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Ball joint problem or bogus mechanic?

1K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  cbdo 
#1 ·
My SL normally goes to a high-end indie in town--takes very good care of it, and also takes care of mommy Volvos as well as enthusiast Ferraris, Maseratis, Rolls-Royce, etc, etc. I trust him as completely as I trust anyone. BUT he's convinced ceramic pads will cut down dust but inevitably and unalterably squeal; didn't want to do them. (Pretty much the only issue on which we've disagreed, over 10+ years of customerhood.) So I went to a standard typical small indie near my work who gladly put on Akebonos and new rotors; no squeal and should be much less dust. BUT he says the left lower ball joint has significant play and needs replacing. Told him thanks but I'd check it out further. Checked my files and sure enough Usual Indie did both lower front ball joints 10/10/12, 5k miles ago. I'm reasonably convinced the ball joint is a non-issue--but any reason to think otherwise? TIA--
 
#2 ·
do as you said and check it out. If he was lying, then you know not to deal with him again. If its true, then take it to your mech and see if he can re-do the job. Or if you are more than capable DIY.
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the feedback, guys. I have a long history with Usual Indie and no concerns about their work. Near Work Ordinary Guy has mixed reviews on the usual local sources (Yelp, Yellow Pages, Google) but low numbers of reviewers, and ticked-off folks tend to make more noise. The question in my mind really is: Assuming the work in 10/2012 was done as advertised, what are the odds of a bad joint now? My assumption is, low. I'm thinking get it on the jack and make sure it's not perceptibly loose and call it good. Alternative--fess up at Usual Guy and have them check it; I trust them to tell me if indeed there's a problem.
I'm a physician by profession, and therefore accustomed to an environment in which the consumer/patient doesn't have the knowledge base to really evaluate the advice received much of the time, but has to rely on the professional's integrity or lack thereof. It's just that I'm usually the expert, not the one on the other side of the equation.
 
#7 ·
Until about 6 months ago I would have said bogus. However my son installed ball joints after 200K miles on his s-10 pickup last winter. about 10K miles later we noticed a clunk, and bind on the right front sometimes. ignored it for a while, but after looking, that ball joint had failed already. and it was a high quality moog ball joint, installed correctly, lubed etc. strange but true.

so, while I'd say highly unlikely, there is at least one known case of a ball joint failing in short order. Maybe yours is #2 .
 
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