Ball joints and boots.

[SteveJG1]

Hey guys while I had my ix in at the dealer (broke a sway bar link) they showed me that my right ball joint is a bit loose, and the rubber boot around the right front wheel is a bit torn. I saw it myself, and though I could live with the loose ball joint (its not noticible while driving yet) the torn boot scares me. I bought this car to drive it hard during the harsh upstate NY winters, and I'm concerned that once it gets contaminated with road salt and snow (after the first snow storm) it will die an untimely death. The rips arent visible yet, but you can see where the grease has started to come out.

How big of a job is it to replace the boots? Is there a temporary fix?

At what point do you stop spending money on these cars? I paid 1100 for the car, spent 500 on the timing belt, and 100 for the sway bar link. It runs very good, but I really really dont want to go over 2 grand as the car has 240,000 miles on it.

I'm at a fork in the road...do I let time and nature run its course or do I fix this?

[tjmonsen5]

You fix it. That ball joint needs to be fixed ASAP. Once they start getting loose, there is no stopping them. Im sure it is rusty and the boot is torn on it also. You run the risk of the ball popping out of the socket and the wheel coming loose from the car.

I dont know anything about the boot, but i would guess a new axle is needed. They arent too pricey.

[barbierij]

I have read that we have to replace the entire control arm to change the ball joints in our iXs. I think I might try to find a used one and get a ball joint separator from harbor freight and replace one to see if it can be done. regular e30 control arm is around $100, ix control arm is around $300

[tjmonsen5]

I replaced my ball joint, pressed it out of the control arm. It wasnt fun but i saved alot of money. I rented a press from autozone.

[j2quik]

If your car is running well and this is your only issue, I say fix it. These cars are tanks and since you've already taken care of one of the few weak spots (timing belt), you should be set.

I'm almost finished with replacing most of the front suspension on my e30 and it has 290,000 miles on it.

I'm doing new:
- control arms w/ball joints
- control arm brackets
- inner & outer tie rods
- boots
- sway bar links
- bushings
- hardware

If you can do the work yourself, you can save yourself a ton of money. This is the first time I've done this type of work and it's been a great learning experience. Patience and having the right tools (i.e., bigger wrench, bigger hammer) make this job very achievable.

[jmenacker]

Hey guys while I had my ix in at the dealer (broke a sway bar link)and the rubber boot around the right front wheel is a bit torn.

If the torn boot is at either end of the front axle (CV joints), then fix it ASAP or sell the car to someone who will.

Front end parts for the iX are relatively expensive -- axles are well over a grand each. CV joint boot repair kits should be less than $20 each. A split boot repair kit can be installed to protect the joint on an emergency basis.

Replacing the boots is a bit tricky without expert help. It can be tough to free the axle splines from the wheel hub and removing/replacing CV joint circlips can drive one to distraction.

If taken care of, then you should be rewarded with a dependable car that laughs at snow.

Joe M in WV

[aaronhoy]

I replaced my ball joint, pressed it out of the control arm. It wasnt fun but i saved alot of money. I rented a press from autozone.

I've been wanting to do that for a while. I tore one of the boots, but the ball joint hasn't been getting loose yet so I was putting it off. I didn't know you could borrow a press from autozone! That's not on the normal loan a tool sheet, how did you find out about it? And where did you get the replacement ball joints? Did you do the inner ones too or just the outer?

[Dub-Dub]

Oh, the mis-information on bimmerforums! We're talking CV joints, not control arms... and they are prohibitively expensive on an IX! Try ~$1400.

You can get a boot kit from AutohausAZ.com for $10 for an IX... instead of $50 from Bavauto... but doing the job takes removing the axle, and can be quite a job. Do some searches on here and other IX specific sites to gauage whether you can do it yourself.

Not doing it essentially means you're planning to get rid of the car asap... for it WILL end badly. Boots don't heal themselves, the joint will only get worse.

[aaronhoy]

Wait, what? But the OP said ball joints... hmm

[tjmonsen5]

I've been wanting to do that for a while. I tore one of the boots, but the ball joint hasn't been getting loose yet so I was putting it off. I didn't know you could borrow a press from autozone! That's not on the normal loan a tool sheet, how did you find out about it? And where did you get the replacement ball joints? Did you do the inner ones too or just the outer?

