Are ball joints the same all around the car?

[dysiu]

I need to replace all the ball joints and tie rod ends... I got rear upper arms with ball joints very cheap ($10) but the front ones are at least $60 for one. Since my front control arms are pretty clean I'm thinkin of pressing in new joints only. It would be very helpful if somebody knew if some ball joints areound the car are identical. I don't see a reason they shouldn't be... Thanks.

[AZmike]

I've never seen the front upper ball joint sold separately from the control arm. That doesn't mean it's not possible to press another one in, I've just never heard of anyone doing it before. I sprung for prelude arms and joints when my upper arms went bad so I could replace the ball joint separately next time and have adjustable camber.

[nswst8]

But unless you have the control arm that takes the press in its useless, its a good thing that they work in the rear too.
Hope this helps, LOL
Phil

[carotman]

Well, I bought an aftermarket upper arm that has the balljoint pressed in and held with a "C" clip. I guess those could be replaced.

I dunno if the OEM balljoints could be re-pressed tough