balljoints bad?

redlinedeath · #1 04-26-2010, 10:57 AM

how can you tell if theyre bad? mine tends to push a bit in sharp turns, and i get poping/clicking when i turn my steering wheel moving or stationary.

picknpull wants 2 dollars each balljoint, so i want to pull them and want to know how to tell if they're good.

also, im looking at the price list, we have mcphereson struts on our cars? i work at a parts store, and i should know this, but im not sure, is this correct?

92 SVX · #2 04-26-2010, 10:02 PM

to test the ball joint on the car raise the tire and grab at the 12 oclock and 6 oclock position and try to pivot up and down. If the tire moves the ball joint is most likely bad. you can test tie rod's by going side to side from the 9 and 3 positions.

torxxx · #3 04-26-2010, 11:16 PM

Yes they are Mcpherson struts.

BTW - installing a used balljoint from a JY is like putting on dirty underwear after you take a shower. Balljoints are usually 25-50 bucks a piece and they are something that shouldn't be reused vehicle to vehicle. Its a safety issue.

Balljoints, to be checked correctly need to have the weight of the car/suspension unloaded off the balljoint. If its practical put the car up on a lift and then run a crank jack up under the control arm right next to the ball joint. The shaking the tire at 12 and 6 oclock does work, but a better test is to put a pry bar inbetween the knuckle and the control arm and pry up on the knuckle and watch for up and down movement on the balljoint.

Generally play directly up and down will show up before the movement found in shaking the tire at 12/6 oclock. I can draw a pic in MSpaint to explain the physics of the movements I'm talking about if its confusing.

redlinedeath · #4 04-27-2010, 12:44 AM

if thats what they cost, ill just buy new ones, for some reason, i was under the impression they were alot mre!

1986nate · #5 04-27-2010, 01:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redlinedeath

if thats what they cost, ill just buy new ones, for some reason, i was under the impression they were alot mre!

new ones are about $70 a side if I remember correctly from doing them in my silver. In any case, you don't want to re-use old ones. Do yourself a favor and get new ones when you can. Also, getting the old ones out will probably destroy the rubber anyway unless you are lucky and for some reason this car doesn't have any undercarriage rust...

redlinedeath · #6 04-27-2010, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1986nate

new ones are about $70 a side if I remember correctly from doing them in my silver. In any case, you don't want to re-use old ones. Do yourself a favor and get new ones when you can. Also, getting the old ones out will probably destroy the rubber anyway unless you are lucky and for some reason this car doesn't have any undercarriage rust...

hmm, that is alot. i figured if i undid the control arm, and upper ball joint bolt, the whole thing would drop down, and i could remove them that way. ill check out the milage on it i guess, like i said, the car is in great shape. im sure you know how hard that is with our salt filled winters!

now, to get mine back together to actually head there.

1986nate · #7 04-27-2010, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redlinedeath

hmm, that is alot. i figured if i undid the control arm, and upper ball joint bolt, the whole thing would drop down, and i could remove them that way. ill check out the milage on it i guess, like i said, the car is in great shape. im sure you know how hard that is with our salt filled winters!

now, to get mine back together to actually head there.

Yeah, good luck with that thought.

It worked out that way on my silver when I had to replace them but both on the laguna as well as the claret, they wouldn't even come out even after hammering ball joint forks and and prying like hell on it. You might get lucky though.

benebob · #8 04-27-2010, 02:05 PM

As was already stated, buy some new ones. I'm sure there are some aftermarket ones out there that will work. Having removed maybe 10 in my life with the proper tools most of the time I've never had one which was reusable. In fact on the last one I broke a pickle fork pounding on it so hard the thing spread apart.

James Scott · #9 04-27-2010, 02:34 PM

I suggest replacing! I simply noticed one was loose (easily moved by hand in circular motion when disconnected, but was not yet loose! (when doing axles I think?). When new, it is very difficult to move the two sides of the ball joints at all! I decided to replace both without any clear need. Surprisingly, I noticed a definite difference when I replaced them!

They were $130 from Subaruparts.com. Really quieted my suspension (stiff drop springs with Koni strut inserts and poly torsion mounts). It's easy when you drive a car frequently.. to not notice deteriorating function.

Jim

redlinedeath · #10 04-27-2010, 03:01 PM

hmm, maybe i got lucky. then again, i emptied a bottle of pb on the 8 bolts for the ball joints on both corners. when i took the bolts off, after i broke them loose, they came right off with very little force, and after all the bolts were released, i gave the threaded part a couple taps with a hammer, and they popped right out...

i wonder why mine had no resistance coming out. looking at your words, it seems mine may have been the exception, not the norm. also, there isnt a single spec of rust on my underbody, except where i didnt have enough room to maneuver with tools in hand while under the car, and scratched. its just light surface spects where i went through the undercoating that softened up when they were coated in quarts of trans fluid. ill give it a shot when i go, and see how it goes.

torxxx · #11 04-27-2010, 11:03 PM

some come out easy and some out hard, I've fought ones before and I've had ones literally fall apart. Just sucks that the ones that you have to fight happen more often.

rbalach · #12 04-28-2010, 07:30 AM

In case somebody wants to see a bad vs good ball joint:

redlinedeath · #13 04-28-2010, 09:29 AM

lmao, thats a bit of an extreme case! my right side does have a pinhole leak. When i look at it, it looks fine, but if i move it around, theres a tiny pin sized spot where you see a leak develop after moving it for a few seconds vigorously. when you move it, it is a little to easy to move then im used to playing with new ones all day, but still looser then used ones we get in. i wish i could find a car with one that matches. i could pull all our parts one by one to check at work... but may get in trouble!