85 720 Noob with Ball Joint issues

[85Kansas720]

Hey guys,

I've had my 85 Nissan 720 for about a year now and it's time to overhaul some suspension components. It's been a FANTASTIC work truck and I want to keep it around as long as I can. Ordered a set of upper and lower ball joints online and to be honest, they were certainly not the most expensive set I could have bought.

I went to install the bolts to the driver side lower control arm/tension rod and could only get two of the four bolt holes to line up with the ball joint mounting holes. The two holes are out of alignment by approximately 1/8".

Assuming I was sent two passenger side ball joints I went to O'Rilleys and purchased another driver's side ball joint (again I purchased the cheapest one they offered). Went back to my house and tried again to align the bolt holes but came across the very same problem.

The vehicle was in a collision in the mid 90's causing substantial damage to the front left side of the vehicle and by the look of the suspension components, they have not been changed since the vehicle was repaired. And there is absolutely no sign of either the lower control arm or the original ball joint being modified.

Do I simply need to pony up the dough for higher quality components or is there a chance that a lower control arm from a different year/make/model was used in the repair? (which seems unlikely from the research I've done)

WHAT AM I MISSING!?!?!?!?!

I appreciate any advise and suggestions you experienced 720 guys might have.

[fastboatman29212]

See the ball joint replacment thread in the DIY section. I think the parts are fine and it just needs some coaxing. Pics of the problem will help us see what the difficulty is.

[85Kansas720]

My skirt must have been flying in my face before my last post. Problem solved. Excuse my ignorance, but where is the DIY section?

[Pubydingus]

At the top of page.. above your post or just click the link

diy-thread-for-720-s-t474226.html

I'm also doing a suspension overhaul check out my post might give you some ideas

what-else-for-front-suspension-handling-t562718.html

[85Kansas720]

Thanks Puby