Ball Joint Or Tie Rod

[ARTZ]

so had the car in to get realigned the other day, was told they couldnt properly align the front end because a ball joint was stuffed..

said no worries i will replace it and bring it back..but they failed to tell me which one...

So im looking around under there today and all i could find was this all the others looked fine

Is it the culprit???

can i simply replace the boot maybe??

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Silvia-s13-r31-skyline-datsun-trx-Ball-Joint-Tie-Rod-Boots-STRONGEST-MADE-/290615408064?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item43aa0735c0

Also can anyone recommend new ones for me that arent too costly, car is fairly low with 3.5 camber on the front, does suffer from bump steer I think

...figured i Might some lock spacers in there as well while im at it..

[boostn0199]

What the hell happened to that tie rod end lol but anyway you can just chuck in a new tie rod end for like 20 bux from bursons or something they do the job no worries.

[boostn0199]

Wait just checked your link are you talking about a tie rod end balljoint or the lower control arm ball joint? Either way you can get the LCA ball joint aswell from bursons for 30-40bux.

[ARTZ]

its the tie rod end thats rooted..shop said I had a stuffed ball joint but didnt tell me which one....ball joints look fine..Im just not sure if this is the joint he was telling me about or not..im pretty sure this would make it hard to align right

So there is no benefit getting the longer tie rod ends..like these for eg..

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Bump-Adjust-Tie-Rod-End-Nissan-Skyline-R32-R33-R34-S14-/220864654021?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item336c8f2ac5

I

BTW seeing as your the only one who ever reads my suspension posts, i changed the rear LCA. found a little utube clip showed me how to pop the ball joint with a socket extenion and a hammer, worked a treat.was too easy thanks for the advice..

[boostn0199]

On my drift car i run just the burson std tie rod ends and no problems. If your having bumpsteer issues then you may want to lOok at them or else the extra money is not worth it as they wear out pretty much same time as normal ones.

Good to hear about fixing the lca.

[ARTZ]

yeah im not certain if its a bumpsteer issue or just my suspension too hard..

But often midway through a tight corner i will feel the front end try to kick out on me, sometimes quite violently..there is one corner near home I can take quicker in the accord..somethings not right, i guess it could just be the flogged out tie rod causeing this..

Maybe i should try the cheap option first anyway, if I still have issues I will try something else..

[ARTZ]

just rang the shop and hes told me it right hand lower ball joint...looks like I have work to do..lol

no wonder it handles like shit..

Any other suggestions while I have it up on blocks?

Someone was saying camber/castor bushes or something...make a big difference....any bushes worth replacing or dont bother...

[boostn0199]

For the price of castor bushes iwould instead chuck in a set of adj castor rods which are about 140 on jjr and just do bushes on the lca while your at it.

[ARTZ]

tie rods 23$ each ball joints 32$ each..110$ all up..

cheap at twice the price

piked up driftworx bushes as well..even cheaper..

[Room42]

ARTZ you might already know this but judging from the thread it seems you may not. To check if a ball joint is stuffed you have to jack the front of the car up so the wheel is in the air. Then you grab the top and the bottom of the wheel. Pull the top while pushing the bottom and then reverse. Do this quickly and firmly and then you will see if there is any play in the ball joint by the wheel movingfairly. For tie rods you do all of the above but you grab the sides of the wheel.

Also with tie rods and a lot of steering components on many cars you can get someone to move the steering wheel from 10 oclock to 2 oclock back and forth fairly rapidly and you can see any play in the joints. The wheels have to be on the ground for this one and obviously you have to lie under the car.

Remember that if you replace tie rod ends yourself that you have to count how many turns the old one came off. Also if the new tie rod ends aren't an identical length then you have to measure to within a couple of mm to get them in the right spot. Then you absolutely must get a wheel alignment. If your toe adjustment is way off the tires will get very hot and delaminate or at least scrub out within a couple of hundred km.

Final tie rod end tip. You need a big hammer to get them out and you smack the side of the hole that the tie rod end goes through. Don't hit the thread, it usually wont come out easy.

Hope that was helpful mate. If you already knew all that then nothing lost aye?

Nathan

[ARTZ]

yeah thanx for the tips man always appreciated

I actualy got most of it pulled apart on the weekend, even fitted some braided lines ..despite all its hard knocks my car must be in pretty good nick still, cause the joints i've done are just popping with a little tap or 2 from the hammer, I only used wd40 on one stuck nut..I still have to drop the control arms out though..

pedders told me the tierod was fine even though the rubber was split, but i want to fix it for my own vanity....they also told me to shake the wheel like u said, bit hard with no wheels or brakes on it..I will bolt the wheel back on and give it a shake.

Though he knew i was going to fix anything wrong myself so he had nothing to gain telling me things were broken that werent..

Im not sure if I will just replace one or the lot..i hate doing one side and not the other, even though it probably doesnt matter..

I fluked a set of driftworx poly control arm bushes for 30$....so all up if I replace both rods and balls and the bushes its about 150$, for pedders to replace just the ball joint was asking 120$..

I wouldnt mind some stiffer rack mounts and adjustable castor rods or bushes but these can wait..

I was told to replace the ball joint and bring it back for alignment, so i think he'll be happy with what ive done..