I got my car inspected today, Almost 30,000 miles. The only issues were the need for new rear break pads, and the Balljoint on the left front wheel is starting to wear out. I hear that this is very labor intensive to fix. I got quoted $260.00 to fix the BallJoint.My question is... Is this a good price to fix the Balljoint, and if it is just starting to wearout, is itsomething that I need to get fixed asap?I know that this can wear out the tire unevenly, but are there other issues along with this? I didn't have time to get it fixed today because I had to get to work. I was planing on going back in a week or so. Any info at all would be helpfull.
Thanks
Ship

 

I am having an issue with my Ball Joints...I have 30,000 miles and mine seem to be shot as well. They are making noises whenever I go over bumps, and I'm pretty sure I need to have them fixed. The question I have is are they covered under warranty? I mean seriously, 30,000 miles for a Ball Joint is absolutely ridiculous in my mind. They should last longer than that! If I have to replace all 4 that is $1000 I have to spend for a part that shouldn't need to be replaced.

Is your car making noises when you go over bumps? Is anyone else having this issue?

 

they better be paid for under warranty

 

I think they are covered by the warranty. But, unfortunatly my warranty was done on May 14th. She is a 2005. I have been reading up on the replacing the BallJoints and found out that they are not seperate. They have to be replaced with the control arm on the S197. I haven't heard any noises yet while I am driving. Like I said it is just starting to wear out. I am still trying to do more research on this. I have been searching other forums, reading the haynes repair manual, and talking to different mechanics.

The haynes Repair Manual says this...
The balljoints on these models are not servicable. If the balljoint is faulty, the control arm and balljoint are replaced as a single assembly.

Now I wonder if I should get new aftermarket control arms. lol!

 

I'm betting that the Haynes manual is wrong on this one (it certainly wouldn't be the first time). I can check the Ford manual later, but I'm pretty sure that you can get just the ball joint installed.

Steeda makes their X5 ball joint for our cars, and folks have been putting these on their stock arms. They are also said to be stronger than the OEM ball joints, which apparently are having some durability issues (at least in harsh environments). The downside is that if you are not doing this for handling after having lowered the car, the expense gets harder to justify. Steeda recommends that you also get a bumpsteer kit with it, as the ball joints alter the front steering geometry. So that means ponying up another $150 or so on top of the $150 for the joints.

OEM ball joints are certainly going to be cheaper and you wouldn't need the bumpsteer kit. But the point is that someone out there should be able to set you up with installing new joints on your current control arms.

Best,
-j

 

What you are describing is strut mount noise. There is a TSB for replacing the strut mounts. They have been redesigned.

 

I can picture the first two ball joints, but where are the other two that you speak of?

BTW...The Steeda X5's are $159 for the two. Which is list price. So do some shopping.

 

Yes, I am aware of this TSB. But my car does not make this noise when turning, and it is not just coming from the front. It is coming fromall wheel wells and is getting progressively worse. I hit the smallest bump and I hear the worst rattling noise, even if I'm going slow. It's so bad now that if I hit a dip in the road (not even a bump) I hear it...

I doubt it's strut mounts...

 

Mine didn't make noise when turning either. Only over bumps. Exactly what you describe, it sounded like it was coming from all four corners. Trust me on this one...its your strut mounts.

 

hmm...OK then maybe it is strut mounts :-) Was it covered under warranty? How long did it take them to fix them?