Hi there I noticed on the SS SC, the A arms have a ball joint that has a grease nipple.

Nipple
Seems stiffer to move around...On the same year normally aspirated LE5 car, there is no grease nipple.

No nipple
So I'm guessing this is part of the upgraded suspension for the SS SC - and you can maintain the joint with the grease nipple - all good.

Question: Can this be swapped over from the SC to the same year 2.4L car without worry about the positioning of the part - in other words, is this a straight up swap and will I see performance gains or is the benefit just the maintainance?

 

Those are likely aftermarket replacements. Notice how they are bolted on vs the factory rivet.

From the factory, the SS/NA 2.4 and the SS/SC had the same control arms/ball joints

 

Ok yeah so the rivets show it all - if I can recondition these blue aftermarket ball joints I'll keep them, but if I can't recondition them, I won't use 'em - they move and feel ok, but I don't want a 'grainy' feel to the joint and might as well do this while the car is in pieces. Thanks.