So my front lower control arm ball joint is bad. it spins in place when i try to tighten it down.
i heard that the front lower control arm ball joint was actually over molded from factory, therefore non replaceable.

1. has somebody been successful with replacing the oem ball joints out of oem ball joint location?

2. what are some after market options for me to replace then entire lower control arm assembly?

thanks!

 

Are the threads on the ball joint or the nut damaged? If the threads are not in nice shape then you can have the problem you're describing. The nut needs to be able to finger tighten down with little resistance so the stud cannot spin in place.

 

threads seem to be in good condition. i was assuming that spinning stud=old stud that needs to be replaced.

 

Even brand new ball joints can spin, they just require more force because they are stiffer and resist movement. But the fact that it can spin alone doesn't mean the are trash. If they have "in-out" or other type of play and looseness then they are bad.

 

ok. thank you for the feedback sir. i will give this a further inspection to see the play in it.

 

The control arm ball joints aren't designed to be replaced on these cars. It can be done, but I don't recommend it. You need to tighten the castle nut with an impact gun or the joint will spin.

 

what is the part number for the replacement joint?

 

Go to Rockauto.com and have a look. There are non-stock replacement options available.