Does this look right to you?? Front suspension

-

illrad91

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2020
Messages
63
Reaction score
14
Location
sacramento
idk if im doing this right or wrong? is the boot supposed to be like that? also the brake line metal part is hitting the the upper control arm only on this side the other side is not even close to the upper control arm nut?? sorry im doing this all on my own and dont know much thank you 67 dart

A031B16D-30E4-4A20-84D4-9327097FE2FF.jpeg


7F0A6E78-6665-4B9D-860A-E113F12B74DB.jpeg


25092F13-7D4D-4877-AB28-52F76D52B11E.jpeg
 
That gap should not be there in regards to the dust boot
I need other pics of brake line / caliper
 
i see the sticker says that upper control arm goes on the left side, but the angle that it kicks the upper ball joint towards the front makes me wonder if it actually goes on the right side...
 
Ys, does their left comply with Mopar left (driver side from the rear bumper like all the part are labeled in the FSM) or left side (passenger) from the front bumper as your working on it? Looks weird to me, try it the other side.
 
I suspect when you put weight on it the gap will close up some. But I’m not sure I like a boot that does not seat onto the upper arm in some form.
 
Last edited:
Is it free hanging? How are the adjuster bolts installed? Give it as much caster with the adjuster bolts as you can, put the weight on the suspension, and I bet it'll clear and look a lot better. That's where I would start anyway.
 
look at the angle on these......
1112.jpg

And this vid for another view..yours appear to be straight across?
 
There is so much there that doesn't look right.

First photo... The nut looks like it is not in full contact with the flat washer.

The second photo... The arm looks like it should have an angle at the upper ball joint

The third photo... I agree it would be nice if there was a positive seal to the boot and the arm.

If you don't have the shocks installed, you might have the arm at an angle it would not ever be in. ( As gdrill said) with weight on it, it will fit much differently.
 

dust boot aside, the ball joint is already fully pivoted to the max just to get it into the hole in the spindle. it's not right. try switching the upper arms side to side and see what it looks like.

the comment about everything changing when it's at ride height is correct. it will change some. those upper arms don't look like the have much tilt built into the ball joint, most arms do. who made the arms?
are they designed to be used with slammed ride height?
if you hold the upper arms level, how much tilt is built into the ball joint? look at the angle in your frame for your two upper arm pivots and use the arms on the sides of the car that the upper arms put the ball joint shaft perpendicular to the ground if the shaft isn't pivoted at all...
 
Last edited:
dust boot aside, the ball joint is already fully pivoted to the max just to get it into the hole in the spindle. it's not right. try switching the upper arms side to side and see what it looks like.

the comment about everything changing when it's at ride height is correct. it will change some. those upper arms don't look like the have much tilt built into the ball joint, most arms do. who made the arms?
are they designed to be used with slammed ride height?
if you hold the upper arms level, how much tilt is built into the ball joint? look at the angle in your frame for your two upper arm pivots and use the arms on the sides of the car that the upper arms put the ball joint shaft perpendicular to the ground if the shaft isn't pivoted at all...
they are hdk upper control arms i bought those because i eventually will go to coilovers. i spoke to dan and he told me the left is the driver side so i switched it but it doesnt look right to me when it is right height the boot still has a gap. is the spindle on the wrong side? is the caliper on the wrong side idk
 
Is it free hanging? How are the adjuster bolts installed? Give it as much caster with the adjuster bolts as you can, put the weight on the suspension, and I bet it'll clear and look a lot better. That's where I would start anyway.
I never adjusted it i just installed them how I got them and yes it is free hanging
 
There is so much there that doesn't look right.

First photo... The nut looks like it is not in full contact with the flat washer.

The second photo... The arm looks like it should have an angle at the upper ball joint

The third photo... I agree it would be nice if there was a positive seal to the boot and the arm.

If you don't have the shocks installed, you might have the arm at an angle it would not ever be in. ( As gdrill said) with weight on it, it will fit much differently.
so what I should take it off and install it on ride height? that first photo was an example the other side it touches the bolt so I took the caliper off to take the pic. but the third dan told me it would be flush on the upper control arm but its not I will put on the wheels and drop the car tomorrow and post more pics
 
That ball joint socket doesn’t have the built in angle (or twist) the factory and those Hotchkis and QA1 arm do.

