I get told that both of the front Upper Ball Joint Boots are cracking. Replacement was recommended.
It has 95k miles and never raced - 1999 LS model.
Is this normal on Acura Integra's? Has double whisborne suspension. Should I use Honda part?
I just noticed that the upper ball joint boots for both uppers are dry rotted and torn! Only 40k miles and the boot falls apart when I touch any portion of it. Is this normal, so much for quality?
Anyway my question is how hard is it to R&R them and do I have time? IOW will the ball joint wear out really fast?
Rust bubbles front of hood both corners, the tranny thing, now the ball joints all within 40k miles. rear glass trim breaks and falls off.
I have recently replaced both tie rod ends and found out when I took my truck for an alignment the mechanic stated that I had bad driver side ball joints (upper & lower) I confirmed this with SEARS and they stated that it was all the ball joints upper & lowers! the Haynes repair manual (1999-2010) states "ball joints on 1999 through 2013 2WD models were not replaceable".
View 4 RepliesOur 2000 Subaru Outback has just over 200k. We want a vehicle that is safe, but do not want to put a lot of money into this. At the last service the dealership said the left ball joint boot and power steering rack boots need to be replaced and the rear differential bushings are broken or loose. All of this would be > $1000 to repair. They said that the ball joint could get dirty and fail catastrophically and be a safety issue. Is that right or will the steering start to feel rough beforehand? Can we drive it safely?
View 11 RepliesOn a level-of-difficulty-scale from 1 to 10. 10 being the most difficult. How difficult is it to change the upper control arm and the lower ball joint?
View 3 RepliesAt about 160k I noticed that the driver side upper ball joint was worn out and had a lot of play on it , so i replaced the upper control arm including ball joint(can't just replace the stock ball joint). I bought an aftermarket one with grease nipple...
Now about 2 years and 50k later, whenever I drive through a bumpy field, it sounds like something is lose and rattling right by that front wheel ,so i took off the wheel and checked the ball joint but it still seems tight..
Although I put in too much grease and that cracked the rubber boot, just leave it or should i replace the ball joint because of that rubber boot that is ripped open?
2009 f150, XLT 4x4, 6.5 ft box ....
My daughter has a 1999 Passat 4cyl.... In the last year I've had 2 lower control arms at the front ball joints just break away. Lucky it has been when she was either stopping or at very slow speed.
On inspection this looks like a very unsafe design flaw. The aluminum control arm is strong except for the light metal around the ball joint it's self. If one of these let go at speed it could be fatal!!
What causes the break other than normal wear and is there any signs before one lets go?
I need to do both lower ball joints. is there a write up or process to do it? do I have to remove the whole hub assembly/knuckle thing or can I do it with all that stuff in place?
View 4 Replies1999 Acura Integra 4DR LS Auto with 93k miles
I tried to bleed by letting the engine run with the Radiator cap open and the heat lever set to the max. It ran almost 10 mins but the the fan never came on! It was Not getting hot either. I had the hood opened. I manually raised the rev to 2.5k rpm and engine got hot a bit -After I reved up to 2.5k, the temp gauge hardly went to under 1/4 of the gauge. Fans still didn't come on. It is pretty hot here in North California today.Then I turned the AC on - the both fans came on instantly. When I turn off the AC it went off too!
Is this normal? Or do you think that it did not heat up to about 80 degrees Celsius. Do the engine normally takes between 20 to 30 mins of running to get to operating temperature for the fan switches to work? If I drive on the road for a while and when I park with engine running (no AC on) and if the radiator fan is running, can I dismiss the issue?
I have a 1999 Acura Legend and the temperature control slide came loose so to adjust the temperature I have to slip a small screwdriver inside the dash to slide the cable inside one way or the other. Has the cable come loose or did the plastic slide break? Any tips on how to remove the climate control console so I can get a look inside?
View 9 RepliesOK, I've done a lot of things over the years on cars and trucks but never messed with ball joints on a F250SD 4x4 with 160k miles. Found out today when getting new tires that the ball joints are shot. I trust the shop but know I can do this my self. So if I'm going to do this what should I replace? Since I'll be doing this I want to know from those with more time under the truck than me what else should I be replacing at the same time. I have done the front wheel bearings and of course shocks. Just what am I in for and what other parts and brands should I be using? Bushing kits for stabilizer bar? Replace stabilizer bar with heavier after market?
View 12 RepliesI can't afford to replace it now and want to quiet the squealing that occurs only when I turn right. A mechanic sprayed something on there about a month ago that caused the squealing to stop for about a week, but don't remember what it was. It's a 2002 S.D....
View 14 RepliesI have replaced my ball joints and now putting everything back together. I am having trouble tightening the nut on the lower ball joint, the joint turns with the nut as soon as it starts to get tight.
