Hi all. Its been a while.

Heard a little thumping under front of car. Stopped at a local suspension shop for a quick examination.

I was told I needed lower ball joints and stabilizer bushings ( I think he said that)

Anyway, I have a relationship with the shop and they said I could order parts.
Since they're taking things apart, Im ok purchasing anything that would need to come off along the way.

Please tell me what I should order and possibly my best source to find the parts.

Thanks

 

Have a look down the forum list, as Scardini1 is doing that and a bit more a the present time.
Some good tips on were to get parts.

Wayne

 

The lower ball joint is located in the hub carrier, (or suspension upright). The individual ball joints can be obtained but swapping them out can be problematic.

 

This is what Im reading as well...
However, my local shop is not sweating it, and is not telling me to change the whole control arm..
This is the same shop that changed my shocks and mounts, so Im comfortable with their assessment .

 

Anthony, good to hear from you. Lower control arms will come out so he can press new ball joint in. While it's out why not replace the bushings on it.

Imo the hard part is unbolting the arm. This is a job on my 2do list. I've got both the ball joint and the bushings on the freezer. Want me to get the part number?

IMPORTANT: order the ball joint nut separately. It is not interchangeable or included.

Did you ever go poly with upper arm bushes? Think the cost about $130, but worth it. Easy to slip in.

john

 

Lower control arm is made up of two pieces, the straight arm that bolts onto the ball joint in the hub carrier at its outer end, and the curvy "banana" arm that bolts onto the side of the straight arm. Both have a large diameter bush at their inner ends, one may be a hydrabush. Both these bushes can be replaced.

Anti-roll bar links rarely give trouble, but the roll bar bushes can wear out and are cheap to buy but may not be cheap in labour to get at them to replace.

 

'Think the cost about $130, but worth it. Easy to slip in.'

Really? I think the number of people who managed to get both fulcrum bolts out without resorting to brutality can be counted on one hand. If they are OK , leave them be is my advice

 

Phanc60844, interesting point. The last few times I took it out were smooth. Couldn't have taken more than 5 minutes max.

You reminded me of the 1st time I did it, it was a bear, but I'm not sure whether to blame my inexperience or the old worn bushes. It was probably a combination of both. The new( er) poly bush and sleeve haven't corroded onto the bolt. She'll come out with just a few whacks of a 3 lb hammer now.

I guess in the end each one is different. There were 1 or 2 posts where folks just couldn't get it to budge. Hope yours is an easy one Anthony.

 

'There were 1 or 2 posts where folks just couldn't get it to budge'

multiply by 10 and you still wouldn't be close

 

I had new shocks and mounts installed last year...
Were any of the stubborn parts removed then?
If so, it may help the cause

 

Yes the parts I mentioned are always remove for either shock or spring access.

John

 

Gonna tell him to change anything that needs to come off to access whats broken.

 

UPDATE:

Second opinion.. (wasn't comfortable with my regular mechanic for whatever reason)
Went to a "front end specialist"
Turns out all that noise was nothing more than stabilizer bar bushings.
While he was under the car, I made him replace the stabilizer links as well.

200.00 bucks, and the car is once again smooth and quiet

Thanks all