Can center links be rebuilt?
 

Can the ball joints on an original center link from a 1967 GTO be rebuilt? If so, anyone know who does this?

I asked this question back in 2020 (see thread HERE), and it was suggested that there might at one time have been someone who rebuilt them years ago, but nobody seemed to know of a place to have that work done these days. I ended up buying a ProForged unit that was both high quality and priced well.

Thanks for the input. I saw your thread while researching. Hope they can be rebuilt. Trying to stay all numbers matching. If I don't get a definitive answer, I'll advertise in the want ads for a thrashed center link and take it apart myself to see what all is involved.

You could've had mine for free if I had kept it. Anyhow, if you don't get any answers to your question here after a little bit, you might try posting your question in some of the Pontiac groups on Facebook. They have a bigger audience than here by a wide margin.

Robert, might try RARE PARTS in CA.
Years ago had them rebuild a '68 Firebird V8 pitman arm, they replaced the joint on the small end.

Yes, the center link can be rebuilt. The trick is to fabricate a steel strip that can be mig (tig) welded to the cups to replace the metal that holds the end cap over the bushing. I have over 100K miles on one used in my '67 LeMans and about 1K miles on my '67 GTO. The only con is that the metal strip and weld are visible so you know it was rebuilt.

The original rubber and nylon sleeve is replaced by a polyurethane endlink grommet 9.8103. The size is perfect, however, you'll need a press to stretch it over the stud after inserting it into the cup. The press is then used to hold the assembly in place while you hammer around the metal strip over the end cap to keep it together.

The studs are tight in the rebuilt link and will not flex when turning. When installing, the idler arm and steering box needs to be bolted to the frame at the same time.

I'll take some closeup photos when the sun rises tomorrow.

We need a part number for that Energy Suspension part? Please.

Does the ball and socket on the bottom of the tapered pin wear enough to cause problems?

Part # is in the text above the photos, 9.8103.
The ball and socket on the driver's side wears the most; however, the pressure exerted by the polyurethane grommet keeps them together.
In extreme cases, deep pits may exist on the stud due to environmental exposure and lack of grease. The user will need to make a judgement call on whether to use them. The ones I've rebuilt for my cars have not had that kind of damage.

The photo's show where I hammer bent the metal strip over the metal cap, using a press and sockets to hold the assembly. The final capture was done with a hydraulic press and a socket. The witness marks will show what and where it was done. The metal to metal seal is not perfect so some grease may ooze from that joint.

A 7" x 0.311 x 0.062 metal strip is roll formed around a socket and then cut and welded the ends to make a tube to fit around the cup.

A person could make up a pretty good press die in a lathe to probably bend over those strips very cleanly in one go, or maybe two with a second die to press the inner ID down nicely.

What a wealth of valuable information! Thanks gto4ben as well as to all those who chimed in thus far!

I have a question. Does the end cap with the jerk fitting just pop out when you press out the ball joint from the top? If that is the case, the cap must be press fit and I would think it could be reinstalled using some JB weld unless there is considerable pressure being exerted onto the bottom where the grease enters. Even so, couldn't JB plus a couple spot welds hold it tight without having to create an end cap of your own? Just thinking out loud since I haven't taken one apart yet.

Not spot welds, I mean tack welds.

The end cap is not press fitted. You'll need to grind off the metal holding it down as shown in the 1st photo I posted.

Okay, I get it now. In your second photo it looked like there was a recess that the end cap fit into but I see it just sits on top with some sort of flange/retainer that held it in place before you ground it off. Very interesting.

Thank you. Will check them out if I can't do it myself.

Correction:
13/16" diameter centerlink uses the 9.8106
7/8" diameter centerlink uses the 9.8103 TBD
I must have swapped the numbers as I'm currently working on a 7/8" centerlink.