Replacing front spindle?

[boat]

Hey all! Well after about a 3 plus day effort, the following has all been replaced:

All 4 struts (quick struts)
LCA's
Sway Bar links (all 4)

The car rides SOOOOO much better. All of the brakes have had some work too. Now I need an alignment, and some new treads. Then 60k's front and upper. Front motor mount and new catback exhaust. That will get it back to good mechanical running condition.

I am still hearing a clunk in the left front when I turn right. I took it to Firestone for an alignment and they tell me that either the ball joint is bad on the left side or the hole in the spindle where the ball joint connects is wallered out. Which one of the 2 is more likely the case? Exactly the spindle.

They also told me my right ball joint was bad too, only b/c it could move a little bit??? What the junk??? ISN'T A BALL JOINT SUPPOSED TO MOVE A LITTLE BIT???????????

Where can I find a replacement spindle? Is this more likely a junkyard part or is it a part I can get new at an autoparts store, or even worst case a Ford Parts dept???

 

[AREA 91]

Grab a spindle from the junk yard.

 

[hawkeye18]

It seems that, recently, the most common cause of clunking is either bad/loose subframe bushings, or a bad strut rod mount at the subframe. I very rarely see "wallered out" LCA mounts at the spindle. Ball joints do go bad, and yes, they should move around, but around a fixed point in a circle. It's when they start moving laterally or horizontally that bad things happen.

I wish you luck; clunks in a SHO can be very, very difficult to track down.

 

[pjtoledo]

you already replaced the LCAs? guess what, the ball joint is part of the LCA. IF, and this is a big if, the lower hole is wallered out you should be able to look at it with an assistant (you trust) moving the steering wheel and see movement.
the best way to find clunks is to kick the tires and beat on things with a RUBBER mallet.

 

[boat]

you already replaced the LCAs? guess what, the ball joint is part of the LCA. IF, and this is a big if, the lower hole is wallered out you should be able to look at it with an assistant (you trust) moving the steering wheel and see movement.
the best way to find clunks is to kick the tires and beat on things with a RUBBER mallet.

I knew that about the LCA's and the ball joints.

 

[itwonder]

A common cause of clunks is the tension rod bushings and/or loose bushing cup on the front.

However, having just installed new Monroe Sensatrack struts on a Toyota that had no clunk before and has a light clunk now, I begin to wonder if there is something about those Monroe struts.

 

[revhardSHO]

Best thing to do is get the front end off the ground and inspect the subframe / suspension, you could even lever the ball joints with a crow bar to check for movement. I usually replace ball joints in pairs, but it wont hurt to just replace the clunky one, though it might change your alignment.

 

[boat]

My clunking turned out to be the pinch bolt wasn't tight holding the left ball joint very tight. My mechanic turned it another 3/4 turn and it tightened it right up. However, my right ball joint was bad. When we did my struts a couple of weeks ago, we jacked up the right front and the wheel kicked out as if the lugnuts had been loosened. Before I saw this I thought I had a bad wheel bearing on the left, b/c I felt the vibration on the left front from the right front wheel being completely loose, in fact I had one broken stud, and 4 loose lug nuts. I have never ever had a wheel come loose on me like that before.

Well anyway, my mechanic and I think that distroyed the new ball joint we had put in about 3 months ago. So that was replaced, so now, FINALLY, I can go and get an alignment.

 

[hawkeye18]

I'd be keepin' a real... I mean REAL close eye on that wheel bearing. At least for the next few hundred miles.

 

[boat]

I have so far put about I think about, 5-600 miles on the car since we replaced the struts and tightened up the lug nuts to spec. Yeah, I had even purchased a new wheel bearing for the left front, but we found we didn't need it when we did the struts. My mechanic told me to hang on to the bearing for a few days as I drove it around, to make sure everything was fine. That was about May 21st or so.