Naturally, we did not want to reinvent the wheel, so we took a very close look at what was already on the market, including the spacer kits we have sold for many decades. Other long-pin UBJs on the market duplicate several problematic features of the original, short-pin OE design. Plastic inner parts were retained, and they are not greaseable or adjustable. But the real deal breaker was the angled design of the bolting flange to accommodate the less-than-ideal angle VW was aware of. What's puzzling is: Why was this aspect of the OE ball joint duplicated? The whole point of the longer design is to correct the UCA angle, making an angled bolt flange counterproductive in terms of angular capability.

The spacer kit we sold for several decades for use with standard ball joints addressed the alignment issue, but not the kinematic issues during suspension travel that leads to very high camber changes and the tire wear that goes with it. On top of that, the quality of the ball joints they were designed to fit evaporated while their price skyrocketed.

Needless to say, we decided to start from scratch and do it right.

Our GoWesty UBJs are not only forever/all metal/greaseable—the design also tackles several problems:

The lack of decent quality, OEM-copy ball joints. Like so many aftermarket parts based on the original VW design, they just miss the mark when it comes to quality. If the ball joint itself did not fail prematurely, the rubber boot would fall apart in a matter of months. The only thing consistent was the never-ending increase in price. A pair our long-pin ball joints cost a bout the same as the best quality standard ball joints you can find plus the cost of what our spacer kit, and they last forever.

Service Interval: We recommend checking for excessive play (adjust only if/as needed) and greasing these ball joints every 3500-5000 miles. Checking them when you change your oil is a great way to remember! It takes literally 5 minutes per side to check each side and hit them with a little grease.

Important: Do not over-torque the nut and bolts! The factory spec for the nut is only 80 ft-lbs, and only 44 ft-lbs for the M10 bolts. Never use impact to tighten! Remove the dust cap before installing the ball joint into the control arm.

Critical Note: The pins (the part the big nut screws onto) on these all-metal ball joints are much harder than the regular ball joints. This makes them very wear-resistant, but also makes them more sensitive to over-tightening. It is never a good idea to use an impact wrench to tighten any ball joint, but it is especially important not to do that to these ball joints. DO NOT TIGHTEN these upper ball joints with an impact wrench. You can use an impact to get the pin taper to seat (stop spinning), but once the pin stops spinning, STOP and use a torque wrench to tighten them the rest of the way to XX ft-lb factory specification.