Lower ball joints...

Scooty Puff Jr. · Apr 30, 2012

Radtitan said:
I have an 04 as well and am planning on replacing the LCA's with the Moog arms. Am I going to have to buy cam bolts for these as well? I haven't really given it any thought since my factory ones already have them.

Honestly, living in Georgia you may be in luck. Ohio weather ruins stuff in a hurry. The bolts literally welded themselves to the metal inner sleeves of my LCA's. Make sure you have a torch handy for some heat. After two attempts at heating and beating I said f@%* it and grabbed the cutting torch. Took me 10 minutes to cut both of the inside LCA bolts, but it cost me $60 worth of aftermarket cam bolts. The factory units for the '04 are reasonable from the dealer, should be about $5-$6 a piece. I just opted for aftermarket because they have more than .5 degree of adjustment.
If you're really hell bent on saving those factory bolts I would recommend drilling a small hole in the center of the LCA's (pivot where bolts go through) and spray pb blaster or something similar everyday for a week and drive on 'em. That should loosen 'em up for ya.

Radtitan · May 3, 2012

Scooty Puff Jr. said:
Honestly, living in Georgia you may be in luck. Ohio weather ruins stuff in a hurry. The bolts literally welded themselves to the metal inner sleeves of my LCA's. Make sure you have a torch handy for some heat. After two attempts at heating and beating I said f@%* it and grabbed the cutting torch. Took me 10 minutes to cut both of the inside LCA bolts, but it cost me $60 worth of aftermarket cam bolts. The factory units for the '04 are reasonable from the dealer, should be about $5-$6 a piece. I just opted for aftermarket because they have more than .5 degree of adjustment.
If you're really hell bent on saving those factory bolts I would recommend drilling a small hole in the center of the LCA's (pivot where bolts go through) and spray pb blaster or something similar everyday for a week and drive on 'em. That should loosen 'em up for ya.

Oh well, I said screw it and ordered the Moog LCA's and Moog cam bolt kit from Advance this morning. Hopefully this takes care of all my noises...at least from the front end.:eyebrow:

I don't have time to screw with install so I'll be having a local shop take care of it. Thanks for all the info!

coachditka · May 4, 2012

Radtitan said:
Oh well, I said screw it and ordered the Moog LCA's and Moog cam bolt kit from Advance this morning. Hopefully this takes care of all my noises...at least from the front end.:eyebrow:

I don't have time to screw with install so I'll be having a local shop take care of it. Thanks for all the info!

Ordering the cam bolt kit with the LCA's was a great idea. Let us know how it goes and give some feedback on the parts.

PRJ · May 11, 2012

So I just got through reading this thread because I need new upper and lower ball joints. I looked at the ones on the Rock Auto website. What is going to be the differences between the Dorman, Beck/Arnley, Raybestos, Mevotech and MOOG other than the price. Are the more expensive ones beefier or ???

My truck spends a lot of time off road in the woods on bumpy *** logging roads. I want something that is durable and will last.

I really don't care about greasable vs. non-greasable as I have been driving trucks with non-greasable joints for years without problem.

coachditka · May 12, 2012

PRJ said:
So I just got through reading this thread because I need new upper and lower ball joints. I looked at the ones on the Rock Auto website. What is going to be the differences between the Dorman, Beck/Arnley, Raybestos, Mevotech and MOOG other than the price. Are the more expensive ones beefier or ???

My truck spends a lot of time off road in the woods on bumpy *** logging roads. I want something that is durable and will last.

I really don't care about greasable vs. non-greasable as I have been driving trucks with non-greasable joints for years without problem.

Here is an interesting discussion about Doorman quality

WARNING!!!! Front Lower Control Arms; Dorman vs. Raybestos - DSM Forums

For HD applications, I would just pay the extra few $$ and go with the Raybestos or Moog. I have the Moog LCA and they seem very sturdy. I would definitely rank the Moog and Raybestos ball joints far above anything Doorman.

