Thread: New ball joint too loose?

Hey guys, just refreshing my suspension at the moment on the n14 (b13).

Got 2 sets of ball joints. Autocom/Echlin and also Teknorot (Turkish brand). Both seemed very well made and I opted for the Teknorot as they were marginally taller. However, after having the, pressed into the lca's I noticed that the one moves extremely freely. I can literally move it around with two fingers and little effort. The other joint is stiff and takes some effort too move by hand. Before being installed in the lca I couldt move it by hand at all.

The old joints coming out of my car are still stiff like new ones. But their boots are torn.

Is the loose joint a problem? Should I return it?

I installed the ones on the left...

This is a very common problem with aftermarket ball joints.. The OEM ones I find fit the tightest. You can switch the boots over/buy oem BJ's/ buy new control arms.. Or the last least favorable is tack weld them in.

No the balljoints fit the lca just fine. They one is moving too freely as if its a joystick on an old game console.

Oh ok I see. You want these to be a stiff as possible, but still move with force. The other ones will wear out real fast or already have some play when installed


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If the actual joint itself has play (side to side play or is loose in the socket) then I'd consider it a problem. If it moves freely but there is no slop or play in the joint then I wouldn't consider it an issue, but if you don't feel comfortable with that then don't run them.

What's strange to me is the one was stiff and the other one not. Had it pressed out and returned to the supplier. They sent me a new one. Damn shlep to uninstall and reinstall but I'll sleep better.....