honasbone

Thanks for the responses everyone. I really dig this community. Decided to try knuckle repair first as time is of the essence at the moment.

Turns out removing the knuckle was pretty easy seeing as I still have the pullers from Auto Zone. Pop the upper ball joint (I think is what it's called???) off, detached the plate that holds the brake lines and electrical wires - 1 x 10mm bolt. Remove the 1 wire clip from the wheel bearing. That was it. Left the bearing and backing plate attached to the knuckle. Tossed it in the trunk of the minivan.

I took it to a machine shop. Fortunately I only damaged the initial 1/2" or so of the threads. They are going to use a chaser and clean that portion up for the shop minimum of $40. The rest of the threads (an inch plus worth of them) are all pristine, so it looks like there are plenty of them left to get a nice tight fit once the repair is done. Fingers crossed it all goes according to plan.

More questions!

1. Anyone know the torque spec on the upper ball joint castle nut?

2. Is it normal to have grease build up where the tie rod end meets the lower ball joint? The tie rod end felt very tight to me. But I have no prior experience to go off of. That said, when I separated the two there was a fair amount of old grease that I wondered if may have come from the boot of the tie rod end. If so, does that mean the tie rod end is bad and should be replaced? Or is it normal to have some grease there?

3. Is it worth mentioning in the initial instructions that alignment of the knuckle and the LBJ to ensure proper threading is very important? That knuckle is aluminum after all and, as I have validated, easily damaged if the bolts aren't threaded properly. If the knuckle and the LBJ aren't aligned perfectly, you risk needing to minimally repair the knuckle, if not replace it.

LSDoc

OK, I'm pretty much convinced that at 200K miles I might as well rebuild the suspension. I just don't like the idea of going back at it several times, in a piecemeal approach. It seems a bit too much like swatting flies!

Now, the question I must face is: do I want to make this a DIY project, done over the weekend (this is going to be my DD); or, do I want to get this to my tech.

I'm always concerned about finding myself in the kind of situation that 'honasbone' described in the post above!

Any feedback from the semi-serious DIY-ers???
Videos and pics are most helpful!

honasbone

If you did the whole front suspension, plan on allowing your car to be out of commission for the full weekend at least, and that assuming you have a hydraulic press at your disposal for LCA bushing replacements. Your first time through on any of these jobs is going to take you quite a bit of time. Would be better if you could plan on the car being out for a week, just in case something comes up.

Also, don't rush yourself. I did and look where that got me. Haha. I allowed myself plenty of time for the other jobs, all of which went just fine. This job I started late at night and rushed at the end which was just dumb.

That all said, I'll continue to DIY my own car work when it comes to this stuff. It's generally pretty straight forward work as long as you have clear instructions, the right tools and you've padded your schedule for any random unintended stuff that will undoubtedly occur.

LSDoc

honasbone,

Those are words to the wise!

When it comes to the bushings on the LCAs, I'll just replace the LCAs, and that will take care of both bushings on each one. The price for the LCA is just not enough for me to mess with changing out the bushings, whether or not I DIY this thing. Just my personal preference in the time/$$$/headache equation...

Slvr surfr

iTrader: (1)

Finally got to do my LBJs, rear motor mount, front sway bar bushings and tie rod ends the other day. My ride is almost back to showroom conditions. Immediately felt the difference the moment I drove off. Highway and light cornering is now flat, tracking is true and the steering wander is all but gone. Even tho only one mount was change at the time, i can notice the reduction in vibration. It's amazing what affect these relatively small pieces of rubber will have on your ride. My girl,who hardly ever drives my car, drove it overnight to Richmond and even she noticed the difference which prompted her to ask if she can have the same ride back in her car. Although it won't be on the same level as the LS, I'll be doing the same work to her 07 ES once I'm done with mine so she can share the renewed comfort. Next up is the front two motor mounts, front struts maybe, and the rear sway bar upgrade. After that I may do the rear struts depending on how she rides once the other work is done. Along with recently installed Toyo Versado Noir's, I can honestly say my car can rival the best sedans of today in terms of ride quality.

2KHarrier

Good info! It's great when an easy repair can make such a huge difference to the way the car feels.

Slvr surfr

iTrader: (1)

Yes it does! But to be honest, i dont know what out weighs the other. The fact that my orginal ride is returning, the awsome prices that i purchased the parts for(eBay,Amazon), or the fact that i payed no labor because i did the work myself with the aid of a lift, air tools, shop supplies and support i received from a shop that my cousin manages. Its mind blowing how easy it is to work on a car of this caliber. It was like playing with Lego's all over again.

vollandt

i just did this diy this weekend. When re-inserting the two bolts going into the knuckle, I also had some trouble at first as I couldn't get the knuckle to sit flat on the new ball joint assembly. I ended up disconnecting the knuckle from the uca ball joint. This did the trick. The knuckle easily sat flat and could then hand insert both bolts with zero fuss.

Tom57

Thanks for this post, rkw. Using it for the torque specs on a lower ball joint assembly replacement.

* One note: when the tie rod ball stud is removed from the lower ball joint, do not loosen the fastening nut on the other end of tie rod end (opposite the ball joint stud). Turning the tie rod with the fastening nut loose will change the toe-in on the alignment.

Daspyda

iTrader: (1)

Should you not get an alignment, anyway, after replacing any suspension piece?

Lexuslsguy

Yes, it is best to do an alignment but it's not always vital.

Tom57

If the alignment was never changed from the factory, and you change a lower ball joint, the only possible change to the alignment is that it brings it back to original alignment spec.

Tom57

Completed lower ball joint replacement in under an hour (with tools put away). (I've done these before so I know what to expect.) Replacing the joint eliminated a slight knock at slow (25 - 35 mph) speeds over bumps in the road. Great write-up (with torque specs) rkw. Thanks again!

Gronemus

Inquiring minds wish to know: which one of your LS's did you do this service on? How many miles were on the old ball joint? Did you use OEM part to replace? cost of part?

Thanks!

Tom57

Hey Gronemus, I replaced the driver's side lower ball joint on my '06 Custom Lux (Mercury Metallic/Black) with 95K on the clock. (I purchased the vehicle with 56K miles 3+ years ago.) I did not install OEM this time; I used Centric brand premium ball joint. (I've used Centric brake discs with great results.) Driver's side part #610.44046 ~ $55 shipped. OEM is ~$100. I also considered Beck/Arnley driver's side part #101-7678 ~ $48 shipped. Note: the '01 - '03 and the '04 - '06 have different part numbers for the lower ball joint, and the left and right side ball joints in all LS's are location specific parts.

Several years ago I replaced both of the lower ball joints (driver and passenger side) on my '01 with OE parts at about 125K miles (it now has 278K+ miles). These ball joints typically have a very long life. There is minimal wear and tear on the joint, except if you hit pot holes or have to drive on bad roads. This is what caused the driver's side on my '06 Custom Lux LS to start to fail. More often, it's the passenger side that receives the most road punishment.