So apparently my old ball joint was going bad on my 1992 honda civic DX. So I went to the local shop and have them replaced. Went home and gave it a more thorough inspection and I noticed the left ball joint didn't have a hole where you put the pin in. My question is did I get a defected piece? Will It be safe to drive without the pin? I understand these questions are probably obvious. But I'd rather gain more knowledge on it.

 

The cotter pin is there for safety. If you torque the nut properly, you really don't need it.

But...

The ball joint taper naturally wants to push away from the knuckle, so it naturally wants to loosen the nut, potentially.

You should have gotten a better ball joint.

If it were me, I would not have installed it.


...

 

The joint you got was likely very inexpensive and it probably came with its own nut (a nylock?)