Hey Guys I have a 2001 Grand Caravan with 149K, both link arms have been replaced, installed Monroe easy struts 10k ago ( I did ck the strut nut for tightness, they were a little loose after install, so re-tightened. Not sure now), installed factory stabilizer bushings the ones with the plastic insert. A while back the brake caliber bushings and bolts were replaced (because some Firestone mechanic left out the bushing sleeves, which also was creating a clunking sound). Also about 14k ago the inner tie rods were replaced.

Now what is going on the car has a clunking or chattering metal sound when going over a series of bumps. In the past a could put on the brakes slightly and the sound would go away, that let me to the problem that the Firestone mechanic created by not installing the caliber sleeves. But now I think it is being caused by maybe the lower ball joints. It only seems to be on the passenger side. I haven't taken the wiper assy out to ck the top strut nut yet, but not sure if it's the problem. The link arms are tight. The stabilizer bushings look okay. The inner tie rods seem to be okay. I did notice today with the tire off that there was grease coming out of the lower ball joint fitting area only on the passenger side, the drivers side is okay. If I'm correct these ball joints are the no load type.

So tell me what you think?? Also how can I test these type of ball joints? I read somewhere that the fittings should protrude beyond the lower surface of the ball joint housing? If so how far?

Do I have to remove the lower plate to get the control arms out for the new lower ball joints or can I do it with the control arms in the car??

Thanks again for all your feedback

 

EDIT: I noticed you were asking about the plate RE replacing the LCA. The answer to that is yes, the plate comes out if you're doing the LCA. I was too cheap to buy new ones because the van is not long for this world anyway. Dodge will recommend replacing the LCA if the ball joint becomes worn, which seems silly to me but I guess they can wear out or something.


I did the ball joint on my 99. I tested it by prying slightly between the knuckle and the LCA. There was a bit of play in the ball joint which is no good. To swap it I:

Put replacement balljoint in freezer (seriously, do it)
Jack vehicle/jack stands
remove wheel
remove brake components/rotor
knock balljoint nut/tie rod end nut loose
knocked thru bolts for the strut loose
separated knuckle from balljoint stud
I moved the entire knuckle assembly, still attached to the CV shaft as far towards the front of the van as possible, and supported it with a jackstand or 2. I rotated mine 90* to make it fit better and give me more room.
Remove c-clip that retains balljoint in LCA
Use your balljoint press to press the joint out. Heat can be helpful here sometimes
reassemble in reverse order


This is from memory so I may have missed a couple details here and there, but that generally is how it went for me. You'll probably want to grease your new ball joint (should come with a grease zerk).

Hope this helps

 

Thank you for replying. My car has 149K So hopping to keep it going for another 5 yrs, retired, only do 6k a yr so 30k more. How many miles do you have on your '99? What brand of ball joint did you use? If I do the LB's then will probably also do the inner and outer tie rods?

I'm going to remove the wiper tray and double check the strut nut again. Also I not really sure if the brake caliper is maybe causing some of the noise again?

 

my 99 has 148k on it, and is due to be replaced soon. I'm limping it by for now. I think I just used the Duracrap ball joint from Auto Zone. You should give your inner/outer tie rods a shake and check 'em out, but just because the ball joint is bad doesn't necessarily mean the tie rods are shot too. Jack it up and give 'em a check. I'd recommend springing for better parts if you can because I've had mixed success with Duralast.

Hope this helps, let us know how it goes