I brought my 2002 SE in because it was pulling to the left quite a bit and I was hearing some thuds when going over bumps. The dealer told me that the front driver side ball joint was worn. I asked to see it and sure enough the rubber cover was torn and there was some play there.

I figured they could just replace the ball joint but they said that on this model the whole control arm needs to be replaced to replace the ball joint. They quoted me $375 to replace the front driver side control arm. I could probably do it myself but I don't have a whole lot of experience and with a 6 month old baby I would be nervous that I wouldn't do it correctly.

I guess I'm just looking for confirmation that this is true and you really can't just replace the ball joint without doing the whole control arm. Also, does the price (parts + labor) seem right? Thanks for the help!

he is correct, the balljoint is one piece with the control arm, so you have to replace the whole thing. Price sounds a bit steep though. The LCA should cost under $150 and installing one takes less than an hour...I replaced both of mine in about 1.5 hours.

Call DaveB and see what price he'll give you the LCA for...

Funny I was told the same thing by the dealer with my 4th gen and I was able to find ball joints a new pair for $35 on ebay of all places and I had my local mechanic press them in, but I just checked the place I got mine from and they don't seem to have any for the 02-03 or any control arms, I'd do some phoning around.

Do you think the dealer will install the part if I buy one on my own? I see them on Ebay ( http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Lower...67180467QQrdZ1 )for $63.99 plus shipping.

Thanks for the help guys.

the 5thgen and 4th gen LCA's are different. The 5G lower balljoints CANNOT be pressed in, they are welded components of the LCA itself....trust me, I have one sitting right here (old one)

Dealer prolly won't put in your bought LCA, it's how they work their business. I've phoned a couple places and 5G LCA's are harder to find than I thought.

Yeah the dealer told me that it's not something that they stock and would probably take a few days to get one in.

depends on the dealers policy. they charge around $500-600 for certain axles. If a customer says they will just go somewhere else unless they can use a $100 reman axle the dealer USUALLY will allow it. Same thing is true if the customer is replacing ball joints and wants to put MOOG parts in instead of OEM. If a customer makes a habit out of it and only does it to save money, they usually won't allow it.

$350 could be a bit high. Find someone with a Chiltons manual or Alldata and see how long it should take. Then call the parts counter and ask how much they would charge for the part. Add the part price to the flat rate price and that's what it should cost. If it's higher then the tech mis-quoted you.

As Irish advised you must replace it as a unit. If you're not mechanically inclined, have it done at a dealership or at your favorite repair shop. It will be worth the piece of mind to you and the family

Thanks for all of the help. I think I'll call a few smaller shops and ask if they would install the part if I were to supply it myself.

Whats Dave B's number?

When you supply a part and have a mechanic install it, you lose any warranty. If something goes wrong, the mechanic will blame it on the part and the part manufacturer will blame it on the mechanic.

i talked to dave b this morning $150 per side for 00-03 lca's

i thought theyd be less so i didnt order mine yet, gotta wait till next check.

[QUOTE=albertj03]I brought my 2002 SE in because it was pulling to the left quite a bit and I was hearing some thuds when going over bumps. The dealer told me that the front driver side ball joint was worn. I asked to see it and sure enough the rubber cover was torn and there was some play there.

I have got the same problem.

I called these people and they told me that the quality of these lower control arms is about 80% of an OEM. I would go with the OEM's at this point.

Any local shops carry 'em? (napa, advanced auto, etc...)

You seem to miss understand me, I was merely suggesting he might be able to check around for a LCA ( if press in ball joints aren't available, which obviously now they are not)
from a jobber rather than dealership only. Up here in Canada we don't have access to half the stuff you guys can readily get, thats why I ordered 99% of the stuff that's on my car from the USA as I have a shipper in Washington.


PS I trust you irish44j

[QUOTE=Edward Lee]It looked like there was a black rubber ring around where the ball joint was. Whatever it was the rubber ring was torn. Not really sure what exactly what it was.

[QUOTE=albertj03]You're right. I took a look at my control arm and there was some sort of rubber covering the ball joint. Is there any way you could post a pic of the bad ball joint?

I am having the same problem with the thud sound over potholes and bumps in the road. It kinda sounds like a strut with no rebound. Everything looks good and I can't see any wear on any of the parts.

[QUOTE=Edward Lee]
I would love to take a pic for you but I don't have access to a lift and my driveway is crushed asphalt so I don't think a jack would be a good idea on that surface. You think I can get a good enough view just from on the ground without the car up on something?

When I first brought my car in and told them it was pulling and making loud thuds over bumps they told my front struts were gone and that I needed a new LCA.

I was looking for a second opinion so I went to another Nissan dealer and they said my struts were fine and it was just the ball joint but their price was more expensive to replace the LCA. So I went back to the original dealer, told them what the other dealer said, and asked them to have a different tech check it out and show me what was wrong.

The second tech told me that if the struts were gone then there would be liquid or lubrication leaking from them and he couldn't find anything. He said that he heard the thud when he was taking it in and said that a bad ball joint will cause that.

Hope this helps.

I fully agree with this statement. If you buy your own parts, make sure you can put them on the car yourself before you buy. Otherwise if you must use a shop to install them, have the shop get the parts for you. They make a little money off the parts - true - but they need to eat like the rest of us and it's how they stay in business. Take a moment to put yourself in their shoes and think about what it takes to keep a business running.

Cultivate a good relationship with a reputable shop if you can. Personaly I have not had positive experiences with ANY dealerships - Nissan, Ford ( OMG do they try to screw you ) and even Toyota. The business setup is different for them, and they are under more pressure to *** hammer the customer whenever possible. Don't let them do it ( unless you like that sort of thing ).

Local shops that repair cars, Imports or otherwise, and don't sell cars to make money are my prefered way to go.

Just my 2 cents.