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Ball joint not seating properly after taking it to a reputable shop

First make sure the shop manager and owner have seen the photo!!! Give them one chance to do the right thing.

Weld it? Total BS, it is either defective, or not installed properly. Either way they should be castrated for letting it leave the shop like that.

Then, if they do NOT behave properly, Have Uncle Willy, the family Mob lawyer call them, and explain it again, LOL.

Send the photo and explanation to the local TV news investigation team to see if they want a good story.

Send the photo and details to any and all state and federal highway safety, and insurance regulatory government agencies you can find on Google.

See if the shop is missing any of the 99 city, county and state permits it should have, LOL.

Find out who there liability insurance carrier is and send them the details and photos, asking if they are charging the shop enough for liability insurance.

Picket the front of the shop with a massive photo of the ball joint on the picket sign.

Post up the details on every online car repair website that allows the public to post complaints.

That should be good for starters, LOL..:laugh:

BTW, I don't use repair shops, I do all my own work, not sure why LOL.

Good luck, But no way I would drive that!!!!

Oh, and lastly, don;t waist time on lawyers, go to small claims court and learn how to file a lawsuit, if it gets that far. They are cheap.

I once sued an ex landlord for failure to return a deposit as an individual for a $100 deposit, LOL, for the principle of it. He spent, as a corporation about $3000 fighting me, cost me $50 and some time (does not pay to piss me off, LOL), then settled out of court minutes before the trial......
 
It was repaired in an unprofessional and unsafe manner.


I would not even go that far, as it was not even repaired, may be worse now than when he took it in?
 
I always Google "X-Product or X-shop..... complaints reviews" and look for the bad stuff online before I trust and buy any product or service.

You guys are awesome this blew up on fb but I didn't put the shop but got more I go here instantly than there ...id dispute the charge what would I even say
 
Ball joints is a tough job, unless the shop had done it before or had an experienced mechanic doing to job I could easily see a young kid being handed a tough job he wasn't prepared for. I only imagine this scenario because of my nephews, I can imagine them thinking the jobs done cause the tool was hard to move. "Meh! Uncle are you running a sweatshop?! I've started sweating, I need to go inside. "
 
Everyone agrees, this is not acceptable.

Now, let the manager and/or owner do their job.
 
One of the hardest things I ever did. Even a BFH was no help, LOL. And the wrong tool makes it a nightmare.

Ball joints is a tough job, unless the shop had done it before or had an experienced mechanic doing to job I could easily see a young kid being handed a tough job he wasn't prepared for. I only imagine this scenario because of my nephews, I can imagine them thinking the jobs done cause the tool was hard to move. "Meh! Uncle are you running a sweatshop?! I've started sweating, I need to go inside. "
 
One of the hardest things I ever did. Even a BFH was no help, LOL. And the wrong tool makes it a nightmare.



I tried to do it without the tool, got nowhere with the BFH. With the tool it the amount of torque it took to begin to budge was a hell of a lot. The passenger side each made a hell of a crack sound when if finally broke free, drivers side was only slightly easier. Made me really appreciate how well built the tool was.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
One of the hardest things I ever did. Even a BFH was no help, LOL. And the wrong tool makes it a nightmare.

The trick is to get the press on and hit it with impact. While doing that take a hammer and hit the inner C just next to the ball joint. You don't have to hit hard. Those hits will make it come out like butter.

The same trick works with a TRE. Hit the side of the knuckle or pitman while applying pressure against it and the end will come right now.
 
You think so? I did it for the very first time on my '98 with the loaner tool from O'reely and thought it was a snap...

Maybe I just got lucky?



I dunno, maybe. First you tried it the smart way with the tool. Some people only need a BFH to change them. BFH Didn't budge ours which were probably the age of the jeep. With the tool still needed a cheater bar to get enough force to press them out.

I do think the next time the ball joints need to be replaced on the early 90s jeeps it'll be easier. Who knows maybe the late XJ had better designs.

