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Forum:	General Prowler Discussion
Topic:	ball joints revisited

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T O P I C R E V I E W
CAT-A-TONIC I know there has been much said and a lot of older posts regarding this topic. I just got through replacing mine in my home shop. A couple of months ago I did an inspection of my car and found my passenger side lower boot pretty much torn up. Really couldn't see from up top but after I threw a blanket on the ground and a flashlight in hand I got a real eye full of how bad the boot was. Car has 5k on it and I live in the San Jose area so the weather was not a factor in the tearing of the boot. I ordered the recall kit and did the job myself. One thing if anyone else is thinking about doing it. You will need proper tools to do this job. Anyone that thinks they will be able to pound these out is wasting their time. And who in their right mind want's to hammer on the suspension in the first place. These lower joints are in really tight!! I mean really tight! You will need a ball joint service kit along with making a tool to release them form the steering knuckles.
One major thing I noticed regarding the recall kit. The replacement joints are the exact same as the originals. Right down to the boot and joint itself. The replacement nut's and washer in the package were not what I call proper. Only the lower ball joint nut was. I'm not sure where the nuts came from but it was obvious to me that they must have been able to be used on other applications and the original factory nuts are either out of production and these were meant as a replacements. With the exception of the lower nut(special) the others had these really pronounced teeth on the bottom of the collared washer that when tightening would grind right into the aluminum surface. I reused the originals in the upper ball joint and the tie rod. I felt a lot more comfortable doing the drivers side and it took probably half the time.
But that's where I believe I made the most remarkable discovery. I decided to do a complete inspection of the entire assembly and I believe that I have solved the mystery as to why this ball joint problem exists in the first place. And why every single Prowler out there at some time will have this ball joint problem. You see, the recall is not a FIX for the problem. It is just renewing the joint from either the boots being torn or before they tear and go overlooked for an extended period and leading to joint failure. If there is any interest in hearing my findings regarding this on going problem let me know and I will post. One thing is clear to me. Replacement joints are not a fix. Just a band-aid. Until my findings have been addressed these joint lower joint problems are never going to go away and you can count on replacing them again and again.
garysss Well don't stop now. Let us know what your thinking.
ed monahan What is the cure? We all need to know, for sure.
RPL I would love to hear you observation regarding boot damage.
syswayne1939
quote:
Originally posted by RPL:
I would love to hear you observation regarding boot damage.
Now post
BeWare Very interested in hearing your findings regarding this on going problem .
syswayne1939
quote:
Originally posted by syswayne1939:
Now post
This message has been edited by syswayne1939 on 08-24-2016 at 03:49 AM
stevedymo
quote:
Originally posted by CAT-A-TONIC:

One major thing I noticed regarding the recall kit. The replacement joints are the exact same as the originals. Right down to the boot and joint itself.
Well looks can be deceiving. What is on the inside is what really counts. The top photo is 2 original (1 complete, 1 stripped). The bottom photo is the replacement (complete and stripped). Notice the taper on the orig, this is what was failing(breaking).

This message has been edited by stevedymo on 08-23-2016 at 01:54 PM
syswayne1939
quote:
Originally posted by stevedymo:
Well looks can be deceiving. What is on the inside is what really counts. The top photo is 2 original (1 complete, 1 stripped). The bottom photo is the replacement (complete and stripped). Notice the taper on the orig, this is what was failing(breaking).

I see and it is smaller at the grove around the shinning part? That is where it breaks correct?

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T O P I C R E V I E W
CAT-A-TONIC	I know there has been much said and a lot of older posts regarding this topic. I just got through replacing mine in my home shop. A couple of months ago I did an inspection of my car and found my passenger side lower boot pretty much torn up. Really couldn't see from up top but after I threw a blanket on the ground and a flashlight in hand I got a real eye full of how bad the boot was. Car has 5k on it and I live in the San Jose area so the weather was not a factor in the tearing of the boot. I ordered the recall kit and did the job myself. One thing if anyone else is thinking about doing it. You will need proper tools to do this job. Anyone that thinks they will be able to pound these out is wasting their time. And who in their right mind want's to hammer on the suspension in the first place. These lower joints are in really tight!! I mean really tight! You will need a ball joint service kit along with making a tool to release them form the steering knuckles. One major thing I noticed regarding the recall kit. The replacement joints are the exact same as the originals. Right down to the boot and joint itself. The replacement nut's and washer in the package were not what I call proper. Only the lower ball joint nut was. I'm not sure where the nuts came from but it was obvious to me that they must have been able to be used on other applications and the original factory nuts are either out of production and these were meant as a replacements. With the exception of the lower nut(special) the others had these really pronounced teeth on the bottom of the collared washer that when tightening would grind right into the aluminum surface. I reused the originals in the upper ball joint and the tie rod. I felt a lot more comfortable doing the drivers side and it took probably half the time. But that's where I believe I made the most remarkable discovery. I decided to do a complete inspection of the entire assembly and I believe that I have solved the mystery as to why this ball joint problem exists in the first place. And why every single Prowler out there at some time will have this ball joint problem. You see, the recall is not a FIX for the problem. It is just renewing the joint from either the boots being torn or before they tear and go overlooked for an extended period and leading to joint failure. If there is any interest in hearing my findings regarding this on going problem let me know and I will post. One thing is clear to me. Replacement joints are not a fix. Just a band-aid. Until my findings have been addressed these joint lower joint problems are never going to go away and you can count on replacing them again and again.
garysss	Well don't stop now. Let us know what your thinking.
ed monahan	What is the cure? We all need to know, for sure.
RPL	I would love to hear you observation regarding boot damage.
syswayne1939	quote: Originally posted by RPL: I would love to hear you observation regarding boot damage. Now post
BeWare	Very interested in hearing your findings regarding this on going problem .
syswayne1939	quote: Originally posted by syswayne1939: Now post This message has been edited by syswayne1939 on 08-24-2016 at 03:49 AM
stevedymo	quote: Originally posted by CAT-A-TONIC: One major thing I noticed regarding the recall kit. The replacement joints are the exact same as the originals. Right down to the boot and joint itself. Well looks can be deceiving. What is on the inside is what really counts. The top photo is 2 original (1 complete, 1 stripped). The bottom photo is the replacement (complete and stripped). Notice the taper on the orig, this is what was failing(breaking). This message has been edited by stevedymo on 08-23-2016 at 01:54 PM
syswayne1939	quote: Originally posted by stevedymo: Well looks can be deceiving. What is on the inside is what really counts. The top photo is 2 original (1 complete, 1 stripped). The bottom photo is the replacement (complete and stripped). Notice the taper on the orig, this is what was failing(breaking). I see and it is smaller at the grove around the shinning part? That is where it breaks correct?