Swivel ball advice

[pblarose]

So not horrible but not great. Anyone ever fill in pits and gauges with an epoxy? Did it work long-term? Any advice?

Mine are 217282, it looks like the correct replacement 539741.

[StuartC]

Hi Paul
I am in the identical situation as you are with swivel balls.
They are available in the UK and The Treasure Shop in Cyprus. Although the price (cheapest) at The Treasure shop is BP 110.00 ea x 2 x 1.72 exchange rate + shipping is
CAD$450-500.00...... :shock: :shock:

Have you researched rechroming companies in Vancouver?

I am going to speak with a couple of powder coating companies here on the island and see where that leads me.
Issue with both of these approaches is sand blasted or removing all the existing chrome to get to bare metal.

I have read a few articles regarding JB Weld on swivel balls. Don't know longevity of this approach.....but apparently it does work.
Once they are refurbished cover the swivel balls with a gaiter. There are some aftermarket ones or make your own.

Keep me posted on what you learn and I'll do the same.

Stuart

[RobinS]

I had a set of swivel balls re chromed and they are as good as new when completed . The process is hard chrome or industrial chrome . With the price of labour these days , I would definitely compare the price to new ones . There are several shops near Vancouver and in Kamloops , also a shop in Sidney on the island claim they do industrial chrome.

[John]

I would not recommend gaiters in this climate. I believe that they were intended for desert areas to prevent sand blasting of the chrome. I had them fitted years ago and found that they just trapped mud and moisture. If you are using the car for mainly street use then it likely does not matter either way.

[harv]

Also I think if you reuse them as is but use grease instead of oil it would hardly leak. I drove mine for years like that.

[John]

Grease is not a suitable lubrication in this application.

[red90]

Grease is not a suitable lubrication in this application.

The swivel grease is fine.

[ANDYD]

There was a thread on this a while ago that may be helpful ….
viewtopic.php?t=9543
Cheers
Andy

[pblarose]

Thanks everyone. I have some quotes into a couple companies. Suspect I'll order new as I need a bunch of parts anyway and I am up against an early December deadline to get this back to a rolling chassis. In any case, I may have some slightly pitted swivel balls for someone, if they need them

[red90]

Be careful. New parts are not the same quality as original ones. There was a rash of aftermarket swivels breaking.

[StuartC]

Agreed red90....
Have to be so careful with after market parts.
NOS is best BUT
1. try to find the part
then
2. rationalize the logic in paying the price!!