some insight please

[dru]

Im not sure where to post this not knowing what it is. noticed this while changing my oil earlier.

what is the rubbery boot pictured? is this the cv boot? its cracked and i put my finger into the boot and discovered a metallic black sludge substance. What needs to be done to remedy the situation?

first 2 pics are the questionable part (drivers side)

this photo is the passengers side not cracked.

Thanks.

 

[Bent Bolt]

Those are the lower ball joints. And yeah, it should be delt with. Water and grit will get in there and accelerate wear.

 

[dru]

Those are the lower ball joints. And yeah, it should be delt with. Water and grit will get in there and accelerate wear.

thanks,

what are parts do i need to order? 2 lower ball joints? what else fluid of some sort?

 

[Shran]

If just one has a bad boot, just replace it. No need to do both unless they're worn (you can check with the truck jacked up. If you can grab the top of a tire and shake it, and it wiggles, you've probably got a bad ball joint.)

 

[dru]

whats the worst case scenario if i keep driving with it? lets say a week or so less than 150 miles. can i cause more/major damage? who knows how long its been like it is. id rather wait till next weekend to deal with it if possible.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

jack the truck up by the control arm (so the weight of the truck is on the suspention, but the wheel is off the ground), then grab the tire at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock and give it a good wiggle. if you can get it to move, you should change the balljoints sooner rather than later.

 

[Mark_88]

The biggest problem with tie rods or ball joints is the excessive wear that your tires can get by the tire moving around too much...ball joints, unless they snap, won't affect you too much otherwise and will probably hold up another weak...I'd check the tires for unusual wear though...replacing a set of tires for a $20 ball joint (plus labour if you don't do it yourself) is kind of expensive though...

 

[dogboy]

I would assume that you have been driving with it the way it is for quite some times if there is metaly sludge stuff in there. It should be just grease.

I would say driving it for another 6 months would not cause catastrophic failure or anything. A week or two would not a be a problem at all.


EDIT: wow, 3 posts in less than a minute...

 

[dru]

2 lower ball joints. may as well do em both. do they come pregreased? if not what type?

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

you can get them non-serviceable (thats whats already on there, they are pregreased and cannot be serviced), or with grease fittings. if you order ones with fittings, make sure you grease them regularly or else they wont last as long as non-serviceable ones.

 

[samsonitesamsonite]

Judging by the questions you are asking... I am going to suggest you buy a chiltons or haynes manual and use that to replace the ball joints. You can rent a press from autozone.

 

[dru]

can anyone tell me if these will work. i called napa for lower ball joints and they asked for torsion or coil spring suspension. the lady at checkers didnt have any info on what these will fit other than a 2003 ford ranger. it also doesnt specify what type of suspension on the checkers site.

i have the coil spring suspension.


http://shop.oreillyauto.com/ProductDetail.aspx?MfrCode=MCQ&MfrPartNumber=FA2180

 

[Shran]

2wd is coil, 4wd is torsion.

That should be the right part.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

i believe the 2wd edge trucks are also torsion bar.

 

[dru]

Anyone know where i can find just the boots for the upper and lower ball joint? are they universal size? a friend of mine took a look at the ball joints jacked it up shook the wheel and said they were perfectly fine, and that if i could find the boots we could just repack them with grease.