Date:         Thu, 21 Nov 1996 18:38:58 -0800
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         tcopley@unixg.ubc.ca (Tobin Copley)
Subject:      Re: Save your ball joints!

At 8:05 PM 11/21/96, jag@cs.rochester.edu wrote:
>...After 10 years or so, the rubber [on the ball joint] usually
>cracks, and the previously sealed joint is now exposed to the
>elements. The Bentley manual says: replace ball joint!
>
>Instead of replacing the joints per Bentley, I thought about other
>solutions:
> [Replace the boot: too tough to be worth it]
> [Self vulcanizing rubber tape: appears OK after 6 months]

Another option done around here is to tap a grease nipple into the ball
joint to allow grease that's dried up or is leaking out to be topped up or
replaced.  I think it should be possible to do this on a bus.  I did this
recently on my Hy*ndai P*ny [sorry, sorry...] recently, and while the
problem causing the leaking grease (a small hole in a boot) is still there,
it bought me some time before I have to replace the joints, which is a job
I'd like to put off for as long as possible.

If I can keep good clean grease in the joints, I expect to get several more
years of use out of my existing joints.  And that's good enough for my
"daily" winter driver.

(I did only the lower joints BTW, but it's usually the lowers that wear the
fastest anyway.)

Tobin
'76 westy
'87 Hy*ndai P*ny

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tobin T. Copley                                          tobin.copley@ubc.ca
B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS                 Voice: (604) 631-5753
St. Paul's Hospital                                      Fax: (604) 631-5005
Rm 570-43  1081 Burrard Street      http://cfeweb.hivnet.ubc.ca/chrp/project
Vancouver, B.C. Canada  V6Z 1Y6