View 2 RepliesI recently had the timing belt replaced on my 1999 Acura Integra (which incidentally is a great car). Seems like my gas mileage has been down by a couple of miles per gallon ever since.
Is it possible that some normal aspect of replacing it would reduce gas mileage? This was a new shop to me--is it possible they did something to the engine that would reduce the gas mileage?
I'm looking to add a ball joint press/remover to my toolbox. Which one? Do I need adapters?
[URL]
Although I usually make my own tools, it is getting cold here quickly and LOTS to do before winter. I have the front drivers side parts ready to go on, but a tool like this could be very useful ..
Would this work on our Excursions/Superduty? Do I need any other adapters? Is it heavy enough for a couple of vehicles? Not running a shop, but have E350, my Excursion, and now F550 to do. Hence the tool "need" ...
My 2004 f250 ball and u joint replacement job is at a bit of a stand still. Tore it down, brought the knuckle and axle shafts to an ex mechanic I know, because he has a 20 ton Harbor freight shop press. He mostly used a hammer, bashed out the old ball joints (I already had removed the u joints). U joint turned out fine.
I did notice the upper ball joint protruded a very slight bit on one side in the knuckle, meaning you could feel with your finger on the underside of the joint and on the one side it is not exactly flush with the interior of the knuckle. I would say it protrudes no more than a thirty second or so.
I brought it home, installed the boots on the moog joints, (the bottom was unusually difficult to put on), greased the joints and hung the knuckle on the axle tube, by a few turns on the lower joints nut. I then inserted the camber sleeve on the top stud, torqued the bottom to 49 fp then the top to 67 and finally the bottom to 150. End result, very stiff movement on the knuckle. No tie rod attached, and it takes to hands to move it from the "stopped" position,(turned all the way). I am sure it is stiffer than when I did the other side.
I tried loosening the nuts completely, same stiffness. I redid the torque sequence, no change. Tried hammering the ears around where the joints seat no improvement. The fellow who installed into the knuckle came and took a look. He agreed the knuckle was stiffer than you would hope, but, he suggested Putting it all together, as he believed they would loosen up before too long. I am not sure whether to try that, or remove the knuckle now, and redo with new joints. Pros and cons to either approach.
My question is : Does a knuckle become more sketchy by the time it is dealing with the pressing of a third set of ball joints? If I finish the install now, will a stiff knuckle action lead to other mechanical wear within a thousand miles or so, while I wait to see if they loosen up?
I went to get my tires rotated and the mechanic noticed that the right outboard CV Joint boot on my passat had a little tear in it, but the grease hadn't leaked all out. I replaced both the outboard and inboard CV Joint Boots. Below is a nice link for DIY step by step write up with great pictures.
[URL] .....
Took my truck in to get the wheel bearings replaced (driver's side was singing pretty loud). Decided to have the ball joints replaced at the same time since they were still original at 133,000. Got the truck back and the steering is just not right. At high speeds it acts like an old F100 wandering back and forth and the steering is pretty tight when you try to correct the wandering. I have taken it back to Ford and had the alignment checked twice.
They adjusted it slightly and "loosened" the stearing gear box. Truck is better at low speeds but still not right at highway speeds. Ford is telling me there is a "break-in" period for the ball-joints. I don't remember my friends F350 having a break-in period when he replaced his ball joints. Truck tracked fine before the work was done. Tie-rod ends also checked out. Truck is a 99 350 CC SRW 8ft bed.
I just replaced the ball joints on my 99 F250 SD 4x4. Driver side was a bit stiff to turn the knuckle. Passenger side is very hard to turn. The upper stud wanted to turn in the sleeve after torquing to spec. I had to lean on it to lock it into place. I have to check today to see if parts store is open to get a new set. The brand name is "Drive Works". I have installed ball joints in this vehicle previously, and in another Ford truck with the same style. I have the proper tools to do the job. I have to determine if both joints are tight or just the upper. I won't buy the same brand again.
View 4 RepliesI have a 2008 Outback and I just got news from my repairman that says there is a leak in the head gasket and one of my axle boots is cracking. The axle boot is not the major concern, but is it worth it to spend $ to get it fixed or should I say "Hasta La Vista" and look into buying a new car? I hit a deer and thoroughly damaged the front end about a year and a half ago and I am not sure if that has "shakin' things up".
I currently have about 85K miles on the car. I don't mind repairing the car if it doesn't turn into the Money Pit.
The Honda dealer tells me that both of the van's CV joint boots are torn/leaking. Their recommended solution is to replace both front CV axles at a cost of about $500 per axle.
Is replacing the axle the standard repair when the boot is torn, or is the dealer trying to "over-fix" the problem at a greater cost to me? Can't they just replace the boots (at a lower cost, hopefully)?