Just want to gather opinions about when do you think the lower ball joint needs replacing.

About 3 weeks ago I had a incident with my ball joint separating. Luckily I was about to pull in to the parking lot on a restaurant, and not while I was traveling 60-70mph on the freeway.

My 99 civic has 165k mile on it. The ball joint affected was the right side. The left side was replaced around 60k miles years ago when I stripped the threads when I upgraded the clutch disk and pressure plate to aftermarket hop-up.

The right side that separated didn't give me a hint of how bad it was already. Probably due to the way the suspension design. The way that the lower arm hangs to the ball joint and carries the weight of the front of the car, that even if it develops a slop it wouldn't show.

I had it fixed, but lately I kind of wondering maybe I should have replaced the left side as well. It has a good 100 mile on it anyways. And it kinda' give me the creeps whenever I drive the car. I don't want that kind of surprise. What if it happened in the high way? Scary thoughts.

I will have it replaced just for the peace of mind.

So, how about you guys? Do you wait till it falls off? Or do you follow a certain mileage rules?

 

You should always replace things like that in pairs. Inspect the part. Don't worry about if it needs replacing or not. Verify that it does.

Waiting for a part to fail is, frankly, stupid. If you know it will need replacing then replace it. It's called preventative maintenance.

 

Ooohhh, grumpy. I like it. Just kidding. .

And that's exactly the point. Preventative maintenance. Do you go by the mileage? Do you wait for signs? Or do you wait for "doh"?

 

Maybe you didn't catch it when I said "Waiting for a part to fail is, frankly, stupid." If you had to change one, change the other.

I don't go by mileage since it's the way the car was maintained and driven that matters. There is no magic number since that seems to be what you're looking for.

 

Not about I didn't get it. And you didn't catch it when I said i'm replacing it. A number doesn't have to be magic, but a good reference non-the-less, beside how's a preventative work anyways. That's what you see on your owners manual.

As for number mine did fail at 165kmiles. The numbers may barry. But for I will not push it over a hundred next time. Next....

 

Then I don't get why you asked if you should wait for it to fail. It's stupid. Anyone that says that they do it, is stupid. I'm kinda not getting the point of the whole post now.

 

How do this part of your comment relates to the ball joint BTW?


Let's say you're really hard on your car no matter what. You just cant let that mustang leave you in the dust. And you think everybody else is sissy. Do you just decide, "Oh, I've been drivng so hard, maintenance time, I'm replacing ball joint"?

 

How does it not? It's a common point of failure. I check it every time I get a chance. Just like I do with everything else on my car due to the high mileage. If you don't then you invite unexpected part failure which usually occurs at the more inopportune time.

So yeah, I'm CONSTANTLY checking my car. Replace the words with "ball joint" with any other part on the car. Makes no difference.

But since you're replacing YOURS a mileage number becomes a moot point now doesn't it? The information does you absolutely no good.

 

Maybe always asking why you don't get it is stupid. And I'm kinda getting to the point if you you really think you're the only one entittled to an opinion.

 

You get under the car periodically and pry on them with a good heavy prybar. If there's any play replace them, if there isn't, don't. If the boots are ripped replace them. It really is that simple. Also, this is why state and provincial motor vehicle inspections can be seen as a good thing.

Edit, if you don't feel like replacing ball joints again within 6 months go to Honda and buy OEM Honda balljoints. Majestic Honda sells them for around $50 apiece IIRC, really cheap when you consider how long they normally last. Cheap aftermarket junk is no bargain here at all.

There really isn't any need. I've never seen them fail that close together honestly. Same as wheel bearings, one tends to go bad well before the other.

 

Just me being paranoid.

 

94EG8

Thank you for your civil and inteligent reply.

Rarely has the ball joint ever been a topic. I just thought, Maybe I start one up. As it's a very critical part the vehicle. You're comment was very informative. I appreciate it.

 

https://honda-tech.com/search.php?searchid=9356415