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Stupid question about ball joints

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    #1

    Stupid question about ball joints

    About a year ago, I had my front upper ball joints replaced.

    About 3 months ago, I looked at my front upper ball joints, and the boots were shredded. The joints themselves were squeaky clean, no significant accumulation of crud. THEY HAD NEVER HAD ANY GREASE IN THEM.

    I decided that after putting 5000 miles on them with no lubrication, it probably would not be a good idea to just grease them up, put on boots, and call it good. So I bought some new control arms with new boots.

    How can I tell for certain if there is grease in these joints? I can't really tell just squeezing the things. Do I need to grease them myself before installing? If so, what, do I just fill the boot up through the bolt hole? If so, how full should it be?
    Tags: ball joints, boots, grease, suspension
    #2
    Does the ball joint have a grease fitting on it?

    http://0.tqn.com/d/autorepair/1/0/V/L/balljoint.gif

    If it does you should inject grease into the fitting. If not does the boot have a retaining ring around it? sometimes you can loosen the ring and apply grease on the inside of the boot.
    To have loved and lost is better than to have never loved at all #CB7Life

    Comment

      #3
      Where are you getting your parts?

      Honestly, when it comes to things like ball joints, I wouldn't trust anything but OEM parts, or a quality aftermarket part like Ingalls or SPC (and then only installed in a good aftermarket arm, such as the Ingalls adjustable joint in the TASauto control arm kit...)

      I've known cheap ball joints to fail catastrophically. It's a good thing you had enough sense to check before yours did as well!


      Chances are, if they're a cheap replacement part, there will be nothing more than a retaining ring holding the boot in place. You can remove it and check, but you may run the risk of damaging the boot in the process.

      My advice... if it's a cheap part, scrap it... and go get new from Honda.






      Comment

        #4
        No grease fitting, and it looks like I would maybe be able to get grease in through the bolt hole on the bottom.

        What I'm wondering is how do I know if I need to. How much grease, if any, is supposed to be inside the boot as opposed to in the joint itself? Should it feel squishy or something?

        I've never really paid attention to the things when they weren't needing replacement or close to it.

        Originally posted by SoySauceCb7 View Post
        Does the ball joint have a grease fitting on it?

        http://0.tqn.com/d/autorepair/1/0/V/L/balljoint.gif

        If it does you should inject grease into the fitting. If not does the boot have a retaining ring around it? sometimes you can loosen the ring and apply grease on the inside of the boot.

        Comment

          #5
          Honestly, Honda ball joints are supposed to be sealed units. They aren't supposed to be opened and re-greased. I don't even know if the manual provides that information! Honda won't even sell the upper ball joints separately.






          Comment

            #6
            Originally posted by deevergote View Post
            Honestly, Honda ball joints are supposed to be sealed units. They aren't supposed to be opened and re-greased. I don't even know if the manual provides that information! Honda won't even sell the upper ball joints separately.
            Yeah, I figured that, but I've just been burned and I kind of wanted to avoid a repeat.

            I don't even recall what the brand on the old ones were, but I'm pretty sure these aren't from the same batch...the boots are a different color.

            Comment

              #7
              So they're cheapie aftermarket replacements?






              Comment

                #8
                Originally posted by deevergote View Post
                So they're cheapie aftermarket replacements?
                Yes.

                I have had no problems with my cheapie aftermarket replacement lower ball joints, I didn't think there would be a problem.

                I don't remember what the ones I am now replacing were.

                Comment

                  #9
                  I would never risk my life with cheap ball joints. If they fail, they're most likely going to fail at speed, or when cornering. If they fail, you lose control of your car completely.






                  Comment

                    #10
                    I have to agree with Deev about the cheapy balljoints. I have used the cheapies, and never had a set last more than 6-7000 km's. I now run the same setup he has, the TAS uca's with Ingall's adjustable balljoints. Worth every penny!

                    Regarding your concern with greasing your balljoints, which lack nipples? I found this at the local Canadian Tire. I'm sure most parts stores would carry a similar item. They work great for greasing anything (almost) that doesnt have a proper grease nipple.
                    29 MPG in town ~ ?? MPG Highway
                    Originally posted by deevergote
                    "how can I make my car unique, just like yours?"

                    Comment

                      #11
                      Found my answer. I was checking them out outside in the wind before, so I didn't notice...I can hear the grease squishing around.

                      And while I would be worried about joints failing at speed, I mean that would be the worst time to have it happen, I've seen a fair number of cars whose joints failed and all were in city driving.

                      That said, I replaced the originals because they were starting to go and had symptoms only noticeable over 55 mph.

                      Could they still fail? Maybe, but it won't be the way that I was worried about.

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