More ball joint problems

[TooFast]

I have installed 3 front upper ball joints on the drivers side of my 98 Talon N/T in the last 4 weeks. Is there anything that would cause extreme premature failure? Would putting two much grease in the boots cause them to fail? Could over/under torquing cause them to fail this fast. I have a tein suspension and some 17" rims. It is adjusted as far up as it will go. It is only the drivers side I am having a problem with. When I take it apart the ball joint is still tight, but it squeaks like hell when I turn the wheel and hit bumps. What is the torque spec on that nut? I could be installing them wrong but I don't know what I would be doing wrong. They always go in strait, sit flush and work great for the first few days. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Seriously.

 

[adamsdarin]

you do know that the ball joints are on recall right.... chrysler will replace them for free.. over and over and over again

at least they have replaced mine several times

 

[wret]

you do know that the ball joints are on recall right.... chrysler will replace them for free.. over and over and over again

at least they have replaced mine several times

The recall is for the lower ball joints, or more precisely, the lower lateral control arms, not the upper.

To the OP, I find it difficult to believe that you have ball joints failing in only a few days. There just isn't enought time for them to de-grease and deteriorate even if they were completely unprotected. Are you sure the noise is coming from the upper ball joint?

 

[TooFast]

I can feel it in the joint when I put my plam on top of the ball joint and my buddy turns the wheel. I thought the same thing. The other strange this is thateven though that are sqeaking they are still tight. WTF?

 

[TooFast]

I know there is more knowlage on the forum.

 

[gdmbat85]

i had the same problem. i had horrible squeeling when i turned my wheel. i coulda swore on my life that the sound was comming from the top ball joint area. after almost going crazy i discovered that the boot for the straight lower control arm was cut and lost grease. i temporarily fixed it by stuffing grease into the whole and then replaced the entire thing. double and triple check the boot. i didnt notice the hole until probably the 5th time i looked at it since the hole was in the back. as far as i know its almost impossible to wear out ball joints as fast as ## going through them. goodluck.

 

[Cs4g63]

The best thing you can do if you cant figure it out is take the car to a shop and have them inspect it. Once they figure out what is wrong for you you take it home and fix it yourself. It will cost some money but not as much as it would if you were to have the shop do the work.

 

[John_GST]

i had the same problem. i had horrible squeeling when i turned my wheel. i coulda swore on my life that the sound was comming from the top ball joint area. after almost going crazy i discovered that the boot for the straight lower control arm was cut and lost grease. i temporarily fixed it by stuffing grease into the whole and then replaced the entire thing. double and triple check the boot. i didnt notice the hole until probably the 5th time i looked at it since the hole was in the back. as far as i know its almost impossible to wear out ball joints as fast as ## going through them. goodluck.

I had the exact problem with my GS. it was teh lower control arm where the boot had cracked oped and de-greased itself i kept temporarily fixing it by stuffing high temp axle grease in it eventually one day i was goin down a back road and hit a little rough spot when the s**t hit the fan. The ball join broke off from the latteral control arm and all that was holding it all together still was the axle. so i tried drivin it to my GF's sisters house but eventuall the axle pulled out of the tranny. moral of the story check the lower latteral arm or it could happen to you bro.

 

[TooFast]

I ended up taking the car into the dealership. They are replacing both lower ball joints because they are bad and they are doing it for free under recall. They also let me know that I had a tear in one of my cv boots. They only bad thing is that even though I dropped my car off this morning they will not be finished with it until tomorrow morning because the parts were not on hand.

 

[FenixTX717]

i think i have the same problem with my car....how can i find out about recalls?

my car makes a noise as if it were metal rubbing against metal....it creeks...really bad and sometimes when steering...???

 

[Dream On]

Call the dealership with you VIN and they'll tell you about what recalls you need.