Among the numerous problems/nits I've had with my MDX over the years... the most annoying has been a shimmy in the steering. New wheels/tires, multiple balances, and new struts front and back... to no avail. I replaced the front rotors and the shimmy went away, but then I noticed this... See pic. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1El...Nqrhjwb_neUKqA

 

How many miles do you have? you can probably have it fix if you are still well under the warranty.

 

Yeah, a torn ball joint boot will cause rapid wear of the BJ because road debris will get in and the grease will wash out.

 

Sorry to hear about your issues. Grease boots do split over time as they age. Most boots will last five years easy if they aren't torn from mechanical damage. Your ball joint may be good still even though the boot is torn. I suggest having a reputable mechanic take a look at it and see if the ball joint has play in it. If it does, that would definitely affect your steering and it will need replaced. If not, then just the boot could be replaced.

 

The way technicians test a balljoint is to lift the car off the ground, put a prybar between the control arm and the spindle and pry them apart. More than a certain amount of play/movement/slop and its time for a new balljoint. For me - anything more than 1/16" and I'm shopping for a balljoint.

If the ball joint is still tight, then you might be able to get by replacing only the boot. You probably need to add a grease fitting though in the bottom of the ball joint and grease the ball joint so it flushes out any trash which creates a new unexpected maintenance item for whoever services your vehicle. Requires another 60 seconds during oil changes but whatever. No big deal.

I've heard of putting grease in from the top using a needle but I really doubt much if any grease would get into the ball joint socket where it is needed. So, to me, false economy. A year later and perhaps you'll have a noisy balljoint that needs replacement.

Or just replace the whole balljoint in the first place and be done with it. You'll need a balljoint and b/c the MDX sized tires are expensive - get an tire alignment to be sure.

 

I have a 2015 MDX Advance SHAWD. While doing a brake job to replace pads that the repair shops could not diagnose after multiple times asking, I noticed what appears to be damage in the lower control arm ball joints. The struts were replaced by the repair shops about a year ago. I suspect the ball joint bushings were damaged by the repair shop, but I cannot prove it.

I have attached images below. I am looking to DIY this repair to save expense. Have watched many youtube videos to educate myself.

• Are these pictures indicative of bad dust covers on the ball joints?
• Can I just replace the dust cover?
• Or is the whole ball joint bad?
• Do I understand correctly that the entire control arm has to be replaced to replace the ball joints?

Driver Side

Driver Side Front Ball Joint Pic#1

Driver Side Front Ball Joint Pic#2

Passenger Side

Passenger Side Front Ball Joint Pic#1

Passenger Side Front Ball Joint Pic#2

 

Bump

 

Bump

 

Wary,
I would look at replacing both lower control arms since you want the vehicle to handle the same on both sides. With the age and especially if you plan on keeping it, i recommend it as you will feel a noticeable improvement similar to when it was new. I have just DIY'd the entire front end on my 2014 AWD including struts, lower control arms, CV axles, steering outer tie rods, transfer case and oil change, and sway bar end links and bushings. It's been 2 weekends of work and you have to drain the transmission fluid . I also did the entire rear end too including rear diff fluid, rear struts, control arms, and sway bar links and bushings, so about $1600 in parts/fluids for all 4 corners. I figure this is saving me at least $2000 in labor from a reputable shop, and probably double over dealer cost.