Jump to content
SAU Community

Ball joints, control arms, what to replace?


Recommended Posts

Got a 2004 v35 that we are about to put up for sale. It’s passed everything for a roadworthy except the following on the front suspension: 

-upper ball joints 

-lower ball joints 

-tie rod ends

-lower control arm bushings 

As a bit of a noob, having trouble trying to figure out exactly what parts to order (trying to minimise cost as it’s being sold). The labour will be done by a mechanic though.

Two places have told us it’s better to just replace the whole control arm vs trying to press in new bushes. Is this the case? And does this apply to the ball joints to? Best I can tell, the upper one connects to one of the arms, and we’ve been told you can’t press new ones in. 
 

Thanks! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Seems a bit convenient that all those things need doing at once.  I would be seeking a 2nd mechanic to double check them for you.  Especially since they haven't mentioned the compression rod bushing, which seems to be the most common failure point in the front suspension.

But if you need to it all, you can replace the LCA bushes separately, can't get genuine bushes, only aftermarket, but should be quite a bit cheaper than the buying the whole LCA.  Upper ball joint is part of the whole upper control arm, so would need the whole arm.  There are 2 lower ball joints on each side, one in the steering knuckle which is replaceable and one in the compression rod, which requires replacement of the whole compression rod, so you would need to determine which one they are saying is bad.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We’ve got photos from the roadworthy which show the damaged bits, and that was our second opinion, the first said the same thing. 
 

Thanks for the info re the upper arm. 
 

Looking at the lower arms, they seem to come with either a shallow or deep ball joint nut recess depth…anyone happen to know which is correct? One place has said the deep but we’re not 100% sure and the only way to tell is by taking it off. The car is a 2004 350GT coupe, with the leather seats. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

wasn't even aware there was a difference, but it seems they are right, the series1 V35 appears to be part number 54500-AM601 and 54501-AM601.  But the Series 2/3 is 54500-AM602 and 54501-AM602.

These pictures may help -

https://conceptzperformance.com/nissan-infiniti-nissan-oem-front-lower-control-arm-link-03-04-rh-nissan-350z-infiniti-g35-54500-am601_p_6928.php

https://conceptzperformance.com/nissan-infiniti-nissan-oem-front-lower-control-arm-link-rh-nissan-350z-05-08-z33-infiniti-g35-05-06-sedan-05-07-coupe-v35-54500-am602_p_6927.php

Edited by sonicii
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share



×
×
  • Create New...