The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop IFS lower ball joints worn out after 3,000 miles

I've got a TCI Mustang II IFS on my 51, and my lower ball joints are making lots of noise after only 3,000 miles. They were installed in the A-arms when I got them. I put grease in them and had it aligned.

I called TCI this morning and they're sending me new ball joints for free. I was very pleased with the service.

Has anyone else had similar problems, or did I just get unlucky?

That's called "sending a boy to do a man's job". After seeing several M-2 suspension installations, I'm convinced that all they're good for is holding up the front end of a custom truck at a car show. If you're going to drive it regularly, you need to start with something designed to carry more weight, and pay very close attention to the geometry as it's installed. A narrowed 1/2 ton IFS or something from a Camaro or a Nova seems like a much better choice.
Jerry

man, im glad i stuck with a dropped straight axle...

good luck jgroff.. bummer

leonard

Been running my 55 2nd for over 5 yrs. now with a TCI M2 frontend,with no problems.And yeah,you could classify it as a show truck,I did not invest all that time and money to haul manure and junk around in it.It runs just great down the freeway at 70 to 75 MPH,and sounds just great with that 350 exiting thru headers and a Flowmaster system. If you want an old work truck leave the original suspension in it and fight the handling in close quarters and heavy traffic.As for independant front suspension,I believe Chevy was the first truck to use it.Somewhere around 1961. Ford then introduced the Twin I Beam frontend,which wasnt a bad idea,but not anywhere near as nice as the independant setup used by Chevy.

Curious to know if anyone else is having ball joint problems with the mustang II IFS from CTI?

I'm not having ball joint problems with my Heidts M II but with just over 1000 miles on my '46 Panel I've got one inner and one outer tie rod ends that will be replaced in the morning.

Thanks for your thoughts guys.

I chose to go with the TCI kit because they're 100% made in the USA, and I've had some really good recommendations from others who had it. I drive the truck alot, but I'm not hauling anything.

There are actually no Mustang parts in my setup. I went with the TCI tublar A-Arms, GM spindles, and an after-market rack. I love the ride, handling, and brakes, but I hope I didn't make a mistake. I'm waiting for my free replacement ball joints. When they arrive I'll try to see exactly what kind of ball joints they are and what kind of load they're rated for.

I'm glad TCI is standing behind their products, and I'm glad to hear others haven't had the same issue.

Guess what?? In 1973 I bought a brand new Impala,and the transmission took a dump in 3000 miles. In 2007 I bought a new refrigerator from Sears,and it crapped out after 6 months. S--t happens. So, for a set of ball joints that crapped out after 3000 miles ,they are all no good?? Just tryin to figure things out here.I have dricven many vehicles for well over 100,000 miles withiout frontend problems,(mostly Fords),and others that didnt hold up for 30,000 miles.

Yeah, heard that. I was just wondering if this was a common issue. Luckily for me, it sounds like it's not.

Don't know this guy's credentials, but for more opinion on MII front ends and trucks:

http://www.webrodder.com/article.php?AID=420&SID=16&CID=

I hope he knows what he is talking about, as I have taken his advise.

My buddy has a TCI MII front end with tubular control arms in his '52 Chevy pick up. It is a daily driver. He's put 48,000+ miles on it in the past 4 yrs with no problems with the TCI front end.

First my front end on the 37 came out from under an ACTUAL StangII. Its been under it for over 8 years now and no problems. I do wish I had used the bigger chevy calibers.
If anyone goes to the junk yard to get STangII parts be sure you get them out of a Stang that had a V8 and air conditioning in it. I'm told the suspenison is a little different but i would take that to only mean the actual springs which I did use.
I also installed new balljoints ect myself.
AND it only cost me $75 bucks and I also got the rack n pinion and brake booster included and used them as cores to buy new ones.

I got my free ball joints from TCI yesterday. They are TRW 10162 and are made in the US. Very pleased with the great service from TCI!

Are they the screw in type ball joints like Chrysler products used '65-'72?

Threaded. It took a little encouragement to get the old ones out, but it all went smoothly.