Slightly undersized ball joint taper - can I sleeve it?

[bLaCkFoXsA]

Hi, so I went to attach my t3 LCA's to my ta22 today, and realised that I made the idiotic mistake when buying them of not considering the fact that the ball joint taper was probably going to be smaller in diameter than the bore of the s15 silvia knuckles. I'm not sure what to do here. I need to use the t3 arms so that the rest of the suspension components will attach, but need to get a bigger taper? Can I just sleeve the knuckle or do I need to try and change the ball joint completely? I've never done the latter before so sleeving would be a nice option if it is safe...

[Bazooka]

I had to do this when fitting Suzuki Vitara power steering into Sierras. The Sierra steering link ball joint had to be sleeved to fit the pitman arm taper. Never had a problem with it and still have one running in my Sierra which is still bashing around the paddocks after 10 years.
If machined properly you won't have any problems.

[Hurricane]

ive not personally made a tapered sleeve for a ball joint but ive seen it done many time with no issues.
ive also seen people drill the female taper out and weld a machined insert inplace with the right taper.
if you can find a interchangable ball joint that would be the easyest option id think.

come to think of it i have made a tapered insert that was welded into a steering arm on my 4x4. ran it for years with no issues

cheers, dan

[Suavemechanic]

I got a pair made for the tie rod ends on my mustang disc brake conversion , then found some on the internet in the us for much less than the slab !
I thought about it for ages and cant see a problem ,
The rally guys weld up steering arms all the time and re machine the hole , but I was taught never to weld steering parts .

[bLaCkFoXsA]

Yeah I thought that the cast might be an issue, but I'm not gonna do it myself.. I rang up a local(ish) fabricator and asked about it and he's happy to do it for $160... Replacing the ball joints would have been an easier option but they're t3 LCA's and they do not appear very easily replaceable.
I guess at the end of the day it's only a small change, not like the welds are going to be taking any huge tensile loads or anything.. Cheers everyone for the tips/advice

[Hurricane]

Cut and shut steering arms and knunkles made of cast steel are a common thing in the drift sene and ive never heard of one breaking. There are different methods in welding cast with pre and post heating and cooling times. normally cooled slowly in an oven or buried in lime.

ive welded the case that steering arms are made of before without any issues on 4wds.

[Pagie84a]

Do s13 bjs fit into the t3 lcas I woulda thought swapping them would be your easiest and cheapest option take u 10 mins on a press and new bjs can be like $50

[lexsmaz]

Cut and shut steering arms and knunkles made of cast steel are a common thing in the drift sene and ive never heard of one breaking. There are different methods in welding cast with pre and post heating and cooling times. normally cooled slowly in an oven or buried in lime.

ive welded the case that steering arms are made of before without any issues on 4wds.

As you have said & even some racing & rally guy's from what I have heard have done welding to steering arms etc, but In saying that I would not feel comfortable myself in doing it or driving a car with welded steering arm's etc & good luck getting it Engineered ..

[bLaCkFoXsA]

They're not going to be cut, plan is to get an insert machined up as a nice snug press fit, push it in and weld. The fabricator is experienced with cast and it should be very close to undetectable.. I don't get why people see inspection/engineering as such a tough thing to deal with, they've been nothing but accommodating to me so far! If this little mod is going to be a deal breaker, I doubt I'll have much luck with all the actual major mods that are happening

[bmxer54]

your insert idea sounds good but ball joints are extremely cheep, go down to your local auto parts store and ask for an s13 bj and a ta22 one or whatever t3 happen to use in their lcas, compare the dimensions, if they are the same O.D. and height from lip to circlip groove then you may save yourself alot of coin and unnecessary hassle