I have taken apart the front suspension and where the strut connects to a ball joint is there a dust cover there? On item #9 in the picture. Not the tie rod end area.

The ball joint has a rubber boot covering the joint itself. No other cover in that area.

The only rubber in that area would be the "O" ring that is on the steering knuckle arm (#3) and the dust boot John pointed out (9) in this illustration.

If the dust cover is missing, replace the ball joint. The new ball joint will come with a new cover and now the old joint has been compromised.

Geezer is the dust cover #9 on your picture? If it is do you know where I can get one or the whole ball joint?

Geezer is the dust cover #9 on your picture? If it is do you know where I can get one or the whole ball joint?

Yes #9 is the dust cover. The dust covers come already on the ball joints when you buy them. Depending on your budget you can buy new balljoints from the Nissan parts counter or from a dozen other aftermarket parts supply houses. I would expect the OEM part to be the highest priced and also the one with the longest life expectancy but most of us opt for one from an alternate supplier.

Geezer is the dust cover #9 on your picture? If it is do you know where I can get one or the whole ball joint?

You can get new ball joints from any auto parts store. The new joint will come with a new cover.

- Test Fit Photo

- Powder coating is chipped away to fit

- I used grease instead of O-ring in final assembly

Edited March 4, 201114 yr by Blue

do a search to verify, but there have been a lot of people pleased with the Moog brand replacements. I bought mine from Rock Auto and they fit/worked great.

thanks for the feedback, I picked up a dust cover from Z-parts House for $4.25 each.

The only rubber in that area would be the "O" ring that is on the steering knuckle arm (#3) and the dust boot John pointed out (9) in this illustration.

Bringing back an old thread here, where can I find the full illustration that geezer attached to post #3? I don't see it in my FSM and I'm interested in the components' names. Or the shortcut method: what are the official terms for items #1 and #2?

2 is the steering knuckle or knuckle arm, 3 is just an o-ring. (If I were to hazard a guess, I'd bet it's called "knuckle o-ring")