2007 Caliber r/t, 75,000 miles

the car has been pulling a bit (but more and more lately) in short sharp jerks. I thought it might be due to rutted roads.

I took the car in for front end alignment after checking tie rods. The guy who looked at the car informed me that I have a loose ball joint on the passenger side. He gave me an estimate to fix the problem. His estimate tells me that he would replace only the ball joint, not the LCA. Furthermore, he would use a Napa ball joint, not a Moog.

I read an account of replacing Caliber ball joints that said you must replace the whole control arm, not just the bad ball joint. That account was disputed. Moog's ball joint is supposed to be ok for pressing into the old LCA.

Makes a big difference in cost of repair whether I would go one way or the other. I think, but I do not know, that some people are put off by pressing out the old ball joint and pressing in the new one.

I would like an unbiased professional opinion to guide my decision: Should I go with Midas or should I DIY? If DIY, should I go for whole LCA repalcement or just the ball joint. I believe OReillys rents the ball joint press (for nothing if you bring it back).

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

If the control arm bushings are still good, then do the ball joint. If you feel comfortable doing it yourself, then go for it.

 

Now I have conflicting information.

Moog says this:

http://www.moogproblemsolver.com/_pd...K500063_En.pdf

The Moog ball joint is a "problem solver" because if you use it to replace a bad ball joint, you don't need to replace the lower control arm.

My other advisors told me that I'd have to drop out the old LCA in order to press out the old ball joint and press a new one in. They said if you have to go to the trouble of dropping out the whole LCA, you might as well replace it lock, stock and barrel, so to speak. Is that right?

I watched several You Tube videos that showed a guy pressing an old ball joint out and pressing a new one in while the control arm was still attached at two other points to the front end. It was a different model car and only 2 wheel drive, not an AWD.

I also saw a You Tube video (for a Caliber) that goes the other way. The guy replaced the whole LCA...but only one of them, I think.

My other advisors told me that I should replace both LCAs rather than only one. I have 75,000 miles on the car. How long do ball joints typically last on a Caliber R/T? If I only replace one ball joint or one LCA then have the front-end aligned, then the other ball joint goes bad, I'd have to have another alignment.

The Midas guy, on the other hand, gave me an estimate for only replacing one ball joint + an FE alignment. Is that a good idea, or an inexpensive lure?

 

It is hard to say how long the other one will last. I would do both ball joints and save on the second alignment. With the proper tool, you can do them without removing the whole arm. Just had a guy at work replace one of his ball joints in the parking lot inabout 2hrs because his broke. The other side had broke about 3 weeks ago.

 

I got two Moog "problem-solver" ball joints. Read the 16 point instructions. Was surprised to see their approved solution to the ball joint replacement problem was to drop out the lower control arm and mount it in a vise. I had seen videos of ball joint pressing out and in that did not involve dropping the LCA and putting it on a work bench. The cars/trucks in those videos were not Caliber AWDs, however.

Anyway, I think you said I could replace the ball joints without dropping the LCA if I had the proper tool. What I have is a 7/8 inch drive ball joint press that I "rented" from OReillys. With that tool, can I do the pressing out and in without dropping the LCA, or do I have the wrong tool?

I guess I could drop the LCAs as the Moog instruction sheet tells me to do, but I was hoping not to.

Later: I took the wheels off and had a look. Tried to break the old pinch bolt nut loose with a 3/4 socket, but it slipped around the nut. Is the nut 11/16ths? The new Moog pinch bolt has what looks to be a 11/16ths nut. I will buy a socket to fit tight rather than risk rounding off the nut.

Here's a You tube video by a guy who changes his LCA, maybe two of them It shows a Canadian Caliber (probably) that had worn-out arm bushings after 75,000 miles. We are close to Canada and my Caliber has 75,000 miles as well.


After watching the video, I wonder if the bushings in the control arm might be shot or on their last legs, maybe. The more I think about it, the more I think if I have to drop an LCA and put it in a vise to press out the old ball joint and press a new one in that I might as well put in two new LCAs and be done with it. How would I know if the bushings on my LCA were bad unless I dropped the LCA to the ground and had a look? Would it be a safe bet to assume they're still good, or is there some kind of wiggle test?

The guy said the two other LCA nuts were 13/16ths. That seems strange because I have a 3/4 inch socket that fit and felt tight on both nuts.

Also, the video shows the guy dealing with a plastic housing that he seems to move out of the way easily when he pushes it. I have a similar plastic housing, but at one point it is close to the forward LCA bolt head and it doesn't move much when I push on it. I see some little button like things that might be holding the housing in place. Do they pop out with a screwdriver? (And pop babk in when you're done? I would like to have as much room to work on the forward bolt nut as the guy in the video.

 

Well, If you are going to DIY this, I higher recommend to replace whole LCA. Because it will make your job 10 times easier, as well as no special tools are needed.
Just some sockets, wrench, big pry bar, ball joint separator, and a hammer.
Wether you want to remove the plastic shield or not is up to you, it is only held on by 2 10mm bolts and a plastic tab.
If you have no experience with a ball joint press, I recommend to stay away from it. The job can go wrong so many way, and you will need more than a press to fix it.

If you are going to a professional, I would say that would depend on the price.

 

you said:

I took it to Midas and gave them the ball joint I meant to install myself.

I told the guy the car was getting squirrely and I didn't have time to do the work today or tomorrow. I told him that I had another ball joint that I would put on the other side next weekend. He asked me why. I told him that I was advised that ball joints were like struts and brake pads; they wear out side by side. He said, yes, they do wear out together, but not always equally. Therefore, if a ball joint ain't broke (by that, I mean giving signs of going bad), don't fix it. I was happy to follow that advice. When I drove the car home, the ride was fine.

I would not be worried about pressing ball joints out of LCAs. I've done some pulling and spring compression and the videos of ball joint pressing make it seem pretty straightforward, especially if you have to drop the LCA and put it in a vise to do the pressing. Probably that is why Midas only quoted a ball joint swap instead of a more costly LCA swap. There might be other reasons, I admit, but I am pleased with the outcome so far.

Furthermore, the guy gave me a heads up on worn front brake pads that I will do this weekend. I thought I was good with brake pad thickness so I was glad to be informed of that problem.

 

Glad you got it fixed.