isuzu trooper lower ball joint replacement

[THSDragoon]

hey all, the self proclaimed black sheep is back with a few questions to all who can help. so not too long ago, i got a letter telling me that i need to renew my registration (which as we all know includes safety inspections, and emissions). well, for the past year and a half, since i last ran forest lake, my isuzu has been pulling to the right. when i went to get an alignment done on it (after forest lake), i was told that it would be a waste of my money and time to do so until i fixed a few parts. so being a poor college student living in my parents basement, i let it slide. so today i got a quick inspection done (knowing full well i would fail) just to get an idea as to what i would need to fix. about the only thing on that list was to replace my lower ball joints as a suggestion. they also mentioned that my wheel bearings felt slightly loose, but could possibly be fixed with simply replacing my joints.

so my questions are 1) when i replace the ball joints, should i also consider replacing my tie rods and/or ends? 2) what is the possibility of the bearings being tightened back up with this replacement? 3) should i just be done with it and replace the bearings all together at the same time? 4) is there anything else that could possibly be making my trooper track to the right? and if so, what would it be? 5) one other thing i forgot to mention, is that the driver side tire seems to be having lots more wear on the inner part of the tire. what would be causing this? or would this be just an alignment problem?

thank you for all input in advance!

Will Adams

 

[sixstringsteve]

Welcome back Will, it's good to have you back safe and sound.

I've never worked on a trooper, but I'd do the lower BJs first and possibly the tie rods then get an alignment. At that point you'll know whether your wheel bearing is bad or not. A wheel bearing will make more noise when you turn it to one side vs the other.

 

[TJDukit]

I agree with Steve. Get the ball joint and tie rod ends done first. Once those things are replaced...which also happen to be cheaper I'm sure, will make it easier to diagnose a bad wheel bearing or tell you that the wheel bearings are fine.

 

[Spork]

What I did for the tie rods. I don't think it is worth replacing with factory parts.
http://www.rme4x4.com/showthread.php?90861-Where-to-go-from-here-(tie-rod)&highlight=isuzu+tie+rod

Repacking the bearings may help and get things tightened back up to where they need to be. Tire wear is probably an alignment issue, however they won't do the alignment until you do the other work.

 

[Stephen]

Lower ball joints are pretty easy and cheap to replace. And you'll be surprised how much that can improve your handling. While you're at it, you might also consider doing the upper ball joint flip mod. Tire wear is likely the alignment.

I did the same thing as Scott with the tie rods, definitely the thing to do if you are looking replace the TRE's.

 

[THSDragoon]

perfect! thank you for the advice, and I saw what you did with your TRE's Spork, I plan on upgrading them as well so I wont run as great a risk of breaking them. now i need to see if my dad will help me pay for it along with tires.... Getting married, going to school, and getting registration done all at the same time is expensive! :sick: but, it's all a process of learning how to live in this crazy world! :greg: