[supra-raleigh]

Toyota only sells the entire front lower control arm with the ball joint and bushings fitted. They do not sell the ball joint individually because the control arm was not designed to be refurbished but instead replaced. However, it looks like someone has done what many of us Supra owner's would consider a great service for us.

The price is not cheap...
GBP 280.00
Approximately US $339.42...and then there is shipping from GBP 83.80 (approx US $101.58).

This appears to be part # 48069-14090 which can be had at McGeorge Toyota for $484.32

But, perhaps if there is enough of us that want this service, we could get a better deal.

I found this service on Ebay and it read the following;

"
Refurbished Toyota Supra Turbo 93-02 front lower Suspension Control Arm..


This is a service i am providing, to have your current arms refurbished.


The ball joint will be replaced with a brand new removable style, the arm powder coated to look as new but have better durability than the standard oem painted arm. Fitted with sport or oem equivalent lifetime warrenty polybushes


Price listed is for one arm.


If you onky require the balljoint to be replaced (no powdercoating or polybushes), this can be done at a much cheaper price. Please email for a quote.


This can be done on an exchange basis or your own arm can be modified.


We also do other suspension arms for the Toyota supra Mk4.



Please send me a message to confirm individual prices and so i can provide you with the best service possible.


If you wish to see more photos, please see my instagram @Unrivalled_Supras or facebook 'unrivalled supras'


Thanks Andy @Unrivalled Supras"

 

[Kris9884]

Yep, he has introduced himself already.

discontinued control arm

Yes i do. Ill put some on here of a couple ive done. I also have a fb page and insagram which i upload pictues onto of arms ive done. My insta is unrivalled_supras and fb is Unrivalled supras. Because the ball joints can be removed, i can powdercoat them, which is much heavier duty coating...

www.supraforums.com

 

[iwantablackRZ]

The shipping is a bit of a sting with this one. Particularly for us here in Australia. It's only a matter of time before more people start offering a service like this though.

 

[Jaymaal904]

I don't really trust this. I would rather pay a bit extra to not worry about an unforeseen issue. It sucks since I'm in Japan, we can't have aftermarket control arms or I would go all figs engineering. It's a great service but man I would be nervous about that.

 

[Biologist]

I just replaced my entire control arm set. Maybe next year I will send mine out for service then store them when I get them back and reinstall after 25 years.

 

[Jaymaal904]

I just replaced my entire control arm set. Maybe next year I will send mine out for service then store them when I get them back and reinstall after 25 years.

Did you go OEM?

Sent from my SM-S908U1 using Tapatalk

 

[Piratetip]

Are you matching the taper angle of the knuckle on these balljoints?
In this photo your replaced balljoint is in the foreground, and OEM is in background?

 

[Biologist]

Did you go OEM?

Sent from my SM-S908U1 using Tapatalk

Yep new OEM ones with PHR rear controls.

 

[supra-raleigh]

Are you matching the taper angle of the knuckle on these balljoints?
In this photo your replaced balljoint is in the foreground, and OEM is in background?
View attachment 276920

Piratetip, these are not my creation but from a guy named Andy in Great Britain. I just came across these while on Ebay. It does appear that the taper angle is different. What affect might this have?

 

[Piratetip]

The effect of running an incorrect taper:
-Smaller contact surface area to transfer the load
-Highly concentrated load in the area contacting the knuckle (smaller surface area, same load = increased psi)
-Allows pivoting or angular movement of the balljoint shaft inside the taper (should be held completely solid, allowing zero movement)
-Likely damage to the internal taper bore of the knuckle

The way these vehicles are used, it has to be machined correctly There is no room for error.


Good point.
@Unrivalled_Supras is the guy.

Interested to find out from him on this question.

My hope is that photo above is an older revision, and is in fact using the correct taper angle.
Another possibility is that the photo is just playing tricks with the eyes, as it appears the taper switches to a flat section on the new unit.
In the area where the small flange would be pressed on (as in the oem unit).
But this topic has not been brought up in any of the threads I see referencing this part.

Prussian Blue would easily show contact surface similar to this:
Different application but same concept.

Again: Not interested in bashing anyone's parts, the taper just caught the eye on that photo.

Another related question that comes to mind when talking about balljoints in general:
Has the balljoint been properly case hardened?
Typically the ball goes through surface treatments, nitriding, carburizing ect...

 

[Unrivalled_Supras]

Hi Gents, sorry for the delayed reply. I have been away on holiday so havnt had chance to reply.

So to answer a few points to these queries.

1 - the taper angle is the exact same as the oem arm. The picture does male them look different but they arnt. The oem ones also have the straight shaft when you remove the metal seal collar.

2 - mininal material is removed from the arms to allow this conversion. If i did not feel it was safe i would not offer this as a service. I use a set of these arms on my car and have done atleast 1 track day and quite a bit of spirited road driving. Car is approx 580whp so does put them through its paces.

3 - the ball joints are custom made to the same specs (hardness) as what the oem arms are. Also due to the design, they shoud actually be stronger than the oem arms, especially the aluminum ones as they now have a steel threaded liner inside the aluminum.

4 - I can assume nobody has done them in the past because they are very time consuming to do and because the casting of the arms is very rough, each arm is treated as an individual and needs to be centred and setup as such before the machining process.

5 - postage is a major killer for these especially the cast steel ones. I did sell a set of just the ball joints to a lad in the US and he was going to get a local machine shop to do the work. The only downside is all the taps and tooling isnt common and so the outlay would be around £600 or so plus making jigs to hold the arms. In the end he just sent the ball joints back as the machine shop wouldnt touch them.

We seem to get shafted here in the UK due to import fees and just general pricing of OEM parts. A rear upper arm from toyota is now in the reigon of £400 which is like 480 USD. And generally the same goes pricewise for all the other arms.

I am happy with any criticism as it will be used to improve the work i do. Its just a shame toyota didnt make them replaceable in the first place as it would have saved alot of hassle.

Cheers Andy

 

[Piratetip]

Great response!
Thanks for addressing the questions.

Sounds like you do good work, that's good to see.

*Constructive criticism, I don't like to criticize just because.
Always seeking to improve upon is a good trait to have.