The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Lemons Newcomers → Balljoints - safety item?
I feel I could make a pretty strong case for classifying a new lower ball joint as a safety item. Ball joint failures tend to result in some pretty catastrophic failures/crashes.
Has there prior discussion/ruling on this? (search found no hits)
•4.1.1: Lame-Ass Rationalizations: Cars that "should be" worth $500 don't count; cars that "were worth $500" before you spent another $2000 to fix them don't count.
Crankshaft failures can result in crashes, too. Billet cranks for all!
Answer: if you can't fit a ball joint in your budget, tough shit.
To date, no consensus has been reached:
http://forums.24hoursoflemons.com/viewtopic.php?id=3328
That's about as clear as mud, but that's where we are.
I suspect that if you have one that's so crappy that it makes you doubt the safety of the car, then replacing it is probably the smart thing to do. Just keep the old one around and bring it to the race so that if you get questioned about it, you can show the crappy, unsafe one to the judges and then they can decide.
(edit after reading Phil's post above)
Or, if you can't fit a ball joint in your budget, tough shit.
OEM replacement ball joints are pretty cheap. Junkyard ball joints with plenty of life left are even cheaper.
Anyway, in the real world of the BS inspection we pay a lot more attention to struts, bushings, etc- stuff that lets you turn dollars into a performance advantage. Maybe forgo the "junkyard Bilsteins" (a mythical beast that Lemons teams manage to sniff out in pig-finding-truffles fashion) to make budgetary room?
Everybody seems to find Brembo/BBS/Wilwood/Bilstein etc. stuff at the pick-a-part except me....I gotta find a more upscale yard...
If your ball joints are wasted replace them. If the BS judges call you on it (they won't) take the penalty laps. As others have said things that help perrformance are more likely to attract BS laps
The reason I felt they would be safety is the same reason wheel bearingss were recently added to the safety item exclusion list - they aren't a performance-enhancing part, and it's better to exclude them from the $500 budget to ensure (or at least encourage) people come to the track with cars whose wheels won't fall off, or whose suspensions won't fold under.
Our RF LBJ had at nearly 1/4" of play in the socket itself. Honestly I'm not sure how the ball stayed in the socket and didn't pop right out with how much it was just rattling around in there. I will bring it to BS inspection to show it off.
The bottom line is that we have to draw the line somewhere. If we all start replacing parts that could fail, none of us will be able to afford to race. Personally, I don't think wheel bearings should be excluded either. If a bearing starts to fail, it gets loud and the wheel gets a bit wobbly. When that happens, the brake pads get knocked back and the pedal feel goes away. It is rarely a catastophic instant failure. If anything, balljoints should have been considered before wheel bearings.
... the "junkyard Bilsteins" (a mythical beast that Lemons teams manage to sniff out in pig-finding-truffles fashion)
Oh .. they exist 
Maybe a photo album where you pan out and show that car in the junkyard will convince judges it is legit. I've never seen them, but I wasn't really looking anyway.
I'd think you'd want full forensic video evidence with the tape starting before you enter the junkyard and running continuous until you get to the car just so there's little to no doubt that they are actually junkyard Bilsteins. It would be pretty easy to stage that photo in the yard. Which I'm not saying they did -- not by any means -- just that video would be better proof.
Everybody seems to find Brembo/BBS/Wilwood/Bilstein etc. stuff at the pick-a-part except me....I gotta find a more upscale yard...
They never get to the junkyard because everybody knows that once you put those Brembo/BBS/Wilwood/Bilstein etc. parts on you will NEVER crash...
Maybe a photo album where you pan out and show that car in the junkyard will convince judges it is legit. I've never seen them, but I wasn't really looking anyway.
Oh, I did ... I had an entire album when we went through BS in Houston (the lot, the car in the lot, the car being lifted by the loader, the guy in the office writing the receipt, etc..)
Here's one of the car in the lot.
FYI .. this is one of the shocks that came on our car when we bought it:
Like plenty of others have said, ball joints are not safety.
It could be debated and I would agree they should be.
Think of your BS inspection like being pulled over by a cop. No need to divulge unnecessary information.
Like Phil said they should be in the budget but they will probably go unnoticed.
1. buy new ball joint.
2. use old ball joint dust cover.
But I think junkyard ball joints would suffice.
the racing dynamics springs are a nice touch also. I bought my bilsteins and springs of of VWVortex for 220 to the door, it can be done, just have to search.
The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Lemons Newcomers → Balljoints - safety item?