Can I replace the ball joints on just one side, or should it be done one both sides?
My car has 168000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.
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Nye`s Fluorocarbon Gel 880 is a PTFE-thickened, heavy viscosity dimethyl silicone grease with excellent water resistance and structural stability under a wide temperature range and is our recommended solution for most ball joint applications.
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You are removing the old control arm and replacing it with a new one, complete with new ball joint and control arm bushings. Even if the control arm bushings are in good shape at the time the ball joint is replaced, they will eventually require replacement. You then have parts and labor involved again to remove the control arm, replace the bushings, then reinstall it on the vehicle.
Sometimes the ball joint replacement can be more cost effective in the long run, to simply replace the entire control arm. If you’d like to have this done, consider YourMechanic, as one of our mobile technicians can come to your home or office to service your ball joints.
In order to know if just the ball joint or the whole complete lower control arm needs replaced, the lower ball joint will need to be disconnected from the steering knuckle and checked to see if it fits tight in the lower control arm. If it is loose, then replace control arm. If it fits tight then you will need to remove the ball joint from control arm and see if a new ball joint will fit tight in the control arm or control arm still will need to be replaced. This is why you were advised to replace the whole control arm.
Ball joints are obviously designed to withstand tremendous impact forces and thus are not typically "broken" by even substantial potholes. That fact has meaning of course because you claim to not have even hit anything and yet the part failed. Obviously, you don’t want that happening at 65 miles per hour while trying to negotiate a winding curve.
Consequently, in your circumstance, what I would do, is first ask the shop WHO the manufacturer of the control arm is. Aftermarket parts are not created equal. Depending on exactly what company manufactured the part, I might be able to offer more specific advice as to how to interpret this or what action to take.
But, what I would do is take that "who" information to a Mechanic who is highly knowledgeable about the "parts" aspect of the automobile repair business and both get his view and have him re-examine the OTHER side. Going forward, generally, a SAFE choice for parts is OEM (dealer). A lot of repair facilities will not use OEM parts, or the BEST parts, and yet charge you full fare. It may be best to have a second opinion on the work that was already completed. A certified technician from YourMechanic can perform a thorough inspection of your vehicle and provide necessary information to address this. Hope this helped.