Control Arm/lower Ball joint replacement
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If mine were bad, i would do it myself. It's only replacing a bad part with a good part. I wish Haynes (not sure on spelling) would come out with a repair book on the Caliber. Last time i checked they haven't made one yet. I've rebuilt a whole engine using their 'how to book'. You'll have to have the front end aligned when your done.
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521 Posts
im getting my left side done monday under warranty luckly because its up at the end of the month, they told me i had to replace the hole arm to even though its only the ball joint that worn. if your doin it yourself you can buy the part on global dodge parts:smileup:
its very simple to do. i have to replace mine and the manual says you have to remove the whole knuckle but by the looks of it you just have to separate the knuckle from the ball joint. all youll need is some sockets. hopefully some air tools and a good pry bar and that should do it.
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9,603 Posts
Post some pics if you do it, bradhouck. It may help someone else in the future.
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Usually the Haynes (correct spelling) or Chilton books don't come out until a car is at or very close to the end of its production cycle. Besides, nowadays, outside of a few of us "old guys" (LOL), most people have little or no clue of how to work on a car. People around here look at me strange because I check my fluids and tire pressures almost every week - they don't even know that you are supposed to do that.
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Several years ago I called the Haynes company in Lavergne, TN and inquired about finding a manual for a different vehicle that I had. They informed me that they produce manuals based on the volume of sales for a particular vehicle. They buy it at cost and then take it apart in order to produce the manuals. If not enough units were sold to justify their time and expense, they won't bother. I'm afraid the Caliber will fall into that category for them.
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I hope not, the Chilton or Haynes books are a more interesting "read" that the factory books are.
I noticed last Friday when under the car that the lower bushings on the control arm were separating. Dealership and local service center both reported I had to replace the complete control arm. Then today I stumbled across the Moog replacement ball joint P/N 500063.
Does anyone know anything about this and if it would work? I can get a shop to replace the bushings easily enough.
Thanks!
Does anyone know anything about this and if it would work? I can get a shop to replace the bushings easily enough.
Thanks!
It looks to be a press in,. I have one in my possession. Will be putting it in since Dorman is backordered so bad on the right control arm. Would have preferred to change the whole thing since Chrysler did such a poor job with manufacturing and designing... Tie rods by 60,000, now ball joints at 100,000... I guess I am spoiled by most of the GM's I have had, my mom's 02 Buick still has the originals at 320,000... most of the cars I have had don't need ball joints for much longer. Other than the Cavalier type platform....
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Same as so fewer car parts shops these days, more car drivers without garages for DIY. On numbers I suspect Haynes have done books on lower volumes, there are more than 600,000 Calibers and some Compass/Patriot procedures overlap. They have done combination manuals that cover such variants.
They could easily do a powertrain manual on the GEMA engines. Maybe the interweb and ForumZ are also affecting the market for books!
Well, I changed out the left control arm, the rear bushing fell out when I got it loose... The right control arm seems to be a popular part, as it is on back order indefinitely, so I changed the ball joint only. What a PITA!!!! I'd much rather swap the whole control arm, went way smoother. The ball joint pressed out ok, after I had to take everything loose (tie rod, cv shaft... ) in order to get enough room to get the ball joint press in place. The Moog replacement presses in from the top, while the factory part pressed in from the bottom. It has a snap ring to keep it retained. It got a little cockeyed and wouldn't go straight, so I had to work it a bit to get it in, but did finally get it all the way in. After the ball joints, I discover the rear tires are tipping in at the top, looks like bad bushings there, the front struts are leaking, and the inner tie rods are now loose, about 111000 miles on this car and doing more work to it than the 95 Neon I picked up recently... seems the Neon has a better suspension design too.
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119 Posts
well I just picked up a moog k500063 ball joint and will be replacing the passenger side on Saturday - 86000 miles - ruined my tires, just hope I do not do too much damage on the new tires before Saturday - 200 miles probably, should be ok - have to wait until Saturday to use my cousins splitter fork and press.
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119 Posts
Well my cousin and I thought we could remove the old ball joint with out taking the lower control arm off, we were wrong - wasted about 3 hours. We thought we could do that because we were able to do it very easily on his 1999 Dakota
once we removed the arm it took about 30 minutes to remove the old joint and about 20 minutes to get the new one pressed in straight.
we fought the boot for a while, but now the new ball joint is in and what a pleasure the care is to drive again - this next part is a bit sketchy - but I just drove for over a mile on 95 at 65 mph and while not 100% straight it still had not left the lane. The car also doesn't shake when you go over 68 anymore - and the steering wheel is centered.
I think I have to put more grease in, and I will get an alignment to be sure - but I say problem solved.
If you are going to do this, take out the lower control arm - it is only 2 bolts and it will save a ton of time!
once we removed the arm it took about 30 minutes to remove the old joint and about 20 minutes to get the new one pressed in straight.
we fought the boot for a while, but now the new ball joint is in and what a pleasure the care is to drive again - this next part is a bit sketchy - but I just drove for over a mile on 95 at 65 mph and while not 100% straight it still had not left the lane. The car also doesn't shake when you go over 68 anymore - and the steering wheel is centered.
I think I have to put more grease in, and I will get an alignment to be sure - but I say problem solved.
If you are going to do this, take out the lower control arm - it is only 2 bolts and it will save a ton of time!
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Post #16 - Where did you get the ball joints? Locally? Internet?
Post# 17 - Yes - Get a 4 wheel alignment as soon as you can - any suspension or steering work requires checking and possibly adjusting wheel alignment.
Post# 17 - Yes - Get a 4 wheel alignment as soon as you can - any suspension or steering work requires checking and possibly adjusting wheel alignment.
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12,706 Posts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCyK3v8AMK8
MoPar # 5105040AF $189
2008 dodge caliber lower ball joint replacement
ShawnCFarm
MoPar # 5105040AF $189
2008 dodge caliber lower ball joint replacement
ShawnCFarm
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