Ball joint problem

[grendels_arm]

Past few days when i'd turn the car mainly left and when going up and down I'd hear a creaking from the front drivers side. Went to the local shop and they put it on a lift and looked right at the ball joint area. I was standing back a good ways. They said it was empty of grease and no way to lube so i needed a new one. He said he squeezed it and didn't gfeel any grease inside. So they wrote me up the standard ridiculous part price for a control arm ball joint replacement. When I got home i realized i didn't find out whether it was the lateral or compression control arm/ball joint they said was bad. I'd like to be able to get it replaced under the recall if I can. Can I should some WD40 on one of em, let it work itslef in abit and try to figure out the one they mean?


My car was inspected for the recall when it originally came out and the dealer didn't do any replacement because they said the ball joints were fine. The recall at the time just called for the dealer to seal then if they were fine. I'm really hoping I can call the dealer and say "order parts and I'll bring it in when the parts are ordered". But worst case I have to have the dealer inspect then wait however long for fix.

Now here's the big issue. I could end up having to pay for the replacement if it's not covered under warranty.

In addition I need to replace my rear struts. Plus I need 4 tires.

I'd attempt to replace all this stuff myself and save tons of labor costs. But I don't want to buy special tools I may need, get stuck working on it and not have a car for days, break something working on it and not sure if you need a lift to replace control arms or rear struts.

And this is all leading up to me thinking I may just sell car and get a newer one. This whole deal will cost me $1000 if I do it. Spent $2K last year on clutch (didn't end up needing it) and head gasket. And now I'm worried with the mileage I have (83K) that I'm right around the corner from having other stuff go bad at this mileage like tie rods, front struts (big $$ in labor), etc.

Thoughts? I like the Talon. But it's getting up there.

 

[DSMcrazy3]

Spent $2K last year on clutch (didn't end up needing it) and head gasket. And now I'm worried with the mileage I have (83K) that I'm right around the corner from having other stuff go bad at this mileage like tie rods, front struts (big $$ in labor), etc.

WTF How much on a clutch job...? That shouldn't have costed more than $700 for an OEM replacement.

To me it sounded like you need a new axle

You should really consider doing this yourself. The only special tool I think you would need is a spring compressor, to get the struts off. Maybe the fork to hit with a hammer to separate the ball joints. Other than that it shouldn't be too hard. I'm about to take on the task of replacing my transmission. During that process I'll have to do those things too, I'll probably replace one axle too.

This site is here, don't forget that, we will help you along the way. I really think if you have basic tools you should take on the task. It would be a great learning experience for you.

 

[grendels_arm]

The $2K I paid last year was for head gasket replacement, new front pads and rotors and new clutch. I bought parts myself and gave to dealer to put on. OEM clutch parts were under $200 I believe and I think rotors were $100 or so. Most of money was labor. ($1500 in labor) I did not have the time, tools expertise, lift, etc to do the work. If you guys coulda done that stuff yourself, great, I couldn't. The ONLY reason I didn't buy a car at that time was I didn't like any cars out there for the money.


Lemme ask this:

In a single car garage with a standard hydraulic jack and regular stands from Advanced auto parts can I do all the work?

The local shop by the way quoted me 1 1/2 hours PER SIDE for the rear struts. That's $270 total in labor. ($90 an hour). So based on this with my non mechanical self I doubt it would be a one day job. That has me concerned. My thoughts are I'll start it then something else will break with the car up, something thay I can only get say on a Monday monring. Then I end up having to call into work or take a bus to work for the whole week because I wouldn't be able to work on it till the weekend. You see why I don't like the idea of working on it.

Since I work and depend on my car to get to the local Metro I don't like putting myself in situations where i'm outa a car for awhile.


I realize everyone here loves their DSM cars and I like mine too. But on the other hand I'm not that attached that I will fix it for any amount of money.

Car is just getting up there in mileage.

 

[DSMcrazy3]

My car has 120,000 miles on it..all that has gone bad are clutch waterpump tranny(just now..from my shit head driving) and one axle...Don't just assume stuff will go wrong since the car is old...Sure some things will, but not necessarily the most expensive..

