs and the castle nut is too low on the bolt for the cotter pin to sit between this ridges. I gusss I’ll press it out and buy a new joint. What did I do wrong?

 

[phattyduck]

Did you get an aftermarket part instead of OEM? At least the upper ball joint isn't heavily stressed (compared to the lower one).

If you can put the cotter pin in place in such a way as to keep the nut from spinning, why not just leave it as-is?

-Charlie

 

[Timjtitus]

Did you get an aftermarket part instead of OEM? At least the upper ball joint isn't heavily stressed (compared to the lower one).

If you can put the cotter pin in place in such a way as to keep the nut from spinning, why not just leave it as-is?

-Charlie

OEM. I’m gonna throw some grade 8 washers under it and call it good.

 

[octanejunkie]

Wonder if you got the correct UBJ or if it's a mfgr defect, being able to pull it in too far is weird

 

[theriddler]

Sounds like a crap Chinese part to me. I think you'll be fine using the washer, once the castle nut is torqued the tapered joint will "lock" things into place again...that's why they're so hard to get off. This is a good example of why I push OEM parts so hard on Toyotas, yeah they're more money up front but they fit every time and you get the same reliability.

Speaking of cheap ass replacement parts, I have an uncle that brags about how he has taken like 4 Jeep radiators back to advance auto because they have failed and he's returned them with the "lifetime warranty". He's thinking he's screwed them over, I'm thinking "you've had to return 4 radiators in 10 years for failure?" I'd rather buy once and replace mine every 15-20 years but to each their own.

 

[Timjtitus]

Sounds like a crap Chinese part to me. I think you'll be fine using the washer, once the castle nut is torqued the tapered joint will "lock" things into place again...that's why they're so hard to get off. This is a good example of why I push OEM parts so hard on Toyotas, yeah they're more money up front but they fit every time and you get the same reliability.

Speaking of cheap ass replacement parts, I have an uncle that brags about how he has taken like 4 Jeep radiators back to advance auto because they have failed and he's returned them with the "lifetime warranty". He's thinking he's screwed them over, I'm thinking "you've had to return 4 radiators in 10 years for failure?" I'd rather buy once and replace mine every 15-20 years but to each their own.

It’s an oem part from camelback. I’m going to pop it back out and clean it with a degreaser. I’m thinking maybe I got some grease on the threads

 

[theriddler]

That's weird an OEM part would do that, was the nut new too or kinda rusty? A little grease isn't ideal but shouldn't hurt anything, i'm sure you'll still have to pound it off the next time you try...i always have.

 

[nevada]

im not sure why this happens, but I do see it from time to time. never on OEM parts though. I think they start the taper at a different location on the shaft. assuming its got the correct taper, and you're able to get a cotter pin in the nut so It cant turn, you're good to go.
a washer under the nut is not a problem.

 

[Timjtitus]

im not sure why this happens, but I do see it from time to time. never on OEM parts though. I think they start the taper at a different location on the shaft. assuming its got the correct taper, and you're able to get a cotter pin in the nut so It cant turn, you're good to go.
a washer under the nut is not a problem.

Spoke to to Timmy the tool man and it turned out that the control arm was the issue. Swapped that out with one from the junkyard and it’s good to go. Thanks everyone.

 

[Dumpolina]

Spoke to to Timmy the tool man and it turned out that the control arm was the issue. Swapped that out with one from the junkyard and it’s good to go. Thanks everyone.

Encountered this same issue... UBJ stud protrudes way above the top surface of the control arm and does not engage the taper in the control arm "sleeve" (for lack of e a better term) on both sides. Top of the castle nut is like 3/8" below the cotter pin hole in the stud.
These are also OEM parts from the Camelback.
I don't get how the sleeve in the control arm can be the issue. That'd be a huge amount of wear to allow the stud to stick this far up.

Gonna try to find a take off UCA and another UBJ from the local dealer to see if I can duplicate the issue without the joint pressed into the spindle
Boo

 

[onewheeldrive]

Spoke to to Timmy the tool man and it turned out that the control arm was the issue. Swapped that out with one from the junkyard and it’s good to go. Thanks everyone.

I'm experiencing the same issue. Had a shop replace UBJs and LBJs. Received my vehicle back with finger-tight LBJ nuts missing cotter pins. Went to torque everything myself to spec and now UBJ nuts sit well below cotter pin hole [both sides].
Did mtbtim offer information on what the UCA issue was?
Can anyone offer suggestions/solutions?