If one ball joint in a vehicle is bad is it really necessary to replace all four? honestly, no salesman crap?

Question

I figure the two on the 'bad' side should be replaced but would it really be wrong to leave the other side alone. If you are mechanic please answer honestly I don't need the whole 'well we really should do all four' I know that's a money thing.

Answer 1

The theory and the reason it would be suggested to replace all four is because, if one failed then any of the others might be near the breaking point also.
But, you're correct in being skeptical and suspicious of the salesperson's intention...obviously, they are there to bring in as much business as they can.
You could probably get away with just replacing the bad one but not to be surprised if during the next year or so that another one fails.
Probably cheaper in the long run to replace all four while the parts can be ordered and installed all at the same time...plus it will give you piece of mind knowing you don't have to worry about any more ball joint problems.

Answer 2

What kind of vehicle is it? Blazer? Explorer??

If you've got just one out of four bad you technically only have to replace the one bad one. It might not be a bad idea to replace the other on the same side because depending on the vehicle there might be a cost savings in labor if both are done together. And the other would have worn out eventually anyway.

If the ball joints on the other side don't show any excessive wear replacing them would be purely elective on your part. From a mechanical perspective, there is no NEED to replace them if they are functioning properly and do not yet show signs of excessive wear. Keep in mind, especially on some vehicles which I won't name (wait, I guess I did) these WILL eventually fail and unlike the OE parts the aftermarket ones can be greased, so they should never wear out. Some brands like MOOG also come with a lifetime warranty on the part. This can make just doing all four and getting it over with attractive.

So short answer, while I certainly do not blame the shop for suggesting you replace all four, you only NEED to replace the bad one. You may ELECT to replace more as but it is purely as preventive maintenance - like replacing a belt before it brakes - but that is all it is at this point.

Answer 3

When I do a ball joint and its one of two or one of four, I usually recomend replacing the rest of them, unless you know the cause of why the ball joint went bad. Usually if one goes the opposite side ball joint is soon to follow, if it wore out from wear. I recomend doing them all because in the long run it saves the cliant money because you already have the one side apart (to do the other joint, in a 4 joint setup) and the other side too because it will still be combining labour. For expample, if to do one joint is $200, and to replace the other one on that side, is $75 extra, then the customer just saved $125 from having to do the job twice with the other joint being the bad one, and to do all 4 lets say $500, compaired to $200 for each joint, the customer is still coming out $300 ahead. However, If i know the car hit a curb and the customer told me that, I will go for replacing the damaged/possibly damaged parts. If everything checks out good and its just one joint needing replacing and that was the only damage from hitting a curb then I would go and replace just the one joint. One thing a mechanic hates is when a car comes back for the same problem, and its the other part that the customer did not want replaced the first time. Not only does it cost the customer more, it wastes the customers time for having to give the car up to have the job done again, it also wastes mechanics time doing the job twice.

Answer 4

The Answer to your Question ALL DEPENDS On Whether your auto mechanic is Honest or not. If your Mechanic is honest; then if your Ball Joint on one side of your car is bad then USUALLY All 4 are worn and should be replaced. You'll NORMALLY save money this way!

On the other hand if your mechanic is dishonest; then if you replace all 4 of your ball joints instead of just 2; then you've just doubled the amount of money that you've just been ripped off! ! !

Answer 5

Ok:: you have two worn ball joints on one side of car,
On my car,that my wife and Kids are in,I would change all four,
(Why with wear beyond limits on one side) ,The Mechanic
will not warranty< His work without front end aliginment.I replace my own, and do a Tie Rod end check.You can check the other side to be satsified; your Manuel will tell you what to look for.:

Answer 6

Well its more than that. Can you imagine how the ball joint could be worn out on one side of the car but still good on the other. I would expect that they would have similar wear. Goes along with the idea of replacing both headlights if one burns out.

Answer 7

id replace all of them at the same time. it will save you money in the long run. cuz wat if 3 months later the other ones go bad and you stuck without a car and having to do the same thing all over again. plus not to mention paying for all the labor and parts prices again. when you could have just done it all at once while they were doing the other ones. think bout they already have the car up in the air and all the tools needed for one, why not just do the rest while there down there.

Answer 8

I'd only recommend ones that were bad....as long as the others are still within spec I wouldn't fool with them.

Answer 9

I would do both sides while I was doing it.I wouldnt want to get 2 months down the road and have to do the same crap again.

Answer 10

Change the one bad one