I did a thing.

[— kung fu jesus —]

Been a rough week of Miata ownership.

The FR upper balljoint popped out of the UCA today. The car came with stout aftermarket (V8 Roadster?) units that were pressed and tack welded. The three tacks were busted and the BJ popped through.



I took off the UCA this afternoon and got it back in with the new press. I wasn’t comfortable reinstalling the assembly without welding it, so I put a few feelers out to source a UCA locally.



I remembered a close friend has a basic Lincoln TIG welder. I re-aligned the BJs original position, filed a bevel around the mating surfaces, cleaned the metal with acetone. A few messages later, I’m heading to my friend’s house. It’s been 15+ years since I’ve welded anything, but once I got the voltage right, I laid down several nice beads on opposing sides. There was much spattering before that. ;)

A quick coat of paint, new grease, and a PU boot I had from an old project, it was good to go.



Best part, because my friend is moving away next month he gave me the welder.



I’ll look for another pair of UCAs in the near future and will probably use Supermiata UBJs. This should do for now.