Do autox'ed and road raced FD's need to keep an eye on ball joint wear in the upper control arm? I am doing all new bushings in my OEM front control arms and I want to get it right the first time. Should I just order a new set of front upper control arms (since you can't just get the ball joint)?

Also, is there a similar ball joint on the lowers to watch out for wear?

If so, how do you test for wear on these?

Thanks!

 

yes you should check. the simple test is to take big pliers and squeeze the ball joint, if it moves its bad. the more involved technique is to do that while measuring. you can also unbolt the arm/spindle from the joint and make sure it rotates freely.

the upper arms should last a long time, as the upper joint isn't the load carrying one, the lower joint is.

however since you're racing you should just check, and replace as needed.

Mazda uses big/good quality joints, so they seem like they last longer than most, we change ball joints and tie rod ends in the honda every season, the tie rod ends on that car (94-00 integra) really wear fast, and the aftermarket stuff wears faster!

 

Important to note that you want to squeeze the ball joint relatively lightly, you only want to measure the free play, so if you squeeze it very hard you will get a measurement higher than the actual free play.