'97 s10 with the zr2 package. Upon buying it I discovered that the ball joints are pretty loosey goosey all the way around. I was at O'Reilly's seeing which ones they had and they had the Moog ones for around $50 a piece. What I'm wondering is will these be worth the money? If I'm spending over $200 I really don't want to have to do them again anytime soon...

 

Moog or timken best bet

 

i just got told by Belle Tire that my right lower ball joint is bad. I took it in there for an alignment after replacing the pitman and idler arms, and they said something like "you should do this right lower ball joint too, otherwise I'd just be taking your money and doing an alignment on a bad part My question is whether or not I should just replace all 4 ball joints. Does the car need to be aligned after each one is replaced?

 

Ball joints do not need to be replaced in pairs, they only need to be replaced if they're bad. Wheel alignment must be done after replacing any steering or suspension part except, sway bar end links.

 

okay, and my left front lower isn't bad. i get that, but following the logic that if the one on the left is now bad, the one on the right isn't far off, does it make sense to replace both? I haven't done ball joints before, so I'm honestly wondering. I wont replace it if it's likely that the car will go another 50k before the left lower needs replacing, but if it could fail soon, there's no sense in replacing just the one and paying for an alignment, right? I don't know. . .

 

Atleast moog will have the lifetime warranty. Napa blue boots have gotten alot of recommendations and some people have recommended power performance motorsports which is now proforged. I'd get something with a lifetime warranty if a company is willing to back it up with a lifetime theyre parts are usually better and then if you ever replace it you just bring it in(sometimes you can bring in your old non warranty parts and get a brand new free one, i've never done it though).

I think you should only replace the ones that are bad, the only way I'd bother replacing parts that arent bad is if maybe I already had it apart or was just sick of dealing with it and getting my whole front rebuilt. How long it will go depends more on how often you grease it and how you drive it and how bad your roads are, if you have your tbars cranked and are going offroad expect to replace them sometime. If its just street driving and you give them a pump of grease every time you do an oil change you never know how long something will last.

Also I'd recommend the lifetime alignment from firestone, try to find a coupon for it cause they have them alot, its like 160+tax with a coupon 200~ without and then you can take it in every time you replace something and not have to pay for it anymore.

 

Typically when one side goes, the other side isn't far behind, that's the logic used for replacing them in pairs. However, if for some reason only one was was replaced the last time, it might not need replacement now. The only time saver involved is that you already have the vehicle jacked up, and you've got all of the necessary tools handy. As mentioned, make sure front chassis ride height is within specs, or all 4 ball joints will wear out prematurely, (along with other steering & suspension components).

 

rockauto has them for $40 uppers and $20 lowers. Advance auto parts has them more less than Oreilly's but more than Rockauto. The lowers are $36. But, if you order them online and pick them up in store, you can use a promo code and save at least 30%, more depending on how much you spend.

I think I'm going to get both lower ball joints Wednesday.

 

Me Personally. If you got the cash to blow, go ahead... That's what I did.
I had the money so I bought all moog parts for my front end.. I figure if I replaced it all now I wouldn't have to in a month/year.



So. Its really up to you. You can replace one part now or replace them all.
Completely up to you.

 

I noticed recently on my GM RWD sedan that the right side outer tie rods were really worn badly. The left side TRE was still good. I thought about it and realized the right side gets the hardest wear because when you run off the road, the right side gets the brunt of the excursion. When you diagonal park , the right front hits the curb and is --again-- suffering the shock of the curb. Yes, I know you shouldn't do those things, but it is inevitable. My theory is the right side of the cars and trucks out there are going to wear out quicker and also be out of alignment most frequently. I would like to hear from any mechanics and alignment specialists on the forum regarding this theory.