Need advice on wear indicators

[SVO9844]

Wear indicators do you guys think they still have life bought them used one has bad dust boot

[SVOeric]

Those look OK, but to be honest, I find the best test is to feel them, are they tight, does the arm hold in place, or just fall.

the spec is, so long as the indicator is sticking out, they are good.

This one is bad......

[SVO9844]

They are tight not sloppy at all. Will zerk fittings help them last longer?

[SVOeric]

nope, not that I'm aware of.


best thing to do is clean them out real good and pack fresh grease in the boot. So long as the boots stay in good shape and keep moisture and dirt out, they will last a long time.

[svono50]

I would side with Eric, no need for the grease zerks and you will still get long life out of them. As the ball joints wear the indicator/button will move up into the unit and end up looking like Eric's picture. Make sure you replace the boot when it breaks/tears with a urethane unit and repack with fresh grease for best results. Letting dirt/grime in there will cause premature wear. My original units have ~110K on them and are still tight and the indicator is still well below the plate for reference.

[SVO9844]

Cool thanks guys I ordered boots from SVPV on Monday haven't heard back through email or phone call are they still in buisness. Planed on doing job over weekend.
I sent message to Paul hope he answers.

[svono50]

Paul is still in business, likely a busy time of the year for him with spring almost here now, so I am sure he will get back to you soon.

[SVOeric]

so to be clear......
dirt and moisture are what ruin ball-joints.
my suggestion is to clean out all the old grease (cause the old grease has crap in it by now)
put in plenty of fresh clean grease
put a new/good condition boot over it to keep it protected.

and let it ride.

I'm sure SVPU is still up and running, I suspect they may be checking with his wholesaler to make sure the boot is still available if they don't have any in stock.
but I'd almost guarantee (something I don't do a lot) you'll hear from them soon.

[SVO9844]

Received balljoint dust boot cover from SVPv Look kind of small to me has anyone used them. I compared them next to new tie rod.

[svono50]

I haven't used those, I replaced mine with some Prothane units that look larger than the ones you have there. I do have to say the ones I have are a bit of a loose fit to the ball joint and not quite what I was hoping for. My boot just sits over the ball joint and gets kind of squished over the edge with suspension fully unloaded (pic #3), but sits nice and flush when the suspension is loaded (pic #2) I wonder if yours will be a more snug fit to the bottom and help keep more 'stuff' out of the joint??

Ball Joint - Energy Suspension_Boot_00.jpg Ball Joint - Energy Suspension_Boot_01.jpg Ball Joint - Energy Suspension_Boot_02.jpg

[SVO9844]

Update

Fit like a glove ready to install

[svono50]

Nice, I like the look of the fit on those better than what I currently have.