balljoint issues

[mooshie]

Not sure if I have a problem or not...

I am changing out my hub bearing and have removed the whole hub to take and get a new bearing pressed in.

When I separated the steering arm ball joint a bit of black grease came out, the rubber boot is in good condition and the joint moves smoothly, is the grease an issue? thinking i should replace the tie rod end...
14916

also the upper ball joint is completely dry, looks like there has never been grease in there at all. I took the boot off and it is in good nick, but it does not seal up the joint at all, is it supposed to? the joint moves freely and smooth and i have not noticed any other problems with the driving of the car aside from the bearing.
14917

I have no experience with what is 'normal' here!

[CoZZm0]

If a little bit of grease comes out, its OK, just as long as you didn't split the boot.

I would imagine, but i do not know for sure, that there should be grease in the upper ball joint. When you pulled the boot off, was there debris inside like dirt/sand/etc ? If it was clean then a little dab of grease shouldn't hurt, but if the boot looks like it won't seal up the joint then grease will trap dirt and keep it in the joint.

[mooshie]

pretty reluctant to put grease on there as I reckon it would get dirty pretty quick. Anybody know for sure what the joint is supposed to be like?

[grifty]

ur not supposed to put grease in them, a little bit of grease coming out is alright as long as the boot is not damaged, the boot is there to pretty much protect dirt and moisture from getting in and to keep the grease in there aswell.

A new ball joint would be nice and firm when moving it, ones that move freely mean that they are worn. If you want you can replace them but if there isn't any free play when you put the wheel back on and wiggle the wheel back and forth from the 9 o'clock 3 o'clock positions and from 12 o'clock 6 o'clock potions then they dont need to be replaced. if you feel any free play from the 12 o'clock 6 o'clock position it could be the wheel bearing so it would be best to get a mate to wiggle the wheel while you have a look at where the free play is coming from.