I still have to do this job on my 85 which there is something different about that job I forget what it is.
 
I had more trouble rebuilding my double cardan than i did with my ball joints. But i have the correct tools and that cardan was pretty rusted up.
My guess is the op's shop didnt have the correct adapter for d30's and pressed it in sideways. May or may not of messed the c up and probably could have just used a new ball joint but now that they welded it there is no cheap easy fix
 
They said $260 to put in a New axle that I would be supplying... than I start saying it's messed up and he should just take care of it and he knocks 100 off lol
 
I never go back to a place that messed stuff up. They just mess it up again and make it worse. I am speaking from experience.

They said $260 to put in a New axle that I would be supplying... than I start saying it's messed up and he should just take care of it and he knocks 100 off lol
 
They said $260 to put in a New axle that I would be supplying... than I start saying it's messed up and he should just take care of it and he knocks 100 off lol

Its an easy swap. Do your self a favor and spend the money on tools and do it yourself.
I understand not everyone has a place to do that kind of mechanical work but I bet if you look around or maybe ask some of the members local to your area someone will let you use the space.
 
Mcmadman, I have an '01, and had all four of the main balljoints replaced a couple weeks ago at 4wheelparts. I had the exact same situation with the upper balljoints. I took it back to them and told them the mechanic forgot the boots. They looked it over and gave me a call back explaining that the new style Moog balljoints have an inner seal, and that there is no boot, hence the gap where the boot used to go. I looked at it closer, and there is in fact a seal up in there. It appears that the balljoint shaft is pressed on as far as it will go. The castlenut seats properly and takes the cotter key just fine. I went to a local parts shop and ordered the Moog balljoint just to look at it. When it came in, sure enough, no boot provided. The visual dimensions of the new and old balljoints appear the same. I still do not like how it looks, but as I said, the balljoint shaft IS in fact pressed into the 'C' just fine. No issues driving, and handling is great now with the new balljoints. If the balljoint was in fact NOT installed all the way, I really dont think the lower balljoint would have engaged either, and it certainly wouldnt be operating properly. I did use a mirror to look at my 'C' braket holes, and they are not wallowed out, either. So, that gap is simply where the boot used to be. And now with no boot......shes got a gap.
 
Mcmadman, I have an '01, and had all four of the main balljoints replaced a couple weeks ago at 4wheelparts. I had the exact same situation with the upper balljoints. I took it back to them and told them the mechanic forgot the boots. They looked it over and gave me a call back explaining that the new style Moog balljoints have an inner seal, and that there is no boot, hence the gap where the boot used to go. I looked at it closer, and there is in fact a seal up in there. It appears that the balljoint shaft is pressed on as far as it will go. The castlenut seats properly and takes the cotter key just fine. I went to a local parts shop and ordered the Moog balljoint just to look at it. When it came in, sure enough, no boot provided. The visual dimensions of the new and old balljoints appear the same. I still do not like how it looks, but as I said, the balljoint shaft IS in fact pressed into the 'C' just fine. No issues driving, and handling is great now with the new balljoints. If the balljoint was in fact NOT installed all the way, I really dont think the lower balljoint would have engaged either, and it certainly wouldnt be operating properly. I did use a mirror to look at my 'C' braket holes, and they are not wallowed out, either. So, that gap is simply where the boot used to be. And now with no boot......shes got a gap.

If you look at Mcmadman's pictures, the cotter pin does not even engage the castle nut. The cotter pin is sitting below the castle nut. This job was done incorrectly. There are some crap parts out there these days. MOOG is not the good brand it once was.
 
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Interesting, it looks like the wrong part length, thus the wrong part as well.

If you look at Mcmadman's pictures, the cotter pin does not even engage the castle nut. The cotter pin is sitting below the castle nut. This job was done incorrectly. There are some crap parts out there these days. MOOG is not the good brand it once was.
 
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