MOT front ball joint

O

oldgitdave

Senior member
 Derbyshire
She failed her MOT yesterday at my local indy: "Nearside Front Suspension arm ball joint excessively worn (5.3.4 (a) (i))"
Passed this morning having had the whole nearside control arm replaced including the lollipop. So, is it OK to replace one side only on these cars? I know they're a bit twitchy at the front end at the best of times & at the moment I have mismatched lollipops which I guess is not a good thing :? .
I've no idea at this stage what make of control arm he has fitted (not been billed yet) but it looks like the ball joints are fixed into the wishbone i.e. not replaceable individually. Is this an OEM only thing or do other manufacturers do this (Meyle, Febi etc?)
My thoughts are that I should get the offside done too but I don't want to fork out the cash for nothing. Just had a brand new set of Goodyear F1's fitted too so I guess I need to get the alignment checked too!
I'd welcome your views on this :thumbsup:

Dave
 
Having had the suspension apart,I would expect the tracking to have been checked.If it drives ok why spend needlessly as it just been checked as part of the mot.
 
I had slight play on my nearside one too so just bought a pair to be on the safe side. Poly bushes to be fitted at same time.
 
IIWM I would get the off-side control arm and lollipop changed also and 4 wheel alignment or at least the tracking done. Your car is a 2004 so you have a brand new, nice and tight control arm on the near-side and potentially a 15 year old, worn and tired one on the off-side :(
 
If it were just a ball joint or track rod end I'd replace just the worn component - its a mechanical joint that's all. Once you start with suspension parts - control arm; lolly pops; shocks or springs which have rubber/poly elements (and tyres come to that) then for me its always axle sets - what you do to one side you do to the other then both sides behave the same.
 
Just to add my new to me 2007 E86 was MOT'd in November 18. I bought it in Feb 19. It was quite harsh and crashy over bumps and tramlined horribly - almost undriveable at any speed. My long term Indy said that the suspension was all a bit tired and I decided to replace it. - just about everything, springs, dampers, arms, bushes, drop links and rear roll bar (corroded). All stock - Sachs, OEM and Lemforder generally. Was going for Bilstein B4s but were on back order at the time. This and a full alignment totally transformed it. Still on Bridgstone RFTs and will replace them in due course. Still tramlines a bit but a touch of extra toe-in has helped that some. (1 turn on each side) I'm hoping a change of tyre to the Eagle F1 rft. will improve things further.
 
oldgitdave said:
She failed her MOT yesterday at my local indy: "Nearside Front Suspension arm ball joint excessively worn (5.3.4 (a) (i))"
Passed this morning having had the whole nearside control arm replaced including the lollipop. So, is it OK to replace one side only on these cars? I know they're a bit twitchy at the front end at the best of times & at the moment I have mismatched lollipops which I guess is not a good thing :? .
I've no idea at this stage what make of control arm he has fitted (not been billed yet) but it looks like the ball joints are fixed into the wishbone i.e. not replaceable individually. Is this an OEM only thing or do other manufacturers do this (Meyle, Febi etc?)
My thoughts are that I should get the offside done too but I don't want to fork out the cash for nothing. Just had a brand new set of Goodyear F1's fitted too so I guess I need to get the alignment checked too!
I'd welcome your views on this :thumbsup:

Dave
Click to expand...

I used Meyle HD lollipops, control arms and droplinks on mine. The beauty of the Meyle HD stuff is that aside from being a better/strong/longer lasting part than the Oem stuff. The control arms also have have replaceable inner and outer ball joints, so any future failure is cheaper to fix.
 
OP- if the car is a keeper then I would recommend refreshing the offside front.

If you reckon you will sell either this year or next I wouldn’t bother.
 
Thanks everyone, it's great to get all these informative views on this great forum :thumbsup: :thumbsup: .

Looks like the consensus is to get the offside done which tbh is the way I've been leaning towards since originally asking :roll: . It'll cost a bit + the tracking but hey-ho that's what Zeds are for :wink: . Don't tell the missus though else :violent1: .
I am hoping that I'll keep her for a few years yet & if for nothing more than peace of mind I'll get it done.
 
Don't tell the missus though else.
I am hoping that I'll keep her for a few years yet & if for nothing more than peace of mind I'll get it done.

The Z or the missus Dave? :poke:
 
Jl-c said:
Don't tell the missus though else.
I am hoping that I'll keep her for a few years yet & if for nothing more than peace of mind I'll get it done.

The Z or the missus Dave? :poke:
Click to expand...

Now that would be telling Jonathan (but you know the answer right?) :D
Hope you are keeping well buddy :thumbsup:
 
I'm good Dave thank you. And yes I do know the answer but it was too easy to resist :D Actually going back to work in a few days even though the Doc says retire. Too many cars to support :rofl: :rofl:
 
oldgitdave said:
I've no idea at this stage what make of control arm he has fitted (not been billed yet)
Click to expand...

Might be worth while just asking your garage for the invoice so you know what make control arm they have fitted. Meyle , Lemforder or Febi Bilstein will be fine. The cheaper stuff will not last long - some motor factors use cheaper, less known brands to cut costs.
 
Johnr32 said:
oldgitdave said:
I've no idea at this stage what make of control arm he has fitted (not been billed yet)
Click to expand...

Might be worth while just asking your garage for the invoice so you know what make control arm they have fitted. Meyle , Lemforder or Febi Bilstein will be fine. The cheaper stuff will not last long - some motor factors use cheaper, less known brands to cut costs.
Click to expand...

It's from Moog apparently & has a 2 year guarantee. I've never heard of them but they're not the cheapest looking online.
 
oldgitdave said:
Johnr32 said:
oldgitdave said:
I've no idea at this stage what make of control arm he has fitted (not been billed yet)
Click to expand...

Might be worth while just asking your garage for the invoice so you know what make control arm they have fitted. Meyle , Lemforder or Febi Bilstein will be fine. The cheaper stuff will not last long - some motor factors use cheaper, less known brands to cut costs.
Click to expand...

It's from Moog apparently & has a 2 year guarantee. I've never heard of them but they're not the cheapest looking online.
Click to expand...

Not something I've come across, I wouldn't want that fitted only due to the lack of feedback. I'm sure to the average public they're fine though...
 
Jl-c said:
Found them, NOT the same company it seems but still got a good rep
https://www.moogparts.co.uk/about-us.html
Click to expand...

Thanks for that Jonathan. I've had a look online & tbh I'm quite happy with their rep. My local indy guy John has always been good & very honest over the 20+ years I've used him so I don't have any issues with the parts he uses. He's done some great freebies for me over the years too :thumbsup: . Only 5 mins walk from me & he drops the car back on my drive once he's done :thumbsup: .
 
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