MichMaxFan

I'm on my second, yes second, set of beck arnley lca on both sides of car. And this second set is doing exactly what the first set did.....crack/tear whatever on the bj boots in approx 12000 miles or less.

My free labor in doing this again is not exciting, but do I have any reasonable choice other than sucking down the cost for two new lca but a different brand? Maybe acdelco or similar?

I don't want to deal with warranty again. Getting good at the lca replacement job, that's for sure but I have better things for my time.

I've heard of boot replacement but I don't know about it. Thoughts?

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

You could consider replacing just the ball joint instead of the whole lca. I have never seen a replacement boot for a ball joint. I would think that the boots for different manufacturers of ball joints might be different from one another.

Does the boot look like it has dried out and lost its flexibility? If so, find a lca/ball joint that has a grease fitting in it.

MichMaxFan

I can't tell if it dries out or what, but assume it did in 12months time. Will probably take more time and money for a ball joint rather than the whole new arm, considering a bj would need a press, correct?

Idk, would be better to pull the arm and buy a bj and have a shop install it?

Oh...and about it drying out..I put silicone grease on the outside of it after install and kept it on there, thinking of preventing what occurred to first round of parts and apparently didn't help.

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

The replacement ball joints I have seen are bolted in. If you look at the ball joint currently on the car, it is probably riveted in, so you would have to drill out the old rivets.

I don't have any real ideas as to why the boot would be tearing so quickly. Is the car lowered? Stock suspension has the ball joint sitting pretty much perpendicular. Lowering might change that and the ball joint leans and is stretching the boot on one side. Just a wild guess.

krismax

iTrader: (15)

i have had cheap ebay LCA last years

03VQMAX

iTrader: (46)

My Beck arnley ball joints lasts 6-12 months, I just warranty them all the time

MichMaxFan

The car is stock. The original went 10+ years...I don't feel I should have to warranty something this often even if free. Not worth it to me.

Dennis...what do you mean riveted on? The replacement ones I see are pressed in, which I don't know how to do and would have to rent tools from az or pay someone to do it???

How much should it cost to press old out and new installed and can it normally be done without complications?

SubwayVQ

Is it true that you need to remove the axle nut and pull the axle out of the hub in order to replace the LCA? The 1A Auto video I watched did that, and to me it looks like it can be avoided by just sliding the LCA out of that stupid thing with like 4 bolts holding it to the frame?

MichMaxFan

I removed the axle the first time I did the lca because the bj nut would not come off without access from the top, and the axle is right over the nut.

The second time I did the lca the bj nut came off nicely even with the axle right there and little wrench rotational room. It had been only a year and when installed I had heavily greased the end of the bj bolt and nut due to winter salt issues and it was so easy it was laughable.

So, no, the axle doesn't have to come out....your bj nut will decide that FOR YOU...unless you got cool torches or whatever and are pretty experienced. It does give more room, but....the bj nut was the factor.

SubwayVQ

I have a torch. I don’t know if I’d say I’m experienced, but I do my own repairs so I know how to do things. LCA seems straightforward, but I try to take as little steps as possible to get it done quicker.

03VQMAX

iTrader: (46)

OP, you're better off doing custom control arm setup. Select bushings and ball joints.

Child_uv_KoRn

iTrader: (7)

Detroit axle on ebay for cheapness and ease. Weight is about the same as OEM (not high gauge chinese crap) and I've had no issues with the boots/joints. They also come with ZERTS! A set went through quite a terrific wreck and they didn't fail. They bent and one even got twisted, but the welds didn't fail.

You can also replace the boots on your current ones with something tougher if you can find em.

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

The Maxima ball joints re not are not riveted or bolted in. They might be pressed in, but I"m not so sure of that. They are held in with a C clip. I don't know how easy they will come out.

MichMaxFan

Is it the bj only or whole lca you're referring to? And if I did the boot only are the pop off pop on thing? Seems bad to replace so much due to simple boots..

MichMaxFan

Child uv.....is this what you have had good results with?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Front-Lower-Driver-Side-Control-Arm-and-Ball-Joint-Assembly-fits-Maxima-I30/171429204772?fits=Year%3A2000%7CModel%3AMaxima&epi d=1130335106&hash=item27e9fa1324:g:faoAAOSwbqpT9fW 6&vxp=mtr

Child_uv_KoRn

iTrader: (7)

Yeah. It's not worth even ****ing with pressing a BJ, if you ask me, when they're so cheap. Is a pair even 75? Quite insane for good quality. It's cake to replace the whole arm when you have an impact.

MichMaxFan

So would you purchase the eBay lca ones instead of a better known brand and still feel comfortable? They are hardly more than just the bj.

And, yes, the impact makes the job tons easier. I like my kobalt.

03VQMAX

iTrader: (46)

Everyone else I know buys the Moog Problem solver control arms, they like them

Child_uv_KoRn

iTrader: (7)

I hate to break it to ya, but you can literally see the same casting marks on ebay parts and name brand if you happen to get the ones made in the same factory....b/c that's where the name brands are made, too.

The key is to get the good off brands. I just suggested one that I have used and installed multiple times (of which I also have evidence from multiple hard impacts in a wreck).

Go ahead and google Moog. Anything recent is receiving lots of complaints, b/c it's now the same cheap **** you can get on ebay lol.

If you're going to press a BJ in, then you might as well replace the bushings, too (especially if you're on the original arms). At least you'll get something for your money besides a name.

I've been using tie rods and end links, also, from ebay. They're better quality than auto parts store (and outer tie rods have zerts). If it's something hard to find or expensive, then I see what rockauto carries. Mevotech seems to be the cheapest with good quality. I used their arms on my G.

MichMaxFan

No moe moog for me...or monroe..so....

I have to and will probably choose between the brand you mentioned and mevotech. The arms have been replaced long ago and the issue is only the bj quality, so that's my dilemma..Will probably come down to price of the whole lca so I can be done with it for the third time. Cool.

jtbask11

Hey guys, sorry for the bump but I can't make a new thread for this due to new user rules.

I removed my old lower ball joint (OEM w/ 250k miles, yeesh) but my new one didn't come with a c clip - unfortunately I didn't see the c clip in the old one and broke it while pressing out the ball joint. I ordered a new ball joint so that should be okay.

However, both the old and new ball joint fit fully into the LCA without any force - it looks like they don't need to be pressed in at all. Is it supposed to be like this, with only the c clip (and bolt going to the knuckle) holding it in? Or is my LCA messed up?

Edit: I'd like to clarify that both the old and new lower ball joint can be fully placed into the LCA, wiggled a little bit, rotated, etc and just drop out without the c-clip. I measured the diameters and the new ball joint is slightly (like 10 thousandths or so) larger than the old one.

chopstic

sorry to bump an old thread. But I would like to know this also. Does that ball joint need to be pressed in? Or just bolted? I am currently replacing a front bearing and figure I might as well replace the ball joint while I have everything apart.

Andrew

iTrader: (5)

Let a new LCA instead. Might as well. But If I recall, these are pressed in. I maybe wrong though.......