How does it look under here?

[juntjoo]

Help me out with my suspension/drivetrain check up. Tie rods and axles are obvious..



right? But how about ball joints and bushings on the control arms?


ball joints look good. Couldn't pry up on em like my manual explains to test for, and the bushings have just micro cracks as it appears to me.

And how about these struts? Are they supposed a little lubed to the touch up there or totally dry as they are? No signs of leaking.

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my main symptoms are crackling when I turn, i'm thinking new axles, not just boots, and wheels steer a little on their own, more and more as time goes by. wutchas think?

 

[juntjoo]

What about the bushings? Will that be an especially hard job? Haven't found a thread on it yet.

 

[pauleyman]

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/handling-tech/442764-control-arm-bushing-removal-prob.html
Visual Frequently Answered Questions - Home Page

 

[95talongirl]

I second the advise given about master pro parts. Those are just chinese garbage. Same with any parts' stores value line. Stick with a higher grade part, you will be much happier..... Since you won't haveto do the same job 4 times over in a year. Lol.

 

[R91TsiAWD]

Instead of trying to replace the ball joint and bushings separately it really is a lot easier to just replace the entire LCA. That's the route I took. I've replaced both inner and outer tie rods, LCAs, wheel bearings and seals, and struts and springs.. Just so I knew that going forward I shouldn't have a problem. I used MOOG parts whenever I could, and I got some KYB AGX struts and Eibach pro-kit Springs for the suspension, and it rides great now