The U Joints on the front end have gone and I'm thinking about a DIY project. At 100,000 miles, should I also consider the upper and lower ball joints since I'll be in there anyway?

Anything else I should take into consideration to replace?

Is Moog still the brand to go with or is there a better option?

Also, if I find I won't have time or tools for the DIY, are there any reputable shops in the Northern VA area?

Thanks!

 

I wouldn't do the ball joints unless they need to be replaced. The worst part is getting the rotors off, and the wheel bearings out. If you grease everything good as you put it back together it'll be easy to get back in and do the ball joints later.

 

Unless you have the extra money for ball joints.....if they are still good, I wouldn't touch them......most folks will dispute this matter. I had well over a hundred thousand miles on the factory ball joints before I replaced them. With that being said, I replaced them with a set of Moogs and got over 125k miles out of those.....again, most everyone will disagree with what I have just stated.....maybe I got lucky. Most everyone here hates Moog ball joints.

As for the u-joints, I used Precision brand because they were greasable. Last go around I changed to Spicer Life joints because of their reliability...................after having the front end apart last week......I'm starting to debate THAT theory myself.

 

Did a complete brake job this weekend, rotors were a huge pain to get off the hubs front and back. Both top ball joints have noticeable play, as does the right tie-rod. Left side U-joint has nothing in one of the cups (seal, needles gone) and the right side bearing is noticeably harder to turn compared to left.

Looks like I'm going to be doing the full front end sooner than later.