Lower ball joint

[JPMC]

Both my front lower ball joints have excessive play in them and need replacing.

I had a bit of a search but came up empty so are going to ask the question.

Do I need to remove the hub from the driveshaft to get enough clearance to remove the lower arm or is there enough room to remove it without disassembly?

 

[Yotzaa]

Both my front lower ball joints have excessive play in them and need replacing.

I had a bit of a search but came up empty so are going to ask the question.

Do I need to remove the hub from the driveshaft to get enough clearance to remove the lower arm or is there enough room to remove it without disassembly?

How did you go with the lower ball joints? I just had my 2013 D40 serviced and they have said I have play in my lower ball joints so I need to replace LCA's. Is this common? I have only done 55,000klms. Just out of warranty also. Finished at the end of August.

 

[jonney]

old thread yotzaa. the ball joints should last longer than 50k unless your vehicle has done alot of off road stuff which will wear them out quicker.
you shouldn,t need to replce the whole control arms as the ball joints are seperate to these arms. get another mechanic to have a look as it could be just front wheel bearings that need a slight tighten up. if it is the ball joints just replace them only.

 

[Yotzaa]

Cheers mate,
I just had the car in on the 23/12/16 for a service at Nissan. It has only been off road 5 times max. Out of warranty by 4 months and the LHR axle seal has a leak now too. It's unfortunate but Nissan we're quoting $2500 to fix both. Definitely going to get a second opinion from pedders or the like.

 

[JPMC]

Nissan will try and sell you the whole lower arm but if you visit a parts place you can buy the ball joints individually. Unfortunately you need to remove the whole lower arm to press the ball joint out of the arm and then push the new one in.
It's responsibly easy job for someone with a mechanical aptitude.
My ball joints failed at approximately 200,000km (3years) with about 25% in gavel roads and 10% in extreme conditions like mine sites etc.

 

[jonney]

get onto EBAY Australia and have a look at the lower control arms under susspension and steering section. they have complete lower units with the ball joints attached for around $150 to $200. a mechanic should be able to remove and replace one of these units within 2 hours maximum. this way might be cheaper than replacing just the ball joints if you have to have them pressed out and in.