Taking the car to a shop, you never know when you'll get it back...They may tell you how long it will take to do the work, but not how long it will take them to get to your car..You could definitely do struts in one day..Especially the rear, which are easier than the front

All of the work I've done on my car, it's been in the driveway, not even the garage, with a hydraulic jack, and regular stands...

 

[grendels_arm]

I'm at a disadvantage because I live in a townhouse community where the HOA doesn't allow you to work on your car. I could do it in the garage. Main worry is something else breaking while I'm doing the struts and needing to wait till Monday to get it. I'm sure there's some tiny special part I'll have to remove that will break on me. Always happens when i work on my motorcycle I'm just not very mechanically inclined.

Of course the tires are normal maintenance, the only reason I add them into the cose I need to put into the car right now is because at least on a newer car I wouldn't have to spend what I'm guessing will be $500 for tires and all the crap you pay for when they put on tires.

Would the ball joint be covered by the recall? Do you think it's the lateral one that makes the noise?

 

[clipsit]

Hey man I feel ya, but take it too the dealership. Mine is doing the same exact thing. I took it to the dealership for the recall and they loobed it and now I am probably going to take it back and tell them to change it, b/c I am pretty sure only one was bad on mine so they left my drivers side one. It could be something else on yours, though. Try and find someone you know or who knows a good mechanic and see what they are about, so you can take your car when needed and get help and opinions before you just take it somewhere and spend alot of money. But if you got the $$$ then...take it to the dealership, but I would definitely find out about it from the dealership before you go ahead and tackle the job or spend the money. Good luck man

 

[grendels_arm]

$90 for the local dealer to look at it and confirm if it's a recall or not. If it is then no charge. If it's not covered by the recall, which it won't be if say it's the other balljoint (compression one) then would have to pay the $90 or have them fix it and pay their prices. Yikes.

 

[Jon Lane]

I think one of the mods here once suggested that over time suspension components also start to freeze up. Even if your ball joints aren't going out, you still have a lot to gain from getting things moving again.

My car has 110k mi on it now and the upper pass side ball joint went bad, so I had all six front arms and both tie rod ends replaced at one time (six hours labor) and everything works better up front now. I paid to have it done because my time is worth more to me than spending a day out in the garage, banging on rusted components.

The car has regained it's ride, handling, and fun factor. I had no idea how important this is until I experienced it myself.

 

[markGSX]

My Chrysler dealer also said my ball joints were fine despite the creaking, and they snapped a month later. When I brought it back it was pretty obvious what happened and it was covered, but he said it would be 50 to look at the car if it wasn't. I think you're getting screwed. You hear the creaking, so don't wait on the repair. The ball joints are probably about to go and its pretty dangerous when they do.

 

[clipsit]

Yes. If you can...find a mechanic or the dealer to let you know if they sell just the ball joint piece or if it is the whole A-arm of the upper ball joint. B/c the pieces only cost like $20 or so but the whole assembly is $100 or more. Anyway thats my $.02...Like Jon Lane and markGSX said pay the money or at least replace them the best way you can for your money. Let us know what you do and what it was.

 

[baxsom]

do you plan on dropping the car at all. if so you might want to consider ingalls or spc adjustable ball joints to get the negative camber out

 

[grendels_arm]

Saw the problem today when I looked underneath car at the dealer. You could move left side tire up and down by pushing on the bottom of it. To me it looks like the ball joint in the compression control arm is bad on the driver's side. WAiting for dealer to give me final word. I've looked all over and except for some "shady" place on eBay this part isn't sold by many people at all in the aftermarket and it's like $250 in the aftermarket!

Update. Wow dealer told me it was covered and they were gonna do both sides. Wooho.

 

[clipsit]

That rocks man...I knew they would take car of it for you.

 

[grendels_arm]

Yep only thing that cost me $$$ is paying them to put my struts in for me. Like 4 hours of labor just for the rear. Oh well I needed it done and I couldn't afford to have something go wrong when i attempted it.