OCAP ball joints

[Mike A]

Has anyone found issues with these? I can see the safety issue perhaps (which can be overcome by drilling the stud, nuts and bolts for safety wire) , but for a lightly used street car it's kinda hard to justify a pair of BMWs at $600 vs a pair of these for $30-$40. Any comments from those that have installed them for a  similar application are appreciated, Mike

 

 

Edited November 1, 2018 by Mike A

[Buckeye]

I never used OCAP products and don't know much about it. However have used MOOG products and they seems to be good aftermarket products

 

[AceAndrew]

Just another case of OE-part-pricing algorithm gone haywire with regard to old parts.

 

OCAP ball joints (and tie-rods) are fine.  Moog ball joints are a little nicer.

[Bibm5]

I installed a set of the ocap ball joints on my car. I probably don't have more than 500 mIles on it since they've been installed so I can't vouch for longevity but overall I would say that they seem to be decent quality for the price.
The old set I had on my car were beyond shot so it was HUGE upgrade. I cleaned up and reused the original hardware with safety wire holes rather than drilling out the new bolts.
As the last poster mentioned, moog is a good aftermarket option. I've used many moog parts and never had an issue.

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[wegweiser]

Re; Original Post author:  Are you perhaps confusing the control arm (which does not include the ball joint any longer, when sold new) with the removable bolt-on style balljoint, perhaps? The original ones were riveted in to the arms, whereas the replacement ones are held to the arm with bolts and lock nuts. I believe most (they can be ordered as a "kit" by some manufacturers) arrive with grade 8.8 bolts and nuts which seem up to the task, but stronger bolts wouldn't be a bad idea. Some brands will not include new bolts and nuts - so be prepared with good hardware.

 

(Side Note: I never use stainless hardware on high stress / safety items - as most commonly available alloys of it are cheap and brittle…and will gall their own threads when torqued tightly!) 

 

The most CRUCIAL bolts on the suspension IMHO, are the drilled safety wired bolts (14mm head) that attach the steering link arm to the bottom of the strut housing. You do NOT want to skimp on those (pricey) fasteners. They are at LEAST a grade 10 bolt and perhaps even 12. Lesser bolts will shear off, and if you're lucky, no-one will get killed when it happens. I use only genuine BMW hardware for those. 

Edited November 1, 2018 by wegweiser