Replacing Ball Joints
 

I went to a local allignment shop to get a check and the guy said that there is a lot of play on the driver side ball joint and suggested replacement ...

Of late I have been noticing my car dip more on the driver side left even on flat pavement .. Could it be because of it .. Is that a OE replacement or is there any after market part that may be better .. approx prices would help too !!

try www.pdm-racing.com

I ordered the arms from PDM with the new ball joints and bushings already pressed in. They are finally going in this week.

I am currently suffering the same problems you are dealing with plus more.

I will add my results after the work is done.

Thanks Stanbo .. I also need to think if I am going to put in new struts. The mechanic says that having a pair of front struts will help. And then I look at the mileage (135K miles ; auto tranny) and I am having second thoughts ..

My engine and tranny are in good shape. But thinking of spending close to 700 or 800 bucks (still in school !) is nerve racking.

Lemme know how the new part does in your 93. Were you having similar symptoms like the ones I had mentioned ...

The front passenger side tends to bottom out when driving thru dips. The right front groans when I make U turns going to the left. There is positive camber wear on my front tire. The inside sidewall of my tire is worn from contact to the strut. The lower arm's side walls are damaged from what looks like the privious owner bottoming out. My TC rod has no liquid in the bushing. The liquid from the TC bushing has worn the paint off of my lower arm causing it to rust.

Those are my simptoms and they are what I have heard from other people.

From Nissan you have to buy the whole control arm - they don't offer the ball joint alone as a replacement part.

The best way to go is to buy an arm with new balljoint and bushing from www.pdm-racing.com as someone else noted.

I bought both t/c rod bushings and new control arms with poly bushings from pdm months ago, but I have been having some problems putting them in (see http://www.saltgod.org for the full story). The t/c rod bushings helped alot (I was having similar symptoms) but there is still a clunking in my front end that I hope will go away after replacing the ball joints and tie rods.

The $$$ can be an obstacle, but I bought the car planning to replace these things so I kind of figured the parts cost in when picking the car. If you have to pay to have the work done it may change things for you.

You could buy lca's, struts and springs for less than $700, but if you have to pay to have them installed the price will probably be considerably higher.

-Justin
http://www.saltgod.org

I took a look at your site. One word - WOW. I can't believe the ball joint tool broke like that.

I will post some pics of my install I hope it goes down TUESDAY.

I was surprised as well. I had been very excited that I had the right tool for the job....

I've had a few replies from other 240 people who have broken the same tool in the same place, ao at least I'm not alone.

My friend told me about another tool that I will be picking up. It costs around $50, but if it works it will be worth it.

-Justin
http://www.saltgod.org

Unfortunately I have to pay to get my control arms installed ... Finally I ordered a pair from PDM yesterday .. I should have them put in sometime next week ... From what all you guys say , this symptom of car going more on one end appears to be related to the ball joint on the control arm ... I have tried in vain to see if my struts were bad .. But they dont look like .. parts+labor for the arms is probably gonna be around $325 or so .. Expensive **** !

I am having night mares about ... ".. after all this, what if I need to get my Struts replaced .." That would suck ... When I got the car I didnt know much and the mechanic replaced my T/C Rods with OE ones .. Bad decision .. Its OK and I dont see the dreaded gooey fluid oozing, but I have no clues how it would feel with poly bushings ..

I was tempted to get the sway bar bushings from PDM this time , but decided to wait and see the results of the arms replacement ..

I will let you guys know what happens after the arms go in ..

This has been a very helpful thread ..

And if anyone can shed some light on what the tie rod ends are and when should they be replaced ...

The tie rod ends connect your steering rack to your steering knuckle.

That's a project on my schedule, I'll post pictures when I get that job done. (If things keep getting pushed back, it looks like I may be doing tie rods, lca's and struts/springs at the same time.)

-Justin
http://www.saltgod.org

Finally got the lower control arms with Poly bushings from PDM ... Set me back by $300 parts+labor .. The clunking has almost disappeared and the steering has tightened considerably and response is quite accurate .. Almost no slop ... I wonder how terrific it would be if I had poly bushings on the T/C rods as well ..

Did you complete the install stanbo ..

Would I need an allignment now that I have new control arms ..

Not yet. The guys who was supposed to do the install is being a major flake.

I am also in the middle of purchasing a house. Good thing is that there is a two car garage and I will be closer to all of my co-workers who are car heads. They will help me sort my problems out.

I am glad to hear your install went well.