Extended Ball Joint issue
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 574
Total Cats: 44
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If anyone has issues, please pm me. While this group is known for being hard on their parts, the ELBJ's are supposed to take it. I talked with the manufacturer and had them do some testing. They did a static test, pressing down on the ELBJ's with a 4 ton press, and they did not fail. However, we all know that racing causes cumulative deterioration--what might be fine today may fail tomorrow.
For that reason I've asked the manufacturer to review and beef up the design. They'll be making the forging larger, and we may go to a larger ball socket as well. That said, our current known failure rate is five out of 1,000.
While there are very few race parts that have a warranty, I will stand behind these ball joints. Anyone who purchases from the current stock will get a "no questions asked" replacement, although I do ask that you pay for shipping.
For that reason I've asked the manufacturer to review and beef up the design. They'll be making the forging larger, and we may go to a larger ball socket as well. That said, our current known failure rate is five out of 1,000.
While there are very few race parts that have a warranty, I will stand behind these ball joints. Anyone who purchases from the current stock will get a "no questions asked" replacement, although I do ask that you pay for shipping.
LBJs from Mazda arent really the answer much any more either, they're having the same crocked cross hole quality issues the parts store ones have so I wouldn't be surprised if they're also as weak. I was really hoping these ELBJs were going to be stronger than OEM, or at least as good as 90's mazda units, and that maybe they'd end up coming out with stock sized LBJs.
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Mine were the originals, without the easily-inspected logo (they still had a logo, but not in a place a tech inspector would be able to see it easily).
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They needed to test by pulling up on the stud. Remember the wheel wants to pull the stud up as the weight of the car pushes the housing down.
LBJs from Mazda arent really the answer much any more either, they're having the same crocked cross hole quality issues the parts store ones have so I wouldn't be surprised if they're also as weak. I was really hoping these ELBJs were going to be stronger than OEM, or at least as good as 90's mazda units, and that maybe they'd end up coming out with stock sized LBJs.
LBJs from Mazda arent really the answer much any more either, they're having the same crocked cross hole quality issues the parts store ones have so I wouldn't be surprised if they're also as weak. I was really hoping these ELBJs were going to be stronger than OEM, or at least as good as 90's mazda units, and that maybe they'd end up coming out with stock sized LBJs.
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.
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Quick update--no ball joints have been returned from the second batch. You can tell them because they have the logo on the bottom of the ball cup, not on top. We've only had stock of the second batch now for the past 7-8 months.
Thanks,
Cord
Thanks,
Cord
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