Subject: Ball Joint Warning From: Wally Plumley Date: Mon, 20 Sep 1999 09:37:45 -0400 X-Message-Number: 8 It has been some time since the aluminum ball joints were discussed on the list, and there may well be new members who aren't aware of them. My apologies to the older list members for repeating info. In September 1983, the lower ball joint support was changed from aluminum to steel. The changeover occurred at VIN 92ES860404. The aluminum ball joints are DANGEROUS! We have had several list members who had had failure while driving - luckily, all were at very slow speeds. If your 928 is earlier than VIN 92ES860404, use a small magnet to test the lower ball joint supports. Another indication is that the steel supports have a figure-eight shape, while the aluminum supports have an oval outline. If you have aluminum ball joint supports, I strongly urge you to change them at the earliest opprotunity. You will need two each 928.341.049.12 ball joint supports; four each 928.341.466.00 adjusting eccentrics; one 928.341.091.05 left bracket; and one 928.341.092.05 right bracket. While you are in there, you might consider replacing the rubber boots for the upper ball joints. The upper ball joints are not replaceable - you have to replace the entire upper a-frame ($$$). New boots will help prevent dirt from entering the upper joints. Wally Plumley 928 Specialists From: Jay Kempf [mailto:jkempf@tds.net] Sent: Tuesday, April 30, 2002 3:08 PM To: 928 Subject: [928] Re: Aluminum ball joint failures? >-----Original Message----- > >So what does a replacement like this cost? > >Keith Widom Keith, $75 Ball Joint per side. $25 adjuster each (2 or 4 depending on preference) $100ish each side (not really sure so call big 3)lower shock mount. Shock mounts are not necessary unless you are a purist. The bolts end up too long but not excessively so. Also, if you care at that point you can grind them down. I didn't. So call it $450ish in parts worst case or $200 best case. Make sure and check your tie rods at the same time and the upper ball joints. I just did tie rods with both inner and outer ball joints for about $125. Upper ball joints are a different story. Still working on that subject. Lower ball joint job is about 1 hr a side plus alignment. Requires either luck or ball joint tools to separate tapered joints. Home alignments are fun as heck no matter what method you use. Good opportunity to brush up on geometry and use the trig functions on your calculator :) One thing to note is that the caster and camber adjusters change position after the mod is done. The steel carrier is slotted backwards from the aluminum one. I too drove mine way too long. When I did the job I had 1/4" vertical movement in my passengers side lower ball joint. After it was off the car it was obviously real bad. In place it would move only a little. The boot was wrecked. Jay Kempf