32 upper ball joints???

[makaveli]

Hi Guys,

I recently got some new rims so i decided to get a wheel allignment. I took my car to pedders and after 4 hours they told me they couldnt do the wheel allignment!

They said my front upper ball joints need replacing, although I feel it drives fine. Would i notice it? Plus one of my mate recons it doesn't have upper balljoints.

They also said my rear tyre rod sockets need replacing.

What do you guys think? can you guy's help me out here.

thanks

Mark

[makaveli]

is this a common problem or likely to be true?

if so how much would it cost to fix?

thanks

Mark

[blind_elk]

I'm not sure about the GTSt, but my GTS4 (and the GT-R) certainly doesn't have upper ball joints. It has upper control arms, and the bushes eventually wear out, giving too much camber, and unstable control during driving.

As for the rear - they are tie-rod ends - could be knackered. They are mechanical parts that don't live forever.

Take it over to Traction in Rowville for an honest appraisal of what's wrong.

[makaveli]

hi blind_elk thankyou very much for your information!

i know the front must be ok then because I just recently replaced my upper controll arm bushes.

as for the rear im not sure although I will get it checked out soon.

thanks again mate!!!!

[Sydneykid]

Hi guys on R32's the upright rotates to enable steering. They have a ball joint at the bottom of the upright where it joins the lower control arm. At the top of the upright it has a swivel joint (not really a "ball joint") where it joins to the upper control arm. I have never seen a swivel joint worn, they are very big and strong, but I guess it is possible.

Hope that helps

[makaveli]

thankyou very much again for the advice

take it easy

Mark

[Amaru]

My car has been making a knocking noise in the front passanger side of the suspension, so took it to Pedders today (basically because they were going to check it for free). They told me the same thing, they said the upper bushes had already been replaced, the lower castor bushes were cracked and needed replacing (they actually got me under the car and showed me this), they said the cv boots needed replacing (they showed me this too), and said the knocking noise was coming from worn upper ball joints. Ive also got the printout of the car on a shock tester machine, and even after 70,000km's, theyre still going fine (was told it looks like they were rebuilt not too long ago).

Just thought id add this as I read above R32 GTR's dont really have upper ball joints, but what made me respect the guy at Pedders is he actually reccomended taking the car somewhere else to get done, as theyve never done one before at this particular workshop, and couldnt quote me a price on labour.

On that note though, does anyone know where I can get replacement bushes, cv boots and these "upper ball joints" Pedders are speaking of?

[Sydneykid]

Hi Amaru, Whiteline have polyurethane bushes, cv boots and upper ball joints you can get from a Nissan dealer. I stand by what I posted earlier, Skylines don't have upper ball joints. The joint where the upper control arm meets the upright is simply not a ball. It is a swivel joint. A ball joint works for 360 degrees (ie; in all directions). On the Skyline the joint only allows rotation of the upright, it is like a hinge on a door.

I have never seen a Skyline with any wear in that joint, even at triple the no of k's your car has travelled. They do wear both the inner and outer bushes on the upper control arm a lot, almost every Skyline I have seen has worn bushes.

Bushes and cv's are not expensive, but I don't believe the swivel joint alone is replaceable so you would have to buy complete uprights, they won't be cheap.

Whiteline have agents in Canberra, this is their web site, I think it has contact numbers on it.

www.whiteline.com.au

Hope that helps

[Amaru]

Hi Sydneykid, thanks for this. When it was checked, the guy said all the upper bushes had already been replaced and they looked pretty new (ive only had the car for 5000kms).

I will however take the car to a skyline specialist (amazingly yes, there is one in Canberra ) and see what their opinion is. What else would cause a knocking noise (something physically hitting something else) in the suspension area, but only really at low speeds and intermittantly? I went to get it checked before it became a permanent noise and cost me the world.