When I went to NTB (National Tires and Battery) to get my car aligned back on Sept 19, 2011, during the completion of the alignment the employee asked me to walk out and have a look at something.

When I walked out to the alignment rack he told me that I had a broken (he might have said worn) CV Axle on my front passenger side and pointed to the part. He mentioned how it was leaking and covered in something. I looked at it, and definitely noticed the difference between it and my drivers side. My drivers side looks completely fine.

He also said that my front passenger side was a little out of spec and I would have to raise that passenger side just a little bit to be able to get it aligned to the proper spec. My other 3 wheels are fine.

I come here to ask you guys because I'm not sure if it's indeed a CV axle or something else. I think it's a upper control arm ball joint but I really don't know and was hoping someone else could tell me.

What part is this?
What could cause it to look like how it does?
What are possible consequences if I keep driving around like this?
What does it effect on the vehicle? (How can I tell if it needs replacement, what symptoms should I notice and look for while driving)

DRIVERS SIDE




ZOOMED IN 2X



PASSENGER SIDE


ZOOMED IN 2X


He told me that I should get it checked out immediately and it could cause my ABS light to go off. To be honest, I never got it checked out and I've never had a problem with my ABS being activated... It's been 4 months since he's told me about that so I've probably been driving around with it looking like that for the past 6 months..

I drove the car in November to San Antonio and back for 500+ miles and the car was just fine... I haven't experienced any problem with it, but I really want to know if I should be concerned. Actually, I am concerned but I just need confirmation about it needing service or not.

ALSO...

The last time I got my car aligned was Sept 19, 2011. Very recently, I would say late December - 1st week of January, I started to notice my alignment is slowly starting to get out of line again. Could this part above be the reason why?

 

Ball Joint, isn't it?


http://www.acuraautomotiveparts.org/...s=&view=normal - (#21)

 

That's an upper ball joint.
The boot is damaged, and the ball joint should be replaced.

 

It's just the upper ball joint.

 

Thanks guys! I had a feeling it was the ball joint but wasn't 100% sure.

I don't know how to word this so i'll try my best...

What are the cons or negatives if I continue to drive it around in the condition that it's in?

In the back of my mind I'm always imagining that it's just gonna pop out while driving on the highway and I'm gonna crash and die. Is that possible lol.

The only reason why I haven't really made it a priority to get fixed is because i've been driving with it like that for 4+ months and I really don't notice anything different or wrong. It's also possible that I've been driving with it like that for so long that I don't even notice the symptom even if I am experiencing it.

It's also part of a reason why I do not drive my car to the limits taking curves at higher than usual speeds or quickly lane changing and speeding. I strictly cruise at all times just to be safe.

 

I don't know all the negatives, but with it like that you're certainly driving in Low-Definition. Might get your membership revoked.

 

Well damn! I better jump on it ASAP!

 

How many miles do you have if you don't mind? I'm relatively new to the scene yet and like to gather information on how long certain things last.

Your suspension on that corner will def. be below par with that ball joint the way it is......it pretty much braces the hub from the top and allows the wheel to travel up and down with the suspension. You should most certainly notice popping/clunking from that corner when hitting bumps.

Think of it as one small piece of a complex puzzle that allows your car's suspension to function.

I'd say you probably have a while before anything serious happens, you'll probably hear some annoying noise, might feel a little slop and unpredictable handling if cornering/accelerating rapidly along with the obvious bit of unusual tire wear. More than likely that will occur on the inside edge of the tire.

If it were to break completely meaning snap then nothing will be there to connect to the hub area and you can pretty much imagine that wouldn't be very fun. I imagine the entire knuckle assembly there would just float and put a lot of stress on the other components....it surely would not be safe.

Hope that makes sense for ya.

It's really easy to change, don't let it intimidate ya.

 

Thanks man, I got 49k just about to hit 50k miles on my 2008.

