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About Us. Contact Us. Select Language. Easy guide: the why and how of ball joint replacement. Message Regarding Your Privacy. I accept Submit Submit. The job of a ball joint Ball joints connect the car wheels to the suspension system, and allow them to move together.
Why replace ball joints? New ball joint Worn out ball joint Worn out ball joint. Watch out for these symptoms of worn ball joints: clunky, knocking noises, particularly when going over bumps creaky or squeaky noises when the suspension moves drifting to the side shaky or loose-feeling steering uneven or premature tyre wear or feathering.
How to check ball joints If you suspect ball joint wear, the car should be inspected as soon as possible. Do some ball joints last longer? Most shops can perform work on ball joints, and turn-around time is same day.
Labor will vary greatly by model. There is not much we can do to prevent ball joints, or any other front-end part, from wearing out. Some ball joints come with grease fittings where newer, cleaner grease can be periodically added to tighten up small spaces and lengthen service time, but these fittings are typical of older model cars. The best strategy is to keep up with repairs on the suspension in order to slow the overall wear. Start with Openbay to compare pricing from quality local shops and then book your service with the click of a button.
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Email: [email protected]. Well, the ball joints in your car function much the same way a ball and socket joint in your body works.
These parts are made of a ball and socket type joint encased within a lubricated rubber boot. The ball joint on your car attaches the steering knuckle to the control arm. Essentially, it connects your wheel and tire to your steering and suspension system. Have you ever been driving down the road and spotted a car stopped with the front tire lying on its side? They allow your suspension to move up and down while also allowing you to turn your wheels side to side.
Without them, steering would be nearly impossible! Some cars have only a single ball joint on each front wheel. Others have an upper ball joint and a lower ball joint on each wheel. As the names imply, an upper ball joint would connect to the upper control arm, while the lower joint would attach to the lower control arm. In older cars, the rear wheels rarely had ball joints because those tires never turned.
Some modern cars, however, even have ball joints on the rear wheels as well! It is possible that your vehicle could have a total of 8 ball joints — two on each wheel! This depends on the type of suspension that our vehicle has. Typically, the more ball joints your car has the better it will ride and drive. Older cars usually only had ball joints on the front suspension, so they tend to ride a little rougher than newer cars.
There is no need to spend money on the cost of a wheel alignment only to have your car need the same repair again in a few weeks because you have a ball joint that is bad. If left unrepaired, it could begin to wear your wheel bearings faster than normal because of the improper angle of your tires. The cost to replace wheel bearings would then be another additional expense you would incur to get your car running properly again!
Believe it or not, ball joints need some level of maintenance as well. The lubrication inside the boot of the ball joint does not last forever. Most dealerships and repair shops will lubricate the ball joints and other necessary components when you have your oil changed or other routine maintenance done.
This lubrication is necessary to keep ball joints operating smoothly and prevent them from wearing out prematurely.
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