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Car Forum / Nissan / Nissan Cars / January 2008Lower ball joint
I accidentally destroyed the rubber boot for the lower ball joint on the right side of my son-in-law's '95 Altima. It sure looks like the ball joint can be replaced, but the Nissan manual and AutoZone's repair instructions say to replace the transverse link which contains the ball joint as a unit. AutoZone sells the ball joint separately. Surely I can change just the ball joint can I not? > I accidentally destroyed the rubber boot for the lower ball joint on the > right side of my son-in-law's '95 Altima. It sure looks like the ball joint > can be replaced, but the Nissan manual and AutoZone's repair instructions > say to replace the transverse link which contains the ball joint as a unit. > AutoZone sells the ball joint separately. Surely I can change just the ball > joint can I not? I can't imagine why one would have to replace both the link and the ball joint. The trick when replacing the ball joint is to thread the new ball joint to exactly the same point on the transverse link. If you don't get it back exactly to where it was before, the toe-in will be off and you'll have to get a toe-in alignment. A screw type ball joint removal tool is very helpful in getting the old one apart. Also, follow the torque specs carefully when tightening the castle nut. Overtorqueing it will likely result in breaking the joint if you ever try to loosen it again. Good luck. Al >> I accidentally destroyed the rubber boot for the lower ball joint on >> the right side of my son-in-law's '95 Altima. It sure looks like the [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > nut. Overtorqueing it will likely result in breaking the joint if you > ever try to loosen it again. Good luck. Al there's no threads on the ball joint where it fits into the control arm. None on the new BJ,either. It's pressed in,I think. There's a C clip to 'retain' it in place.  SignatureJim Yanik jyanik at kua.net I have a bad lower ball joint on the right side of my 98 Frontier. The dealership and others have told me that I need to replace the entire right arm assembly (about $1000 on each side). NAPA is the only place that I found that sells the ball separately, and after taking the wheel off, my neighbor (a mechanic) told me it looks like the ball can be replaced. Anyone else here ever run into this? >> I accidentally destroyed the rubber boot for the lower ball joint on the >> right side of my son-in-law's '95 Altima. It sure looks like the ball [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > nut. Overtorqueing it will likely result in breaking the joint if you > ever try to loosen it again. Good luck. Al > I accidentally destroyed the rubber boot for the lower ball joint on > the right side of my son-in-law's '95 Altima. It sure looks like the > ball joint can be replaced, but the Nissan manual and AutoZone's > repair instructions say to replace the transverse link which contains > the ball joint as a unit. AutoZone sells the ball joint separately. > Surely I can change just the ball joint can I not? I'm in the same situation with my 2003 Sentra SpecV. I have bought the separate ball joint,but can't get the old one out of the control arm. I'm told there's a C-clamp like device to press out the BJ,and one can "borrow" it from an Advance Auto store.I haven't tried this yet,though. SignatureJim Yanik jyanik at kua.net Very interesting. I picked up the ball joint from AutoZone today for ~$22. It is definitely a press fit, but it's puzzling why they use a snap ring too. Maybe it's just insurance against the press fit loosening. My intention is to remove the transverse link (lower control arm) and use my bench vise to persuade the original ball joint to come out. Will let you know how it turns out. Kind of cold out there today. Might stay inside and give it a go tomorrow. >> I accidentally destroyed the rubber boot for the lower ball joint on >> the right side of my son-in-law's '95 Altima. It sure looks like the [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > I'm told there's a C-clamp like device to press out the BJ,and one can > "borrow" it from an Advance Auto store.I haven't tried this yet,though. > Very interesting. I picked up the ball joint from AutoZone today for > ~$22. It is definitely a press fit, but it's puzzling why they use a > snap ring too. Maybe it's just insurance against the press fit > loosening. I paid $15 for my ball joint from Advance Auto. 8-) SignatureJim Yanik jyanik at kua.net > My intention is to remove the transverse link (lower control arm) and > use my bench vise to persuade the original ball joint to come out. [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] >> can "borrow" it from an Advance Auto store.I haven't tried this >> yet,though. Yes, but my AutoZone ball joint was made in China to DuraLast's exacting specifications. That's probably why it cost more ;-) >> Very interesting. I picked up the ball joint from AutoZone today for >> ~$22. It is definitely a press fit, but it's puzzling why they use a [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] >>> can "borrow" it from an Advance Auto store.I haven't tried this >>> yet,though. on 12/16/2007 5:07 PM Silver Surfer said the following: > Yes, but my AutoZone ball joint was made in China to DuraLast's > exacting specifications. That's probably why it cost more ;-) Have you read this? http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/ab_suspension/article/0,,DIY_13695_2277532,00.html >>> Very interesting. I picked up the ball joint from AutoZone today for >>> ~$22. It is definitely a press fit, but it's puzzling why they use a [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] >>>> can "borrow" it from an Advance Auto store.I haven't tried this >>>> yet,though. SignatureBill In Hamptonburgh, NY To email, remove the double zeroes after @ Pretty thorough article. Contains some good tips. Thanks for the link. > on 12/16/2007 5:07 PM Silver Surfer said the following: >> Yes, but my AutoZone ball joint was made in China to DuraLast's exacting [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] >>>>> can "borrow" it from an Advance Auto store.I haven't tried this >>>>> yet,though. While you can replace just the ball joint on many of the Japanese cars you need to be careful of the fit. The new joint MUST fit VERY tightly (as in using a hydraulic press tightly!) or it will slide around in the arm and eventually fail. The included c-clip in the replacement is probably only there to protect against large lawsuits. Install it anyway to make sure if it works its way loose it wont come apart in a very inconvenient way. -SP > I accidentally destroyed the rubber boot for the lower ball joint on the > right side of my son-in-law's '95 Altima. It sure looks like the ball > joint can be replaced, but the Nissan manual and AutoZone's repair > instructions say to replace the transverse link which contains the ball > joint as a unit. AutoZone sells the ball joint separately. Surely I can > change just the ball joint can I not? |
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