Radtitan · May 12, 2012

FWIW here is a pic of the Moog LCA and can bolts. They are very beefy and the ball joint (non-greasable) moves very freely. Can't wait to get them on to stop the awful popping noise. Plus I need an alignment and balance and don't want to do it till I get the front rebuilt.

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titanlti · May 12, 2012

wow looks better then the stock nissan ones great buy

PRJ · May 14, 2012

Thanks. Very helpful. Is Raybestos just a NAPA product?

Also why are people changing the whole control arm and not just the ball joint?

coachditka · May 16, 2012

PRJ said:
Thanks. Very helpful. Is Raybestos just a NAPA product?

Also why are people changing the whole control arm and not just the ball joint?

No, Raybestos is not exclusive to NAPA, you can get them at Oreilly and Rockauto.

Changing the whole control arm is much less labor intensive. New bushings are included with new control arms and are muy important as it is a real PITA to try and replace those.

The bushings wear out just like the ball joint, and they are already pressed in the new control arms.

PRJ · May 16, 2012

Radtitan said:
FWIW here is a pic of the Moog LCA and can bolts. They are very beefy and the ball joint (non-greasable) moves very freely. Can't wait to get them on to stop the awful popping noise. Plus I need an alignment and balance and don't want to do it till I get the front rebuilt.

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Did your lca come with the cam bolts?

Radtitan · May 17, 2012

PRJ said:
Did your lca come with the cam bolts?

No you have to order them separate. They are sold in pairs so be sure to order 2 sets.

PRJ · May 20, 2012

Excellent info. Thanks. I think I will order the Moog.

PRJ · May 23, 2012

Radtitan said:
FWIW here is a pic of the Moog LCA and can bolts. They are very beefy and the ball joint (non-greasable) moves very freely. Can't wait to get them on to stop the awful popping noise. Plus I need an alignment and balance and don't want to do it till I get the front rebuilt.

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Do you have to order the rubber bump stop that is on the lower control arm or do you just transfer it from the old one to the new one?

coachditka · May 24, 2012

PRJ said:
Do you have to order the rubber bump stop that is on the lower control arm or do you just transfer it from the old one to the new one?

Just get these for a whopping $10.00

Energy Suspension 9.9116 Bump Stops - 99116

Put them on before you install the LCA. The old ones are way to much of a pain to try and get off through that little hole, the bolt is too long for a socket and the hole too small for a wrench.

I learned the hard way. I put these on after the fact. Just use these and be done with it

PRJ · May 25, 2012

Thanks. Is that what you used?

NorCal 4x4 · May 25, 2012

If you have a leveling kit, the taller Prothane 19-1318-BL, 2 1/4" x 2 1/4", is a better choice. For just Bilstein/coils, the shorter ones are fine.

They are usually under $10 ... just Google search

coachditka · May 25, 2012

PRJ said:
Thanks. Is that what you used?

Yes, the height of the stop is the same as OEM, so no trimming issues.

I forgot to add that I had to make the hole on the new LCA larger to fit the bolt for the new bump stop. It was no big deal, i just used a 3/8 bit and the new bump stop slid right in no problem.

Fishin33 · Jun 30, 2012

General consensus here is the whole LCAs from MOOG. Is there a reason no one seems to be replacing the UCAs?

Does the upper ball joint not experience as much stress or wear so they are left alone?

Thanks gents - I was about to rebuild my sway-a-ways and figured I should do this while I'm at it. Especially since Advance has 20% off plus the gift card right now.

*SocalTitan* · Sep 14, 2012

I know this thread hasn't been touched for like 3 months but had a question....
Is it really that hard to swap out just the lower ball joint???
I don't want to pay $200+ in addition to shipping cost to Hawaii for LCA's and then get an alignment on top of that if I can just swap the lower ball joint itself. I have access to a shop and all the tools to do the job.

salstats · Sep 14, 2012

Yes very easy to swap just the ball joint. I bought both sides for $50 on Ebay with zerks to refill them next time. My buddy and i swap them parked on the street with the spindle still attach to the UCA. Couple pounds to it but not that hard. Maybe like 30 min each side.

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Lower ball joints...

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