Lower ball joint play

Suspension related stuff goes in here.
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burlybryan
Posts: 155
Joined: Tue Sep 13, 2011 3:49 pm
Your car is a: 1982 Spider 2000
Location: St. Paul, MN

Lower ball joint play

Post by burlybryan »

Replaced my lower ball joints (& entire front suspension) a couple of years ago (around 2 to 3 thousand miles). While bleeding brakes tonight realized that theres about 1/4" play in one side and about 1/8" play in the other. Is it common to eat BJ's this quickly or could my lowered suspension be a reason? Or maybe just crappy parts? They have a zerk and I don't think I've re-greased them since new.

Thanks.
burlybryan
'82 Spider 2000 FI
'12 500 Sport (Verde Oliva) - wife's daily driver - when it's not being fixed at the dealer...
djape1977
Posts: 985
Joined: Sat Apr 21, 2012 6:08 pm
Your car is a: 1970 fiat 124bc
Location: Belgrade, Serbia, eastern Europe

Re: Lower ball joint play

Post by djape1977 »

DO NOT DRIVE THE CAR UNTILL YOU REPLACE BALL JOINTS
they will pop out during driving if you do, and will cause serious damage to your car even if you don't hit anything on or near the road when they decide to go.

find someone with lots of experience to inspect your suspension to figure out is there a reason this happened other then balljoints being chinese and made of brown stuff.
do not buy new ones from same seller
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RRoller123
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Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2011 2:04 pm
Your car is a: 1980 FI SPIDER 2000
Location: SAGAMORE BEACH, MA USA

Re: Lower ball joint play

Post by RRoller123 »

+1, big danger there.
'80 FI Spider 2000
'74 and '79 X1/9 (past)
'75 BMW R75/6
2011 Chevy Malibu (daily driver)
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ScoopMan
Posts: 135
Joined: Thu Oct 07, 2010 2:12 pm
Your car is a: 1971 Sport Spider and 1979 Spider 2000
Location: Fairfield, CT

Re: Lower ball joint play

Post by ScoopMan »

I had a lower BJ blow out which caused the suspension to collapse. Luckily for me it happened in the driveway, not on the highway at 70 mph.

Do NOT drive the car until you have fixed these properly!!!
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