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Measuring ball joint wear

593 views 1 reply 2 participants last post by  Leon 
#1 ·
I was trying to check for worn ball joints on my sons 1995 900S the other night. I don't have any symptoms of worn ball joints, but after 12-1/2 years and nearly 160,000 miles, I figured it was certainly a possibility. I lifted the body of the car, so that the front tires were slightly off the ground. Then I used a pry bar to apply upward pressure to the tire as I watched for movement at the joint. I also grabbed the tire at the top and bottom and pushed and pulled as hard as I could trying to feel for any slop. Lastly, I used a large screwdriver to pry between the steering knuckle and the top of the control arm. I could not find any evidence of play in the ball joints. If this was a C900, I wouldn't think twice about spending a few $ and just replacing them, but in our cars it requires replacing the entire control arm, which isn't exactly cheap, especially if you opt for "Genuine Saab" replacements. I'm a little leary of some of the aftermarket parts, although I'd probably go with the Febi-Bilstein to save a few bucks over the OEM's.

Am I doing this all wrong or is it possible that they can last this long?
 
#2 ·
I would say that as long as they're not torn, don't worry about them! I had to replace mine because the boots were torn and simply paying $25 for a boot replacement, just for 1 side multiplying by 2 was just unacceptable. I figured since I was doing all of that work to get to it anyway, i might as well replace the whole control arm. But yes, if you noticed that the boots just tore, just repalcing the boot is a viable solution. But be weary about how that metal wire twists around the bottom of the boot? I wouldn't even know how to tackle it. Eeuroparts sells this. Good luck!
 
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