Do BE's need new ball joints around 100K

[JLav211]

Hey fellas,

My Legacy has been letting me down a bit lately. First it was bad wheel bearings. Then it needed an alignment. Now, the suspension just feels plain crappy. I've searched a bit, and it sounds like the ball joints are shot.

Symptons:

-Very sloppy steering
-Jumps over small road distortions
-Slight to medium wheel vibration at any speed/surface

My car has GR2's with about 25-30K on them, so the shocks are good. With over 100K, should I expect the ball joints to be shot?

How much can I expect to pay for this service? No means of doing it myself.

Thanks,

Jeff

[DOOK]

did you ever give attention to the tophats when you replaced suspension parts?

[JLav211]

Nope. Assuming I know what you're talking about, they were in fine condition.

[DOOK]

part that bolts onto the top of the strut piston and then bolts up through the shock towers... if they have 100k on them, they are hurting I would imagine.

[DLC]

Front swaybar bushings can also mess with the steering a lot. I really need to do mine.

Also there are steering rack bushings that get worn.

[decke48]

well heres an easy way to test for ball joints. take a jack place it under the control arm, raise it till the tire is about 1.5inch of the ground. take a pry bar and pry the bottom of the tire. see if there is any play between the ball joint from the control arm and the spindal.. they do allow a minimal amount of play but shouldnt be more that 1/16 of a inch max

[JLav211]

Thanks for all the suggestions, fellas. What can I expect for cost if it is the ball joints? Steering rack bushings?

The front end handles like such garbage; I can't wait to get this fixed.

[rougeben83]

Thanks for all the suggestions, fellas. What can I expect for cost if it is the ball joints? Steering rack bushings?

The front end handles like such garbage; I can't wait to get this fixed.

bushings around $25, ball joints are the same for all subaru models (except the later sti's) around $25 each...don't forget the new cotter pin and castle nut ($3)

The old balljoints may be rusted to the hub...it may be very hard to get them out...

[dodik]

another way to make sure its ball joint is when you jack the car up just try to pull and push the wheel at 1 and 7 clock if it moves freely and youll feel if wobles than yes its a ball joint.

[JLav211]

Fellas, thanks for the info.

UPDATE - the dealer says that the front feels sloppy because my rear end links are shot. I put on the Rallitek sway and kept the stock endlinks (dumb, I know) and they are completely shot. Dealer says this is what is causing the poor steering feel/response.

None of the front end components are damaged - does this make sense?

If so, where's the best place to get endlinks?

Thanks!

[rougeben83]

Fellas, thanks for the info.

UPDATE - the dealer says that the front feels sloppy because my rear end links are shot. I put on the Rallitek sway and kept the stock endlinks (dumb, I know) and they are completely shot. Dealer says this is what is causing the poor steering feel/response.

None of the front end components are damaged - does this make sense?

If so, where's the best place to get endlinks?

Thanks!

Really? The only thing I would think the rear endlinks contributing to it woudl be during transitions. Maybe during steady state you'd get more understeer but I don't know how that would make contribute to all your other issues...

I still got my stock endlinks if you want it, just pay the shipping if you want to see if that will fix the issue. The aftermarket stuff are either $$ or require modification. Just search this forum for BE endlinks

[JLav211]

Ya know, I'm still on the fence. It really doesn't make any sense to me why the rear endlinks would cause such a junky feeling in the front.

Thanks for the offer on the endlinks; since mine are shot, I'm going to pick up the Whitelines from PDM - $79 ain't bad, and I'll need them at some point anyway.

If anyone else wants to weigh in on what the dealer said, I'd welcome your feedback. I like this dealer a lot, but I think they're off their game on this one.

[Huffer]

Sloppy feeling up front (transmitted through the steering column?) is likely to be something sloppy up front, not a weakness in the rear. ESPECIALLY if you're traveling in a straight line.

Could be a valving issue strut-wise, or even just steering rack bushings.

[JLav211]

I agree. I don't want to be an ass to the dealer and tell them they're wrong, so I may need to find an independent shop that can offer a second opinion.