May 11, 1998
I'm starting restoration of a '72 P1800ES which has salt air damage, but is otherwise pretty sound. One of the biggest problems I've had to date is the hard steering. It had a 14" aftermarket steering wheel which I have replaced with a stock 16". This helped, but is still much stiffer than I remember my '69 S model being many years ago. Your article on the lower ball joints may have cleared up my problems, though.
One question. Any particular reason you didn't feel it was necessary to swap out the upper ball joints at the same time? Wouldn't you expect them to have just as important a bearing on the difficulty of steering?
Seems that it would be a good time to do it as long as you have to pull the suspension apart anyhow to do the lower ones. I am going to IPD's parking lot sale next Saturday and will probably pick up the lowers at that time. Hopefully a used windshield too.
Ron Rogers
Ron - I have not had trouble with the upper ball joints becoming stiff. When they wear out, they get loose. I think this difference is due to the different tasks the ball joints perform. The lowers bear the full weight of the front end of the car, while the uppers simply hold the wheels in position.
The early upper ball joints are not sealed like the later ones -- they have a grease nipple. I grease them about every five thousand miles to keep them from squeaking, but I only replace them when they get loose. If I had the sealed units, I would use a grease needle to grease them periodically. -Glenn.