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I've been plagued with a creaking suspension.
The boot on one of the ball joints was bad, so I decided to replace that control arm.
It's a 4matic (AWD). It's the front driver's side, "rear" arm... The one with the Airmatic shock attached.
I removed it last weekend, and confirmed that the ball joint has end play. There should be NO endplay.
For some reason, I assumed the arm was aluminum. It's not. It's forged steel.
I went to eBay to get the cheapest arm I could find. It was delivered today for $43.
Of course, it's not an OEM, but a good looking copy.
It has a light gold plating. For fun, I painted it with some Rustoleum aluminum paint, that I had laying arround
The control arm was bought from GERMANPARTSAVER.
I guess we'll see... if it's good, or just good looking.
It was fairly easy to remove, considering that I have a hoist.
Lift the car.
Remove the lower engine cover and the 8x screws.
This gives you access to the bushing bolt and nut.
Remove the shock nut, the LBJ nut, and the bushing bolt and nut.
Boom... done.
Anyone who has removed tapered joints know it's not quite that easy.
The official, correct method probably involves a semi-special tool. The evil, incorrect way involves a hammer.
The new arm goes on tomorrow.
Next... I will post some pictures.
I installed the new Control Arm this morning,
First I greased up a couple of the BJs with a needle on the hand pump grease gun.
The bushing bolt has a star/Torx head. I used a standard 6-point 17mm socket. You just need to hold the bolt... the real tightening is done on the nut side.
The bushing nut needs to be tightened by hand with wrench. there is no clearance for a socket. I used a 13/16" box wrench.
(The bushing nut/bolt should be tightened with the car on the ground... in ride height position}
I could get my impact on the shock and LBJ nuts, then finish torqued them by hand.
I took it for a quick drive. Seems to be OK. Steering wheel looks straight.
(The correct thing to do is get the alignment checked, but I don't know what can be adjusted, except the tie rod (Toe).)
WONDERFUL photo-documentation !! Good Work. One concern Adding Grease with a needle ---correct insertion of needle is as shown, but Is the added grease compatible with that in the joint already??? I strongly discourage adding grease to ball joints and tie-rod ends.
Unless the protective rubber 'boot' is torn or damaged and leaks oil out, the joints never need additional grease. There is much more lubricating oil in the original amount than needed for many 'lifetimes.'
'GREASE" is the name for a metallic 'soap' (such as lithium hydroxide reacted with an animal fat) and then mixed in an oil (which is the lubricant.) The 'mixing' involves both ordinary stirring and very high 'shearing' to form the sponge-like matrix in which the oil is held. The soap used, amount, and degree of shearing are controlled to give the desired 'stiffness' and oil delivery characteristics. Oil must 'weep' out of the matrix at the proper rate into the lubricated joint.The most common number 2 stiffness (range is from 00 to 6) grease contains about 3-5% 'soap' and the balance oil and perhaps an additive such as molybdenum disulphide (2%) for extreme pressure applications such as Ball Joints.
The different 'soaps' should not be 'mixed,' as that can adversely affect the oil delivery to the lubricated joint. The different soaps can react with each other and cause breakdown of the 'matrix' allowing the oil to separate and leak away from the joint to be lubricated. Adding grease to a sealed joint such as ball joints and tie-rod ends can cause early failure from 'lack of lubricant.'
Agreed. The Ball Joint manufacturers are very specific about the "grease" they use on their BJs and they do lube for "life".
Apparently, the "life" on my BJ was less than 82,000 miles.
The incorrect grease could greatly reduce the life of your BJ.
I don't know what grease I added, and it's unlikely that you will find the correct OEM grease at the local Auto Store. So, you are taking your chances.
I'm convinced that adding grease fixed the creaking on the passenger side. Maybe it bought me a little time.
I'm convinced that the driver side was clearly the LBJ in the control arm. (it had a busted boot and end-play)
I may also be wrong. I'll post updates either way.
There are two things that are very risky on replacing the arm...
I installed an arm made in China, from a supplier I don't know, and who knows what grease they used and whether it was validated/tested.
Do not over-torque your tapered joint nut. Tighter is not better. If you "pinch" the boot and prevent it from rotating on the stud and face, the boot will split in a few hundred miles.
I still have a very light creaking when turning onto a driveway... like it's one of the sway bar ball joints.
Anyway, is 10x better than it was.
I still have a little shimmy in the steering, especially at high speeds. I swear that it is much less than it was... at least I've convinced myself.
The shimmy could be a bent rim from the Michigan winter.
So, we'll ride it out for awhile and see... and rotate the tires at the next oil change.
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