Bit the bullet last time and put genuine wishbones on after flea bay ball joints failed after a year.
I would rather be skint n on the road
Than have the money n be in the ditch..............
MOT Fail - Lower Joints - AGAIN!! Press?
Moderators: Doone, westonwarrior
Re: MOT Fail - Lower Joints - AGAIN!! Press?
I would walk 500 miles.
99 Tinted tintop
Supplied and looked after by Bongospares
99 Tinted tintop
Supplied and looked after by Bongospares
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The_Gordons
- Bongolier
- Posts: 251
- Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2009 8:37 am
- Location: Aberdeenshire
Re: MOT Fail - Lower Joints - AGAIN!! Press?
We fitted replacement lower ball joints from a reputable source (not ebay) and the rubbers went in less than a year and the joints became loose. As we didn't have time for the Bongo to be off the road we purchased the complete Mazda genuine wishbones and wish we had done this the first time around.
Bongo replaced by Wellhouse Terrier
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Driver+Passengers
- Supreme Being
- Posts: 2019
- Joined: Mon Mar 14, 2011 1:56 pm
- Location: Fife
Re: MOT Fail - Lower Joints - AGAIN!! Press?
My experience was having brand new rubbers going within weeks (seller A, product X) - these would have allowed dirt ingress very quickly which would quite easily cause the joint to fail within the first year.
The solution for me was to fit aftermarket replacement rubber boots provided by the supplier at no cost, and in my opinion far better suited to compression within the limited space between wishbone and knuckle - there is NO WAY the particular rubbers that came with the my replacement ball joints were supposed to compress the way they did.
So either I have an oversized taper in the knuckle or something, or the shape of boot on the supplied ball joint was incorrect for the application.
It makes me wonder whether, for many of the <1year ball joint failures, "it's all in the boot"...??
Picture below - rubber after two weeks and a couple of hundred miles...
Just for the sake of illustration (no relationship to the sellers, parts, quality, etc...)
- style of boot that works for me... here
- style of boot that did not work for me... here
Further caveat - I've picked those two links on appearance/profile alone. I accept there may be differences despite appearances, that not all parts are equal, etc... Folk do use many sellers for replacement ball joints on existing wishbones and they can last for years.
It does make we wonder, though. If an incorrect boot is overstressed from day one, the symptom could well be a short life, as many people do experience. It may not be simply down to an inherently lesser quality part, just the boot on top of it. That said, I thoroughly approve the use of metal bandsaws for comparative testing!
(Sorry to hijack the thread - good luck with yours!)
The solution for me was to fit aftermarket replacement rubber boots provided by the supplier at no cost, and in my opinion far better suited to compression within the limited space between wishbone and knuckle - there is NO WAY the particular rubbers that came with the my replacement ball joints were supposed to compress the way they did.
So either I have an oversized taper in the knuckle or something, or the shape of boot on the supplied ball joint was incorrect for the application.
It makes me wonder whether, for many of the <1year ball joint failures, "it's all in the boot"...??
Picture below - rubber after two weeks and a couple of hundred miles...
Just for the sake of illustration (no relationship to the sellers, parts, quality, etc...)
- style of boot that works for me... here
- style of boot that did not work for me... here
Further caveat - I've picked those two links on appearance/profile alone. I accept there may be differences despite appearances, that not all parts are equal, etc... Folk do use many sellers for replacement ball joints on existing wishbones and they can last for years.
It does make we wonder, though. If an incorrect boot is overstressed from day one, the symptom could well be a short life, as many people do experience. It may not be simply down to an inherently lesser quality part, just the boot on top of it. That said, I thoroughly approve the use of metal bandsaws for comparative testing!
(Sorry to hijack the thread - good luck with yours!)
What she doesn't know won't hurt me.
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ThisIsTheSea
- Bongonaut
- Posts: 99
- Joined: Wed Jun 22, 2011 11:17 am
- Location: Hampshire
Re: MOT Fail - Lower Joints - AGAIN!! Press?
Mine failed on the driver's side joint having play in it but boot had no holes - but perished 
And passenger side had split boot with holes, but no play.
And passenger side had split boot with holes, but no play. -
ThisIsTheSea
- Bongonaut
- Posts: 99
- Joined: Wed Jun 22, 2011 11:17 am
- Location: Hampshire
Re: MOT Fail - Lower Joints - AGAIN!! Press?
Right, all done! New wishbones, drop links and track rod end boots. Partial MOT retest is booked for tomorrow afternoon. Fingers crossed that it now passes! 
New Mazda wishbones and Meyle HD drop links.
New boots for the track rod ends.
Here is an old eBay drop link that had been on for just 4 months. You can see the holes.
And one of the eBay lower suspension joints that lasted barely 12 months. I utterly wrecked the boot getting the joint to separate, but you can see the rust inside the joint, and it flops around quite loosely.
The maker?
New Mazda wishbones and Meyle HD drop links.
New boots for the track rod ends.
Here is an old eBay drop link that had been on for just 4 months. You can see the holes.
And one of the eBay lower suspension joints that lasted barely 12 months. I utterly wrecked the boot getting the joint to separate, but you can see the rust inside the joint, and it flops around quite loosely.
The maker?