I was jsut told from a shop that my left front lower ball joint is bad and needs to be replaced. I was also quoted an astonomical price for replacing this. Can someone tell me is this going to be a huge cost to repair. Can I purchase parts and do this myself?

Thanks,

 

Is it upper, or lower ball joint? Usually upper goes first. In any case, I just replaced both upper units myself:
1 .cost of 2 ball joints on eBay (standard OEM manufacturer, made in EU) $50 shipped.
2. Labor was a bit harsh, took me 1 hour on one side and about 40 minutes another, with replacing upper bushings.
3. You will need to buy your own press at Harbor Freight ($150), or take control arm to any car service to get old ball joint pressed out and new ones pressed in, no more than 1 hour labor.

Pic. attached.

 

+1 , good advice mish!

 

You will need the press for sure even though it can be done without. Not recommended. A little trick: Put the new ones in the freezer overnight. They will go in easier.

 

If it's the lower ball joint, as the OP stated, then it's a little more involved. You have to take off the lower control arms, and to take them off you have to drop the steering rack. If you don't want to do it yourself, the parts aren't that expensive and any decent mechanic could do it in less than two hours.

Having said that, If the place that told you that it needed to be replaced is the same place that quoted you the astronomical price, I'd question whether or not the ball joint is really bad. There are other suspension issues on these cars that are more common. Bushings and shock mounts are much more likely to go bad before the ball joints.

 

Agree, only reason i replaced mine were because one boot (gaitor) was torn badly.

 

Having discussed this subject at length with seasoned Jag mechanics the word is that lower control arm ball joints can be replaced but it is often quite difficult under the best of conditions. Unlike the upper control arm ball joints that are received into the control arm straight down, the lower control arm has a complex angle and the ball is recessed at the head making it very difficult to hold it in place while pressing old out and new in. The recommendation is to replace the whole control arm. I am also told that unlike the upper control arm the lower control arm bushing are molded rubber and metal and they are rather stiff. As such, they are much more difficult to remove and replace. Having viewed these directly and observed their replacement I would agree that replacing the lower control arm with the ball joint is definitely cogent advice. If you can't afford the new control arms try to find a suitable used replacement.

Hope this will be helpful.

Tim

 

I have rebuilt lower control arms for sale on an exchange basis if anyone is interested.

 

HI,
I have a 1997 XK8 with 80,000 miles that needs both lower front ball joins replaced.
Do you have rebuilt ones for exchange?
Dennis

 

HI
Did you replace the lower ball joint on your XKR?
If so, were you able to press the old one out and new on in OK?
If so, what part did you use for the lower? My Jag dealer says that it is only available as an assembly, with the arm.

 

Yes I have arms ready to go with the factory lower ball joints & control arm bushings fitted. Please post your email & I will contact you.

 

Please reply with price, specific info about the parts, delivery, etc.
My email is: dmmurphy422@gmail.com
Thanks

 

Could you email me pricing information for two control arms (convertible XK8 1997) ?

ferrerjulio@yahoo.com
Thank you

 

so to get the lower control arms off they just dont unbolt? dropping the steering rack? sounds terrible I have taken the hubs off before to get machined so they could fit the big breaks but I didnt think the lower arms looked hard to get off?

 

If you want rebuilt control arms I have a set ready to go. By the way I like the way you did the fresh air intake.

 

You don't have to drop the steering rack completely , if you remove all four rack mounting bolts the rack will move sufficiently to get the bottom wishbone bolts out ............. however , the rack bolts can be prone to seizure in the alloy subframe and shear off , the bottom joints are available separately and if you want OEM they are made by a company called Lenforder , a friend made up some press tools to push the old joints out and the new in ..... as stated the arms have a chamfered bottom that make a straight press in/out tricky without press tools

Hope this helps ,

Nik

 

And, before you do all that be sure it's not worn out sway bar end links. They make the same noise when you push on the top of the tire. When I replaced my shocks an dmounts I inspected the bjs very closely. Thank God they are in good shape.

 

To check the bottom joints , place a jack under the bottom arm as close to the joint as possible , with the weight of the car supported on the jack place a long bar under the tyre and lever up , any play will be obvious ,

Hope this helps ,

Nik

 

See that this is an older post; Do you still have rebuilt ones for and XK8?
Thanks,
Craig

 

I read though this and decided to attack the bad lower joint I had... you cannot do the job with regular installation tools. I ended up turning a piece of bar stock and tack welded (with a space) to the back of the lower arm to be able to press against something. the tack welds were more "*****" secure to the bar stock and lightly tacked to the arm to reduce heat transfer and to be able to cut it free after the new joint is installed. this trick and the "cheapo" press from Harbor Height it went quickly. I did take a picture if there's any interest. the British make easy cars to work on but you need to stop and ponder it over a pint before proceeding.