Lower Ball Joint/Lower Control Arm Question

Hi all,

As you may know from my previous threads, I've been doing a lot of work on my suspension these past few weeks. New axles, wheel bearings, wheel hubs, tie rod ends and lower control arms on both sides of the vehicle. Well, yesterday afternoon as I go to drain and refill my gear oil (while under the car) I noticed something off...it appeared that on the passenger side there was a significant gap sitting between the steering knuckle and the lower ball joint, where the steering knuckle sits on said ball joint on the LCA. Upon further inspection, it appears that from the weight of the steering knuckle ALONE (this car has not been back on the ground yet) that the greaseable boot on the passenger side had punctured. Just from the weight of the knuckle? The car isn't even on the ground! WTF!

Bad/Punctured Ball Joint:


Good Ball Joint:


I just wanted to double check with y'all, that this is not supposed to happen? Correct? And believe me, I was EXTREMELY careful working with these new LCAs and tie rod ends because of the greaseable boots on each part, I didn't want to puncture them. Now, this may be my bad for buying AutoZone LCAs, but it appeared to me that the materials used on these components were good, sturdy stuff. AutoZone assures me it was just a defective part, but I'm planning on returning both AZ LCAs and going after some Hardrace LCAs. What do y'all think?

EDIT: I bought these LCAs NEW from AutoZone, not remanufactured, just FYI.

Is the ball joint stud sufficiently clamped by the knuckle with the through bolt and nut? Does the stud wiggle at all and can you move the LCA down relative to the knuckle with a pry bar or screw driver? You should not be able to. Twice I have had my knuckles where out where they are supposed to clamp on the ball joint stud.

Autozone is notoriously bad at making boots (TRE's, Ball joints, etc.). they use bad materials and have no concept of the mechanical function of a boot. I have this same issue on another vehicle's TRE from Autozone. The way the boot folds guarantees its failure. The boot basically gets smashed into and rubs on the drag link. It stands no chance of survival. I bet you have the same problem conceptually. Return those control arms and buy elsewhere. I bought individual ball joints online and pressed them into my factory LCA's. But you probably turned them in for a core already?

Everything Autozone sells is garbage. Nobody should every buy parts from Autozone unless they are willing to redo the work indefinitely. Autozone is a s*** store.

Maroon said:

Is the ball joint stud sufficiently clamped by the knuckle with the through bolt and nut? Does the stud wiggle at all and can you move the LCA down relative to the knuckle with a pry bar or screw driver? You should not be able to. Twice I have had my knuckles where out where they are supposed to clamp on the ball joint stud.

Autozone is notoriously bad at making boots (TRE's, Ball joints, etc.). they use bad materials and have no concept of the mechanical function of a boot. I have this same issue on another vehicle's TRE from Autozone. The way the boot folds guarantees its failure. The boot basically gets smashed into and rubs on the drag link. It stands no chance of survival. I bet you have the same problem conceptually. Return those control arms and buy elsewhere. I bought individual ball joints online and pressed them into my factory LCA's. But you probably turned them in for a core already?

Everything Autozone sells is garbage. Nobody should every buy parts from Autozone unless they are willing to redo the work indefinitely. Autozone is a s*** store.

Click to expand...

You hit the nail on the head! AutoZone parts are s***, it seems. I felt like I could trust this part in particular, because of the seemingly sturdy materials they were composed of...but this experience alone has proven me otherwise! So, I've order the Hardrace LCAs and am waiting on them to arrive, then I'll return the AZ LCAs. And yes, I already returned the stock LCAs for core - though, I wanted to replace the whole arm in order to get new bushings/lower ball joints without having to press them manually. Oh well, just adding more time to my repair, lesson learned! LUCKILY, I DID NOT buy AZ axles, I got mine from Cardone Select and they seem to be legit from reviews I've read and user experience on this board.

Thanks for your reply and insight!

I got the Hardrace LCAs in the mail this week, will be replacing the AZ ones tomorrow with the Hardrace. I'm stoked to (hopefully) finally have this big job completed...will let y'all know if I run into any issues!