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Wait, so the title is "broke the other friggin' balljoint", does that mean that you replaced only one of the pair? Were these the v1 ELBJs that were known to have issues?
The returns have all come from the first batch, and none from the stuff in stock. You can tell the difference if the laser logo is on the bottom in the circle (2nd batch--in stock now), or on top on the powder coat (1st batch). Returns are 1/3 of 1% of all sold, and like everyone else I want 0%. Two of the returns are from cars with high hp, high down force running 275 Hoosiers.
The new BJ's will be built for the extreme cars. Until then, there are dozens to hundreds of ELBJ's running in NASA Spec, Time Attack, SuperMiata and more. They work.
Well, that's disturbing because the ones I just received look identical to the ones I'm taking off (logo in exactly the same place). ?? Maybe @cordycord can chime in and clarify.
Well, that's disturbing because the ones I just received look identical to the ones I'm taking off (logo in exactly the same place). ?? Maybe @cordycord can chime in and clarify.
Here's a picture of the new ball joints, front and back. I had asked my manufacturer to put the logo on the bottom of the ball joint, but apparently the unequal surface did not allow for it. Plus the SCCA requires the logo to be in the same place. The new ball joints have thicker bodies, the bottom cap is thicker, and most importantly the ball has more articulation.
In short, the best way to tell new from old is to look at the bottom. If it looks like this, it's "V2".
This is the V2 bottom cap. It uses thicker material with a more robust seal. Both first and second generation ball joints have logos at the top. Maybe one shipment had them on the bottom.
So, here are pictures of the broken ball joints from the car (my mourning period ended and I worked on the car Saturday). These are not the same ball joints as the ones from my 1/24/2016 build thread post. I remember that the first set developed some play fairly early on and I replaced them. But I can't remember the exact date they were replaced.
I'll leave it to @cordycord to say whether these are Version 1 or Version 2. I'm confused enough at this point . . . .
As for the car, I replaced the ball joint, pulled the nose and fender off the car, and drove it to the bodyshop of a racer friend of mine. The car tracked perfectly straight! We're going to do a bit of frame pulling and then it will live again.
Of course, part of me wanted to order an Exocet kit. Maybe next time.
Last edited by hornetball; May 10, 2021 at 07:17 PM.
So, here are pictures of the broken ball joints from the car (my mourning period ended and I worked on the car Saturday). These are not the same ball joints as the ones from my 1/24/2016 build thread post. I remember that the first set developed some play fairly early on and I replaced them. But I can't remember the exact date they were replaced.
I'll leave it to @cordycord to say whether these are Version 1 or Version 2. I'm confused enough at this point . . . .
As for the car, I replaced the ball joint, pulled the nose and fender off the car, and drove it to the bodyshop of a racer friend of mine. The car tracked perfectly straight! We're going to do a bit of frame pulling and then it will live again.
Of course, part of me wanted to order an Exocet kit. Maybe next time.
Those are definitely V1 ball joints. V1 had the logo both on top and on the bottom. V2 never had the logo on the bottom. All logos are back to the original position...top...which may cause confusion. For the record, of the thousands of V1 and V2 ball joints sold for on and off track use, we're at less than 1/2% failure rate on a race part, although for some strange reason that doesn't make people who have had failures feel better. I don't recall seeing a V2 failure yet.
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