Now that I think about it, awhile back during the summer of 2011 I was raising my car using the jack that was in the trunk with the spare tire. I had the front passenger tire off the car already, but I needed to raise the car a little more.

While I was raising the car some more, the car slipped off the cheap PoS jack and landed hard onto my front passenger brake rotor. No parts were damaged at all. Now that I see that my front passenger ball joint is worn, is it safe to say it was because of that incident I had with the car slipping off the jack and landing on the brake rotor?

Also, how would you change the ball joint? I don't have a ball joint press. Can it be done with the upper control arm still on the car, or will I have to remove it?

 

Pretty sure you have to remove it. You get a loaner Ball Joint press at AutoZone (and other parts stores).

 

That could've very well been the start to your ball joint failing, for sure. Sort of how and endlink can sheer off if you slam a pot hole. Chances are that ball joint took a hit and got a little play, from the excess movement the boot probably began to tear...if it didn't tear when the car fell. Once a boot tears the joint itself is exposed and it's sort of like how bare metal will rust....

For example my front sway bar endlink boot was torn, the joint itself was still tight but I knew it was only a matter of time so I replaced both of them.

As far as removing the ball joint I don't have experience with Honda/Acura suspension, etc. repair but did all my own wrenching during the 4 years I owned my previous car.

It looks like you just remove the nut, you may need to counter hold the opposite side....since it's trashed I'd just latch onto it tight as shit with vise grips to keep it from spinning.

Once you get the nut off get yourself a ball joint separator aka "pickle fork". It will be obvious what you need to do with it.



I think I got mine at Pep Boys for about $10.

You may need to take stress off of the assembly by jacking at a safe location around the bottom of the hub/control arm assembly area. Just be careful where you place the jack and raise it enough to put the hub somewhere close to ride height.

I've never done one on a setup like this but the above is how I'd go about it.

Actually, looking at the diagram Bearcat posted it looks like that ball joint is one with the upper arm in which case you'd just replace the arm. Either way my advice should still apply.

 

Now would also be a nice opportunity to upgrade if you have the cash for it: http://www.heeltoeauto.com/skunk2-pr...6-05-0004.html

 

I appreciate your help man!
Wow you're right. I will definitely consider those.

 

No problem, best of luck!

 

Actually I got one last question. I'm wondering what all parts are necessary to changing out the ball joint



Labeled 5 and 6 are the Upper Ball Joints.

Will I also need to purchase parts 9 and 7 also?

 

I was under the impression that ball joints came with that clip and boot (7 & 9). I want to say yes, you'll need them but you should probably get confirmation first.

 

Just replace the entire control arm if you are doing the install yourself. Its much easier and not much more I think (might be the only way the Acura sells it). I did both sides in less than 1 hour. I think the part should be about $45 bux and all it takes is 2 bolts and couple of taps to seperate it from the spindle. The ball joint comes pressed in already and not to mention the bushings associated with it.

Now for the lower ball joint... its financially better to just replace the ball joint as its part of the knuckle and that sh** costs $400.

Technically if you want you can just replace the boot if the ball joint is fine. But looking at your pics it looks like the joint has leaked its internal fluid. If it was me I'd just replace the arm.

 

Excellent information above, sometimes it is better to replace an assembly rather than just a component as it may be easier.

And to add to the above response......It would be a good idea to preload that corner before tightening the upper arm to chassis bolts so you don't get premature wear on the bushings. That can be done by carefully jacking under the hub until it's around normal ride height. If you replace the upper arm of course.

That was the suggested method for replacing a Volvo lower control arm and I'd imagine the same would apply across the board.

 

One more thing... if your upper control arm is busted like that... I'd do a thorough inspection of all your lower components on that side... cuz the upper arm doesn't even take that much of the brutal force until other parts on the lower side have taken it first.

 

Lower maybe... but upper control arm does not need preloading.

 

parts 5 and 6 already come with 6 and 7

 

Pretty sure your supposed to replace the castle nut and cotter pin too (#9 & #13).


(Edit - just the cotter pin.)