Front upper control arm ball joint

[BillDCat]

When driving my car on rough roads, there's a th-th-thud sound coming from my right front wheel. It sounds as if the front strut assembly isn't bolted down fully... but it is - everything is as far as I can tell.

But, when re-tightening everything down, I found that when I try to tighten the nut on the upper control arm's ball joint, the threaded part spins in the joint. I'm assuming that this means the joint is bad, and that this is probably the source of the thudding.

But of course you can't get the joint by itself, at least from the dealer. They want $160 for the entire control arm.

So the questions are:

1) Is this ball joint actually the culprit (the springs, dampers, and swaybar end links have <8k on them)... before I go and blow that much to replace it.
2) Is there an alternate part number for this ball joint, or somewhere other than the dealer I can buy it separately?
3) Are there aftermarket solutions, i.e. adjustable joints or such that could be had for less money?

Thanks in advance for your help guys.

 

[wret]

Ahem...

You didn't even need to search for this one: it was only a couple of posts down.
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=200833

 

[BillDCat]

Yes, yes, I did in fact search and see that thread... but if you read carefully, it does nothing to answer any of my three questions. Besides, his car was a GS, and mines AWD. Different part # (at least according to the dealer).

 

[Rx3]

Yes, yes, I did in fact search and see that thread... but if you read carefully, it does nothing to answer any of my three questions. Besides, his car was a GS, and mines AWD. Different part # (at least according to the dealer).

GS or AWD it doesn't matter. the method is the same. That thread answered 2 of your three questions.

There are also threads in the handling section that address how to resnug the upper control arm balljoint (one of which was started by myself), so if you search you will find that answer as well.

As for the one that it didn't answer:


Check the balljoint boot for rips. as long as the boot is solid, it's probably not the balljoints. I would also check the anchor bolts for the control arms, the bushings (especially if they are an aftermarket brand) may be shot. That also causes loud clunking. Check the torque on all the components of your front suspension, a loose swaybar bolt, etc. can cause clunking noises as well.

 

[BillDCat]

It turns out that the lower lateral arm's balljoint was bad. The damaged boot wasn't noticeable until I had the whole knuckle off of the car. Upon replacing this arm the noise stopped.

 

[Silver2GST]

There is a recall out for the lower lateral ball joint on 95-96 DSMs. i would make the dealership pay for the repair if you had to pay out of your pocket.

 

[BillDCat]

I am 110% aware of that fact (if that's even possible!) But here's the story:

I was out of town when I figured out the problem. I went to one dealership and they told me that the recall service had been done so they would not perform the work. It turns out that there were two recalls for these arms. If the car was fixed under the first recall, the ball joint could still go bad because of the sealant under the joint. If the car was fixed under the second recall (and the bottom of the joint has the white sealant) Mitsubishi would not replace the arm after that service had been performed.

So of course I tried another dealer. They said that they would do the service (finally, after some "disCUSSion") but they would have to order the part, which would not come in until the next week. Seeing as that I had to be back in Tucson for the start of the semester before that, I decided to find one at the junkyard with a good joint so I could 1) make it home in time and 2) not kill myself during the 1000 mile drive back by having the joint fail when I was doing 90+ at night.

The damn thing cost me $95 bucks used. I was happy I could even find one with a good joint, as they usually use pickle forks to seperate them while tearing down the car.

But *please note* I'm not trying to start a discussion or argument about the recall issue; I chose to replace it myself for the sake of my own convenience.

 

[jtmcinder]

The damn thing cost me $95 bucks used.

How aware are you of the cost of these arms brand new? Surely it is less than 110% because it happens to be around $30.

- Jtoby

 

[spyder97gs]

How aware are you of the cost of these arms brand new? Surely it is less than 110% because it happens to be around $30.

$32.10 brand new from my local Mitsubishi dealership for each arm. Ouch, he could have saved $30 bucks on the parts, and the gas to drive the 1000 miles, and had the job done in 20 minutes.

 

[BillDCat]

How aware are you of the cost of these arms brand new? Surely it is less than 110% because it happens to be around $30.

Well it seems we have a case of mistaken identity. What some call the lower lateral arm others call the lower compression arm, and vice versa. The "straight" arm is only $30-$40 at the dealer. The "curved" arm is anywhere from $140-$160, depending on the dealer. THAT is the one that needed replacing (though from my understanding, they were both covered under the warranty).

 

[jtmcinder]

If you meant the compression arm, then why did you bring up the recall? The recall was for the lateral arm.

I am posting this not to rub rather sensitive Bill's nose in it any further, but to make it clear to everyone that the lateral arm -- which is the one subject to the recall -- is very very cheap from the dealer. This is also the much more important arm with regard to driving the car safely and not having a front wheel fall off at speed. So there is little excuse (and good reason not) to drive a car with a questionable lateral-arm ball-joint.

- Jtoby