thanks for your reply... I was talking about the c clip removed from original ball joint since I was able to remove it without damaging it and seems serviceable still... just trying to avoid having to sand down the arm around the ball joint if I can get away with it... was just wondering if anyone had done that before, using the previous c clips that came with original ball joints... appreciate the help and as y'all can see I'm a newbie lol

 

You're welcome I've installed 2 sets of whiteline ball joints on my control arms, and I've been there. Mitsubishi has a history with ball joints, which is probably why they made it a non-serviceable item on these control arms. What ever ball joint you had in there, it wasn't OEM. OEM ball joints do not have snap rings. I wouldn't try using that clip on the whiteline ball joint if I was you. I have also had trouble seating the whiteline clip, but it will seat once the balljoint is fully installed. I would definitely not recommend taking metal off the control arm to "make it fit". I remember having a hard time being able to tell if it was fully seated the first time around. I had to pull the joint out and install the clip just to verify what it was supposed to look like fully seated.

 

^ this. I had the same issue. If the whiteline ball joint is not completely pressed in far enough, the snap ring won’t seat. Press it in further.