balljoints

[maverick_935]

Is there a known reason why 4 new ball joints would be worn enough to not pass inspection in a year. The 98 GMC truck carries a 7'6" fisher plow during snow storms.

I live in New Brunswick, Canada where we have annual safety inspections for our vehicles and the truck will not pass because 3 of 4 ball joints have too much wear.

Any explanation??

[NH2112]

Well I know the S-trucks & Blazers of that vintage were horrible with ball joints, and replacing them every year wasn't uncommon. But I've never heard of the fullsize trucks having problems like that. Not knowing more, I'd have to say it's most likely either a QC issue or low quality ball joints.

ETA Have you verified they're bad? Can you bring it to another inspection station, or are the results of your last inspection (when the bad ball joints were found) in the computer system for all stations to see?

[Hubert]

Quality is suspect. What brand did you use? Not that it matters much even the best ones could have had a bad batch just curious.

When installed where they greased? Last set of tires and alignment they replaced my right side ball joints and when I got home I pumped several times with my grease gun until the rubber boot moved. I had peeked my head under to see the shop had installed them but they looked awfully clean too clean and I asked if they greased them or if they were pre lubed. The guy said pre lubed ????

Maybe some imcompatiable grease was used to lube them sometime. But still 1 year is awful short my OE ones right side lasted nearly 11 years my left side are still OE.

[HH]

I got about 4 - 5 years out of my uppers since I replaced them when the originals had over 200,000. The lowers are still original 323,000 miles, same grease interval.

Buy lifetime replacement, the uppers are not hard to do. Just don't lose the receipt. I have replaced the two uppers under lifetime replacement warranty.

[forbey]

Do you recommend the "maintenance free" ball joints or the after market ones with the greese zerts?

forbey

[More Power]

Two of the local lube centers I've used had lube jockies who would smear grease on the A-arms, but would not lube the ball-joint zerks. This is cheating. I don't go there any longer. Another problem with the zerks is that even when they are used, a lube jockey won't wipe away the accumulated sand, dirt and gravel from the zerks before squirting in the grease. This forces the sand, dirt and gravel into the joints.

I performed a lube, oil and filter service on my truck, last weekend. I use my powerwasher to remove the accumulated crud from the ball joint zerks (safe enough distance, so as not to force water into the zerk), before pumping in the grease.

And finally, Lil Red, my 1/2-ton Duramax conversion has sealed ball joints that have more than 180,000 miles on them. They are still tight. I am also a firm believer in sealed U-joints because the grease seals are much better, which allow the u-joints to last longer for me.

Jim

[rustyk]

I'm of the school that despises "sealed" anythings. It's a cop-out for those owners who aren't inclined towards routine maintenance (Which may mean actually crawling under their vehicles with a grease gun, or taking it for service which they supervise).

IMHO, the seals on "permanently-sealed" (an oxymoron, which means "we the manufacturer think you are too stupid and iresponsible to maintain your vehicle") are a means of relieving the owner of a duty. And enabling the shop to cash in on expensive parts replacement instead of routine maintenance.

One can easily forget the '50s and '60s when the oil change interval and lube interval were 1,000 to 1,500 miles; the oil filter (an option) was washed out, dried, and reinstalled.