Aldous Voice

A client gave me a ball joint from Prosport today to be fitted to his car.  I have previously made some notes on the Prosport joints but thought it would be useful to provide some pictures and additional information.

Firstly, the actual joint itself is the same NMB bearing that Hill Engineering use as the basis for their joints.

At first glance, it looks identical to both the OEM and HE items.  However, there are two crucial differences…

1. I doubt that the lash on the Prosport joint is set (i’m happy to be corrected though).
2. There is no groove for the dust cover to locate into as per HE and OEM joints (see picture below).  Thus the seal against moisture and dirt ingress is not as good.

I could probably live with these points if it were not for the dust covers supplied with the joint.  The shore hardness of the material is far too great.  Just handling the covers will tell you that the rubber is too hard but if the folds are exposed you can see how the material is starting to craze/stress and turn white.  I have doubts on how long the cover would remain in tact.

I also have an issue with the circlip that the cover is attached to.  When the circlip is compressed using internal circlip pliers, it does not spring back.  Take a look at the top left of the following picture – the cover has been installed into the groove in the arm but the circlip has not sprung back.

To get the circlip to seat into the groove a pair of external circlip pliers needs to be used.  Be careful because one slip and, due to the hardness of the rubber, the cover will be scrap.  I’ve been installing HE and OEM covers for years now and have never split a cover like this.

Needless to say I didn’t install them and dipped into my supply of Hill Engineering parts to complete the job.  In the future I’ll be recommending that my clients pony up the extra cash for the superior parts.

I’d like to finish by saying that this post is in no way meant to be a dig at Prosport themselves.  I have been a happy customer of theirs for many years and will continue to be so.  Their background is racing and if I was running a 360 or F430 Challenge car then I’d be happy to accept the compromises that their joints offer.  I just think that for a road car there are better alternatives out there.

Related posts:

• Ferrari 360 & F430 Ball Joint Replacement
• Ferrari 360 & F430 Ball Joints
• Ferrari 360 & F430 Track rod End Replacement
• Ferrari 360 & F430 Track Rod Ends
• Hill Engineering Track Rod Ends

Other posts in this category: Suspension

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