Author Topic: Ball joints (Read 6749 times)

jtanguay · « **on:** September 22, 2008, 09:28:50 am »

hey quick question here.

i've recently replaced my ball joints (is a year ago recent??? :lol:) and i've just inspected one, and it seems as though the boot has cracked where it bends. around the outer edge. doesn't look like it is all the way through yet, but just wondering if anyone else has encountered something like this? it's a Febi part i bought off of autopartsonlinecanada:

http://parts.autopartsonlinecanada.com/parts/apocanada/wizard.jsp?year=1992&make=VW&model=JET-D-001&category=L&part=Ball+Joint

now the dealer is selling one for the list price on that site which is over $60. i sure as hell don't want to spend that much money on this junker, so does anyone have any tips/advice? is this a crappy part? i've installed all new suspension, could it have anything to do with that? maybe making the ball joint bend too far? would bad alignment cause that? :oops: the boot on the dealer one looked very smooth and shiny and would probably not crack for a very long long time.

thanks guys!

Super T · « **Reply #1 on:** September 22, 2008, 11:55:55 am »

Is your car lowered any? If so that would lead to quicker wear. Also with parts you do get what you pay for as a general rule. Cheap parts are just that. Now I'm not saying you should buy the most expensive one, but there should be a happy medium between cost and quality.

jtanguay · « **Reply #2 on:** September 22, 2008, 02:00:53 pm »

true... but the $40 thermostat (i know :roll:) i got from the stealer was wayyyyyyyyyy too hot for my car. and i doubt i would get any repairs if it did indeed die because of it.

i thought febi was a decent name, but i guess not then? anyone know any good names???

and yes the car is indeed lowered, but only about 1.5" if that. didn't think that would have much of an impact as say someone who's slammed their car :lol:... so to anyone who's lowered their car, any input???

thanks

Super T · « **Reply #3 on:** September 22, 2008, 05:39:51 pm »

My last Jetta was lowered about 2 + inches. Not slammed but pretty low. I had a tie rod end get taken out by a puddle one day. I know this because I had checked it 2 days before and it was tight hit a huge puddle and it was loose. So that just goes to show you parts can go from good to bad fairly quick. When you lower your car you change the geometry that the suspenstion parts are designed around. As far as brands go, I like Moog.

jtanguay · « **Reply #4 on:** September 22, 2008, 06:38:16 pm »

Quote from: "Super T"

My last Jetta was lowered about 2 + inches. Not slammed but pretty low. I had a tie rod end get taken out by a puddle one day. I know this because I had checked it 2 days before and it was tight hit a huge puddle and it was loose. So that just goes to show you parts can go from good to bad fairly quick. When you lower your car you change the geometry that the suspenstion parts are designed around. As far as brands go, I like Moog.

where can i get Moog? dealer only? and tie rod taken out by a puddle?? damn! sure hope that doesn't happen to me...

clbanman · « **Reply #5 on:** September 22, 2008, 08:47:41 pm »

Most jobbers should carry them. I don't know about VW, but for most North American cars Moog carries the standard parts and then has a severe duty version. Some jobbers don't seem to know about them or aren't interested in dealing with them, but the ones I was quoted on locally weren't much more expensive and were much better made. I believe Crappy Tire actually carries some Moog parts as well.

Dakotakid · « **Reply #6 on:** September 22, 2008, 10:03:34 pm »

I've installed a lot of Febi stuff. Seems to last.

The one Moog tie rod end I bought was zerked which I like. But, paying for the Moog was traumatic! That was from a local parts house.

TedV · « **Reply #7 on:** September 23, 2008, 10:00:15 am »

I've seen the boots get pinched when wrestling with suspension, hit some road debris, etc etc, crack for whatever reason. I have been a cheap SOB in the past. Not feeling like removing the ball joint, it was still rivited on, gone to the used part pile, found a boot that was good, remove springclip then boot, make sure no dirt in joint, add little bit of grease and reassemble. Yes I was bored that day and cost me nothing but time.

you wanted other options. :lol:

jtanguay · « **Reply #8 on:** September 23, 2008, 11:50:50 am »

i might just silicone the joint and hope for the best... :lol: although it does seem like that side is loose... i'll have to inspect it further

burnt_servo · « **Reply #9 on:** September 23, 2008, 02:22:04 pm »

moog joints only lasted me a year in my car ..... and i replaced them twice with moog joints ( a year with both sets ) .

i put in some really cheap italian joints ( like 12.00 each ) 2 years ago and they are still really tight , aproaching 45,000 - 50,000 km in total on the italian joints . maybe 7,000 - 10,000 km on each set of moogs .

jtanguay · « **Reply #10 on:** September 23, 2008, 04:45:44 pm »

Quote from: "burnt_servo"

moog joints only lasted me a year in my car ..... and i replaced them twice with moog joints ( a year with both sets ) .

i put in some really cheap italian joints ( like 12.00 each ) 2 years ago and they are still really tight , aproaching 45,000 - 50,000 km in total on the italian joints . maybe 7,000 - 10,000 km on each set of moogs .

at least i'm not the only one with ball joint issues :lol: is your car lowered any???

maybe i should get an 'italian tune-up' done :lol: :twisted:

clbanman · « **Reply #11 on:** September 23, 2008, 06:07:43 pm »

I had a truck years ago that had the front ball joints done with something similar to this:http://www.freepatentsonline.com/3650004.html. I seem to remember hearing that this is no longer legal in Ontario - can't find anything online. I don't know how they ensured that they cleaned all the old grease out of the joint, but I know the ones I had lasted for years.

jtanguay · « **Reply #12 on:** September 23, 2008, 06:39:39 pm »

so let me get this straight, the resin hardens the surface of the ball joint and then uses no grease, but still moves? thats actually quite interesting... i was considering opening up a new ball joint, taking out their grease and putting in some of that moly grease for added life. too bad they've taken out grease fittings on new cars

clbanman · « **Reply #13 on:** September 24, 2008, 02:34:55 am »

The way it was explained to me, the ball joint needs to be moved through it's range of motion after the stuff is injected in order to retain full range of motion. There are elements of it that seem iffy to me (may well be why it's not allowed anymore). When I was searching for information I found some places in Australia referring to "ball joint injection service" but they had no web sites so I don't know if they were doing something similar. If you actually had to pay for labour for someone to disconnect the ball joint without damaging it or the boot, and then clean and inject it, and then cycle it through the range of motion, I think those costs would soon eat up your parts savings.

jtanguay · « **Reply #14 on:** September 24, 2008, 11:19:22 am »

i wonder how long that stuff would last?