2G 2g SPC Upper A-Arm replacements discontinued

[TSiAWD666]

As many owners of these items know these are now discontinued by SPC. The point of failure with these commonly seems to be the ball joint, whether it be the nuts on them, or the ball joint boot, or the joint itself. I just wanted to share that their spare ball joints are pretty low in stock. I just called SPC directly to order spares for the future and they only had 21 left, four of which are now mine heh. Get 'em while they're hot! They were $40 a piece which is a lot cheaper than tracking down another full replacement (with the a-arms) just because the boot blew out on ya.

With currently no other alternative that gives us the level of adjustment these do and the propensity of issues with their ball joints I figure it best to order a bunch since I plan to keep this car for a long time and put it through more abuse in the coming years.

 

[twicks69]

Thanks for the heads up!

 

[crimsondragon]

That's a pretty big fail right there. I never knew they were prone to blowing out.

 

[snowborder714]

I believe I've only heard of one or two people have to replace the ball joint in their arms. Most of the time I hear about the boot coming off or the nut issue, which Tim informed me about.

Either way, thanks for the heads up. Do you happen to have the part number or should they know what I need when I call?

 

[Gamble97]

I never knew those failed. You can however use them off the 3g eclipse. The only difference is they are round instead of square, but they bolt right up.

 

[TSiAWD666]

The fellow I spoke with immediately found the part number when i told him I had the upper a-arm replacements for a 99 Eclipse. He told me the number but I forgot it heh. I'll have it when they arrive in a week or so.

Use them from a 3g eclipse? These pieces are fairly different from a stock piece. Are you sure? I'm thinking you meant you could use a 3g ball joint to replace a stock ball joint, which unfortunately wouldn't apply here.

 

[snowborder714]

720361 is the part number for the replacement ball joints for SPC part #72170. There is now 13 left. Just placed my order with Jeff for $40 a pop.

 

[greengoblin]

I just order 4 . They said they have 9 left.

Kevin

 

[Rx3]

This is for the enitre aftermarket A-arm, or just the ball joints that were sold separately (or both)?


Thanks for the heads up.

 

[snowborder714]

It is replacement ball joints for the aftermarket upper control arm.

 

[TSiAWD666]

This is for the enitre aftermarket A-arm, or just the ball joints that were sold separately (or both)?


Thanks for the heads up.

SPC's ball joints that are sold in pairs are different pieces altogether.

 

[greengoblin]

And they have no upper arms left.

 

[snowborder714]

eBay

Cheapest price I've seen on them. I just bought 2 sets of arms the same day I got the ball joints.

 

[housegsx]

^You just dropped $800 for spares?

 

[snowborder714]

Hehe, no - I wish! I bought myself a set and then a set for my brother. He doesn't need them right now, but I figured he'd want a set when we build suspension for our cars and didn't want him to get jealous of me having a set.

I'm just a nice guy

 

[housegsx]

Oh ok. I thought you already had a set for some reason. I just thought you went crazy.

 

[snowborder714]

I've been thinking/talking about getting a set for a while, but things just kept popping up that needed more attention and money. I'm finally to the point where I don't need to do anything with the car, other than get a good tune and get SD working right.

 

[housegsx]

Gotchya. Let us know how they work out. I've always gone back and forth trying to decide if I want them.

 

[snowborder714]

I'll do a review when I get around to installing them, but that probably won't be until I build my suspension. Which will be when my brother saves up some more money so we can do it at the same time and help keep machining costs down.

 

[PieEyedPiper]

$40 a piece is hard to swallow, and the rep I spoke to insisted that he doesn't know why everyone is so antsy about this as he seems to think that the balljoints we already have will outlast the vehicles anyhow. He could be right, but this is also a method of increasing resale value (the arms, not the car). The only wearable part (do the poly bushings even count?) is the joint itself so the arms will now certainly outlive the car.

 

[awdfun]

Huh. The SPC guy I just talked to put me in contact with a distributor who said I need part # 67170 at $96 each and he didn't list the 720361 part number. The distributor also said they will be able to special order the 67170 or any of the ball joints in the future...

Did I get the wrong guy? Who are you guys calling to get these?

**Edit - I did get the wrong guy. I called back the 800 number and ordered them up fine, must have been a misunderstanding the first time. Makes me wonder about that other part number though...

 

[snowborder714]

He was probably confused. Since the upper control arms from SPC are now discontinued, they are recommending the adjustable ball joint, which I believe is the 67170 part.

 

[PieEyedPiper]

It really is unfortunate that the Honda arms don't use the same balljoint. Who'da thunk that they made this balljoint specifically for the 2g application. Also, don't forget to inquire about the boots! A mere mention of the boots netted me 2 free pairs. Red or black I don't know, but they have both available.

Don't be too sad if they don't swing you a deal on the boots, apparently they're only $2.50 a piece.

Also, they were down to 7 after me so judging by the last couple posts they should only have 5 now.

 

[snowborder714]

Hmm...black boots. I may have to call back and see what they can do. The only thing that sucks is shipping would probably be the same as 4 boots.

 

[snowborder714]

I got my 2 sets of SPC arms in over the weekend.

The company I dealt with gave me a HUGE scare. I hadn't received anything from them per the last day of possible package arrival, so I sent them an e-mail. I got a fairly quick response stating that they were extremely sorry, and that they thought they sent me an e-mail the week before. The didn't know the SPC arms were discontinued, so when they called SPC to get mine, they were faced with that news. They tried and tried to find me 2 sets, but didn't have any luck. So I sent the guy an IM (he included his AIM screen name, which was very nice) and asked "What the hell?" I was baffled at how he didn't know they were discontinued. He apologized and said he did all he could to find them. As I was talking, I was asking him if he knew of ANY distributor that might have even 1 set in their inventory. I have no idea how this happened, but just after I asked him that, he found one warehouse that had 2 sets left. He got on the phone pronto and verified this. The warehouse, as well as him, believe they were the last 2 sets available - ever. He told me he ordered them and that they'd arrive in 3 days. Jokingly (but not really), I told him I wouldn't believe him until they were in my hands. Low and behold, I now have 2 sets