I am new to the forum and I need help I have replaced My lower ball Joints a total of 4 times each side over the past 5 years. I am curious to know has anyone else had this problem? Any Ideal what can be causing this? I have a 2000 ls V8...Any help would be appreciated?
Lower Ball Joints replaced over 4 times...I NEED HELP?
- Thread starter guttaatl
- Start date
Agreed. The factory wheel/tire combo weight is ~50#. Those wheels look to be at least 60# without the weight of the tire. Excess unsprung weight will cause ALL kinds of suspension wear! Lowering also causes early/excessive wear on the ball joints.
I was Originally thinking the same thing, the wheels are 20in lexani firestars with 245/35/20 but I took those off over a year ago before the last time I had the ball joints replaced and now its happening again. I kept the factory 15's and those have been on the car since before last time I had the ball joints replaced.
The ball joints have been purchased from ebay, I used moog I believe it is the first two times the past two have been trying different ones to see if there would be better results. The shop I use is a car shop I have been patronizing based on there honesty on previous experiances.
Yes you are correct they are 16's lol
No as far a ball joints installation I have no clue on what I would be looking at? I have experiance with "under the hood mechanics" but none at all with suspension parts.
So once the new ball joints have been installed It should or shouldn't move? Normally when the joints have been replaced the joints perform fine just usually in a year I feel when they are starting to go bad. Is there something else rack and pinion or anything that can cause this?
dNyce LS
Dedicated LVC Member
When they are new/good, there should be no play/should not move.
You can check the tie rods by grabbing the wheel at 9 and 3, and moving it continuously back n forth. Its easier for some people to have a second person feel the toe rods while the other moves the wheel, to pin point the bad part(s)
Could check the upper ball joints while its raised. Grab 12 and 6 and move it. You will be able to see if the upper is bad
You can check the tie rods by grabbing the wheel at 9 and 3, and moving it continuously back n forth. Its easier for some people to have a second person feel the toe rods while the other moves the wheel, to pin point the bad part(s)
Could check the upper ball joints while its raised. Grab 12 and 6 and move it. You will be able to see if the upper is bad
The uppers have been replaced as well through this process, that is normally how the mechanic can tell me which side is bad by placing the car on a lift and seeing which side moves I just cant believe there isnt some explanation for why this keeps happening. I am a true LS lover but I am tired of this "yearly maintenance". Didnt have this problem at all the first 4 years of ownership so I cant understand what has changed.
scjmc
Dedicated LVC Member
I think for most cars suspension/steering parts are normally replaced 0-1 times during the life of the vehicle. Are you sure about your mechanic? What does he say about the high failure rate of the ball joints? My 71 Mustang has gone through 5 lower ball joints in the last 15 years, but the larger tire/rim size that I have (and radial vs bias ply tires) puts much more stress on them. You are saying that even back to the stocker rims you are having failures?
The mechanic has no clue why I am experiancing the high failure...The intial indication was the larger rims were probably causing extra stress but with them off and now facing failure agian it doesnt seem that could be the problem...My thoughts have never went to mechanic because upon installation the car rides perfectly for around a year and then the problem occurs again...I was thinking could there be something elsewhere that could be causing premature failure or wear...rack and pinion or anything/ if other than mechanic it would have to be something that is not noticably off??? Im just at a lost on this.
msgtusmc
Dedicated LVC Member
I would find another suspension shop to get a 2nd opinion. Ask to inspect the suspension & get a thrust, 4 wheel, alignment with factory rims or at least same size. I couldn't countthe vehicles with oversized rims I have seen broken down on the freeways traveling from Virginia to Montreal to Fla to Mississippi to Missouri and back, several times! Dubs with band-aide tires biggest failure. Suspension geometry has a big effect on suspension parts!
I got mine off of RockAuto, and had D.C. Auto in Johns Creek do the work. They also did shocks, engine mounts and other work for me. I realize that could be pretty far away from where you are, but I liked that shop.
msgtusmc
Dedicated LVC Member
Ball Joints
Moog !
Moog !
TooManyToys
Well-Known LVC Member
I would not be buying Moog balljoints from eBay.
I worked for a different division of the company that included Moog and we were always fighting counterfeit part issues.
I worked for a different division of the company that included Moog and we were always fighting counterfeit part issues.
msgtusmc
Dedicated LVC Member
Got my Moog balljoints & swaybar links from Autozone. Heavy construction, have used Moog parts from auto part stores for 35 yrs on 19 different vehicles, never a problem. Ebay can be questionable! Always like to take suspension parts out of the box @ the store & inspect. I never go cheap so I don't have to do the job again & its my butt in the seat! Some cheap/bad suspension parts can ruin exspensive tires, rims etc.
