While laying under the rover I noticed that my ball joint boots are cracking. Then I learned that you have to replace the entire bar with the ball joint. I haven't noticed any play in them so how long can they last? Is it worth it to get the heavy duty bars or just OE? Are there others out there that anyone would recommend? The first picture has another boot that is bad but I am unsure of the name. Does anyone know what the replacement part name is? Thank you all for the advice.

 

You are in trouble. How many miles on your truck, I haven't seen one with so many warn parts, including the lower ball joints. You had better start saving your money cause you will be looking at some big bucks, the good thing driving it won't cost you any more, at least not for awhile.

 

The truck has around 104000 miles. I live in the desert so I am sure the extreme heat has caused the boots to crack. It feels solid when driving, even when hitting bumps the truck doesn't swerve. I wiggled them around and it there doesn't seem to be any play. I figured it would be anywhere from 250-350 depending on which type of drag link and tie rods i get. Has any How much does it cost do do the lower ball joint? Does anyone have any recommendations for the drag link or tie rod?

 

You have to pull that whole side down, first though you need to check the uppers and the lower on the other side. Been a long time since I tried to do an estimate for a ball joint but I bet you are looking easily at $500 plus for one side and you may have others that need to be looked at.

 

The only one that is cracked is the one in the picture and the other three look decent. Are you saying that this has to be done at a shop or could I attempt to do it at home. I have some tools and am fairly mechanical. I found the lower ball joint at Atlantic British for 25 dollars. Is this the right part? Is most of the cost labor?

 

Get yourself a free Rave CD downloaded from on line and start reading. You will need to have a shop press out the old ball joint and press the new one in. I would have a mechanic check the rest of the front end out first to make sure nothing else is needed.
This won't be an easy job.

 

http://www.rovertracks.com/products/steering.html

I would get the HD drag link from Keith at Rover Tracks. Great guy to deal with. He can give you all the information you need.

Very happy with mine.

 

Those bars look like they are built for a tank. Thank you Wolkesan, that is exactly what I was looking for. Where did you pick up the ends for them? It doesn't look like they sell any on the site.

Mike, I have the rave cd and I have been searching but I can't find much about the lower ball joint. By looking under the front axle tab I see that I will have to rip apart the hub bearing, steering knuckle, ect. Does anyone have a good write up or can someone help me pinpoint where to look in rave?

 

You will buy two D90 tie rod ends (one with left hand threads). I needed them pretty quickly, so I ordered from Rovers North (Genuine LR about $30 each), but if you talk to Keith he can tell you exactly what you need and a cheap place to order them. I just don't remember the name of the place he suggested. I also put on an OME steering damper at the same time.