lower ball joint + crack noise
02-01-03, 06:05 AM
#21
Driver
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Ohio
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Literally, shake it 
Jack up the front end (please be safe when doing this, I'm not responsible for any injury/damage caused by a slipping jack), grab a front wheel at 12 and 6 o'clock positions and shake it. This will tell you about lower ball joint. Although if it doesn't produce any sound at this point, you can feel the "play". Side note : this method can be used to check for wheel bearing play also. So, have another person to see whether it's really the ball joint that went bad.
For sway bar bushings, jack up the car (again, be careful), grab ahold of the sway bar (granted that you have enough access to it, remove the front wheels if you have to) and shake it. Watch the movement of the sway bar at the D-shaped brackets/bushings or at the endlinks. I doubt that endlinks are bad, more likely it's the bushings. Side note : you might be able to use polyurethane sway bar bushings but get the ones that are greasable. JEG'S/Summit Racing can supply you with a pair but get ready to tell them the size of the sway bar(s), so measure them before you call. They should be in metric (mm).
Here is the URL of what I'm talking about:
http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerc...84&prmenbr=361
It only shows most SAE sizes, but they do have metric sizes too.
Good luck on your venture.
Jack up the front end (please be safe when doing this, I'm not responsible for any injury/damage caused by a slipping jack), grab a front wheel at 12 and 6 o'clock positions and shake it. This will tell you about lower ball joint. Although if it doesn't produce any sound at this point, you can feel the "play". Side note : this method can be used to check for wheel bearing play also. So, have another person to see whether it's really the ball joint that went bad.
For sway bar bushings, jack up the car (again, be careful), grab ahold of the sway bar (granted that you have enough access to it, remove the front wheels if you have to) and shake it. Watch the movement of the sway bar at the D-shaped brackets/bushings or at the endlinks. I doubt that endlinks are bad, more likely it's the bushings. Side note : you might be able to use polyurethane sway bar bushings but get the ones that are greasable. JEG'S/Summit Racing can supply you with a pair but get ready to tell them the size of the sway bar(s), so measure them before you call. They should be in metric (mm).
Here is the URL of what I'm talking about:
http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerc...84&prmenbr=361
It only shows most SAE sizes, but they do have metric sizes too.
Good luck on your venture.
02-02-03, 02:27 PM
#22
Driver School Candidate
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: WA
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I think I paid $470.00 for a local shop to do the work. They had to order the parts from Lexus and I think those cost 180.00 each. I replaced the entire sway bars though and not just th bushings if there is a difference. They showed me the old ones and they were shot.
02-02-03, 09:58 PM
#23
Pole Position
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: NY-NJ
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well i don't know how the sway bar itself could have worn out but i know the end links that bolt the sway bar to the control arm can get alittle expensive but the bushings are pretty cheap.
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