I discovered this today:

Hopefully on someone elses's car?

Dang bro! How do the ball joints look?

I had dust covers on a set of ball joints fail in 4 years with maybe 2000 miles put on the car as the car was just being driven occasionally at that point. After market dust covers are bunk most of the time.

Looks fine to me. Just tighten the nut up and make sure you use a new cotter pin. Don't cheap out and try to re-use the old one.

Oh, and make sure you use a torque wrench. I'm thinking 200-250 ft-lbs will cinch things up and you'll be good to go.

Edited April 1, 201212 yr by Captain Obvious

Hopefully on someone elses's car?

It's my car. :paranoid:

And I drive it daily

Ball joints? here is a pic

suspention and steering are not my forte, yet.

so what do I need to get to rectify this.

Cpt Obvious, Are you sure? seems like something is missing here.

Edited April 1, 201212 yr by grantf

Sorry... I was joking. And poorly it seems.

So, the serious answer? It looks to me like the dust boot on that joint has failed and fallen off. And based on the rusty looks of the pivot bolt sticking up out of the socket, it's been that way for a while. With that in mind, I bet water has gotten down inside the socket, and that joint isn't long for this world. If you don't choose to replace it now, I'd keep a close eye on it.

So, back to the semi-comedic answer?? Yes, I'm sure. Torque it to 200-250 and you're problem will become obvious. The pivot bolt will surely snap off at that torque and you'll have to replace the joint. Problem solved. :laugh:

So I need new tie rod ends or can I replace the boot and grease?

I do not want to die. Snarky is ok if you are talking to someone "modding" there interior or putting a stupid wing on the hatch.

Anyhow you're help is valued and there is no way I would have torqued anything down to what you said.

It's been a long day, started work at 7 am then got home, put new shims on the front brakes discovered a mess with the rear brakes, discovered new suprises with the front suspention. All of this on top of needing to visit My Mom 60 miles away, who has weeks to live, the big C.

Another question I would have is, where is the oil on everything coming from. Do you have a leaking brake cylinder? Things look grubby down there.

Is there any looseness in the ball joint? If there is, then it should be replaced, and soon. If it's still tight then fit a boot. Get an old one from Pull a Part.

Do you know how to withdraw the taper.?

Another question I would have is, where is the oil on everything coming from. Do you have a leaking brake cylinder? Things look grubby down there.

Is there any looseness in the ball joint? If there is, then it should be replaced, and soon. If it's still tight then fit a boot. Get an old one from Pull a Part.

Do you know how to withdraw the taper.?

I am sure you know that the parts in question are for steering which happens to be located at the front part of the car. Brake cylinders are located at the rear of the car. I have new brake calipers and they do not leak.

I just put Moogs on mine. Got them from rockauto for around $20 each and they have grease fittings. A guy on here not too long ago said he bought the ones from Black Dragon and didin't like them, no grease fitting and a nylon lock nut instead of nut and cotter pin. On mine the stud that comes up vertical on the tire side would spin around all loose like and that ain't 'spose to happen. Mine didn't look as bad as yours! I'll take some pictures for you later this morning.

Well to be completely truthful about the whole thing, I thought that you were kidding with your original question.

Yes it looks bad!!

That tie rod end is obviously in need of attention, and I actually thought you were being sarcastic with your question of "does this look bad". It doesn't look "wheel gonna fall off tomorrow" bad, but yes... it looks bad. So as soon as I realized that you were not kidding, and you were honestly asking that question, I jumped back in to clear things up. You never know the levels of experience of anyone unless it's been discussed, right?

So, with all that hopefully behind us... I wouldn't try to salvage those joints at this point. I would either replace them now, or replace them later. I think that throwing any money at them (like new boots) would be like lipstick on a pig. ("Lipstick on a pig" - That means "wasting effort on something that is not truly important instead of focusing on the real root issue.")

If they aren't all loose and floppy from wear or gritty and sticky from rust, I would run them until you had a convenient time to replace with new. I would not put new boots on those rusty joints.

Another question I would have is, where is the oil on everything coming from. Do you have a leaking brake cylinder? Things look grubby down there.

I think that's all water. Looks like he was driving on wet roads right before he pulled the wheel. If it's been like that for a while, I suspect water has worked it's way down inside the joint.