When the UCA arms are in full droop that angle is more pronounced. Also UCA bump stop tend to allow the UCA to droop more than stock.

second, in the aftermarket UCA use this deep socket that protrudes downwards past the ball joint threads. This gives area for the tubular arms to weld to.

But, the deep socket interferes somewhat with the grease/dust shield.

See, these sockets with Mopar ball joints have been used as a standard in circle track racing for 40+ years. The Circle Track guys don’t run dust shields. They want to see the condition of the ball joint. And they lube their stuff nearly every race.

My dust shields on my Hotchkis arms don’t fit very well either.
 
That ball joint socket doesn’t have the built in angle (or twist) the factory and those Hotchkis and QA1 arm do.

When the UCA arms are in full droop that angle is more pronounced. Also UCA bump stop tend to allow the UCA to droop more than stock.

second, in the aftermarket UCA use this deep socket that protrudes downwards past the ball joint threads. This gives area for the tubular arms to weld to.

But, the deep socket interferes somewhat with the grease/dust shield.

See, these sockets with Mopar ball joints have been used as a standard in circle track racing for 40+ years. The Circle Track guys don’t run dust shields. They want to see the condition of the ball joint. And they lube their stuff nearly every race.

My dust shields on my Hotchkis arms don’t fit very well either.
which deep socket? when I bought the uppers from hdk he gave me a long uca bump should I install those?
 
which deep socket? when I bought the uppers from hdk he gave me a long uca bump should I install those?

Yes run the longer bump stops

Mabye I should have called it a ball joint sleeve. But see how much taller/ deeper this is from a stock UCA threaded section

upload_2020-11-26_23-19-45.jpeg




upload_2020-11-26_23-3-15.jpeg


The dust boot on a Moog shown on the bottom on the ball joint like this:

upload_2020-11-26_23-15-31.jpeg



upload_2020-11-26_23-13-56.jpeg


See this thread for more pics:

Refurbishing Upper Control Arms (UCA)
 
Note in the 1st photo of post 15 the ball joint is twisted as compared to the plane of the upper controls arm mounting holes
 
im not sure what I need to do exactly
Note in the 1st photo of post 15 the ball joint is twisted as compared to the plane of the upper controls arm mounting holes
do you know what side the brake calipers supposed to go? in the back or front?
 
Sometimes calipers are affected by having a sway bar which would only allow them to be in the rear. But regardless, the bleeder goes up so that helps with which goes on which side.
 
Put a jack under the LCA and put some pressure on it so the rotor is semi-ride height and take another photo.

Also, adjust your UCA bolts so you have the most amount of caster (front-outward, rear-inward). I'd bet both of those changes would make a good amount of difference. Sometimes ball joint angles can look deceiving in photos.
 
Put a jack under the LCA and put some pressure on it so the rotor is semi-ride height and take another photo.

Also, adjust your UCA bolts so you have the most amount of caster (front-outward, rear-inward). I'd bet both of those changes would make a good amount of difference. Sometimes ball joint angles can look deceiving in photos.
do you care to elaborate with the UCA bolts?
Put a jack under the LCA and put some pressure on it so the rotor is semi-ride height and take another photo.

Also, adjust your UCA bolts so you have the most amount of caster (front-outward, rear-inward). I'd bet both of those changes would make a good amount of difference. Sometimes ball joint angles can look deceiving in photos.
do you care to elaborate on the UCA caster?

AFE92675-40E4-439F-83C0-7A7D8F60F5B0.jpeg


F55E4815-1ECE-4B9E-A621-A04090DE0745.jpeg
 
Rotate the front bolt outward and the rear one inward. That'll move the ball joint as far back as it can.

By the looks of it, I'm not sure that boot will ever fully seat on the ball joint socket. The weld on the tubular pieces is in the way. There's nothing you'll be able to do about that

Bolt everything up like on your first post and jack the LCA up to see what the ball joint angle looks like. The boot may fit better at ride height too.
 
Take it up with Denny, and not a bunch of people here.
 
-
Back
Top