I just asked for the ball joint press. It was 100 bucks, but of course you get the money refunded back to your credit card when you return it. I only replaced the outer joint because i am tight on cash, and the inner was still tight and the boot was fine, so whatever. I plan on buying a pelican kit in the summer to do a front end total refresh. I got my ball joint from a local euro parts place, but im not sure on the quality. It was just a quick fix.

[SteveJG1]

Where can you get this boot repair kit you speak of?

The ball joint is loose when pried with a screwdriver or prybar....that still as bad? I cant feel it in the steering wheel at all yet...

[tjmonsen5]

Where can you get this boot repair kit you speak of?

The ball joint is loose when pried with a screwdriver or prybar....that still as bad? I cant feel it in the steering wheel at all yet...

Yes its very bad, replace it as soon as you can. When it starts to go, it goes FAST.

[SteveJG1]

Looks like I might just sell the car...I dont want to be in it over 2 grand. What about the temporary boot fix though?

[TeamGrey]

Don't sell the car. You will be disappointed. The car will haunt you to the point where you have to go buy another E30 and have to do all the work you just did -- again -- and in a car you don't know. Unless you're buying a brand-new car, don't sell this one.

[genocide98]

to be honest you can't expect much from a $1000 iX. When its time to do maintenance on some of those parts it's $$$$$$.

[SteveJG1]

does anyone have a DIY for replacing the ball joint/control arm? Local shop said the only way you can buy a control arm is from BMW, which is pricey.

[tjmonsen5]

does anyone have a DIY for replacing the ball joint/control arm? Local shop said the only way you can buy a control arm is from BMW, which is pricey.

wrong.
You can buy individual ball joints from Napa or wherever for under 40 bucks.
Or, you can go to www.pelicanparts.com and feast out on all the nice OEM parts for cheap. Most people get their parts from that site.

To remove the ball joint, take off wheel, and remove the nut on top of ball joint. Ball joint will drop, now rent a ball joint press from autozone and push it out. Press new one in. Bolt back up, your done.

[bimmernaught]

wrong.
You can buy individual ball joints from Napa or wherever for under 40 bucks.
Or, you can go to www.pelicanparts.com and feast out on all the nice OEM parts for cheap. Most people get their parts from that site.

To remove the ball joint, take off wheel, and remove the nut on top of ball joint. Ball joint will drop, now rent a ball joint press from autozone and push it out. Press new one in. Bolt back up, your done.

The IX front end is entirely different from any other e30.

Outer ball joints cost more, inners are difficult to get and much more $$.
Front axles, as said before are MUCH MUCH $$$.
Getting the outer balljoints separated from the strut is not easy if you want to save the joint. If its already screwed, use a pickle fork or whack the CA beside the joint to knock it loose. Job can be done for about $60 yourself.

Replacing the axle boots is trickier than it looks. Do yourself a favor and do it yourself. A boot kit is less than $20 but it will take several hours to do, so you'll save hundreds. You need to remove wheel, balljoint, axle nut, push out axle, put it in a vise, pull back the outer boot and remove small circlip that holds the joint to the shaft inner spline, remove bad boots, replace with new and reassemble.
Its worth it to have a second person around to do this, and a few beers.
If you don't feel up to the task, pay someone who is. These are some of the most minor issues you can deal with on an IX that could potentially cost a lot if you neglect them.

Keep the car, fix it yourself.
There are tutorials on how to do anyhting on an IX if you search around. Start by joining e30tech.

BTW, learning to change the Timing belt yourself will save you a shitload.

[genocide98]

wrong.
You can buy individual ball joints from Napa or wherever for under 40 bucks.
Or, you can go to www.pelicanparts.com and feast out on all the nice OEM parts for cheap. Most people get their parts from that site.

To remove the ball joint, take off wheel, and remove the nut on top of ball joint. Ball joint will drop, now rent a ball joint press from autozone and push it out. Press new one in. Bolt back up, your done.

There are also individual ball joints and ball joint kits available on Ebay. On a regular e30 it's debatable if its even worth the few dollars you save over replacing stock control arms. on the iX they're 3x the price, so it's much more cost effective to repair rather than replace, ya know?

You'll have to remove the entire control arm and then some on a normal e30, on an iX you're looking at drivetrain removal too.

You don't have to use pickle forks- there are all kinds of ball joint removal tools out there and I'm 100% sure you can find one that will work on an e30.

Personally, assuming the control arms are straight I'd just get all new ball joints and rent a press. That way you dont have to worry about damage, and you get fresh joints which hopefully wear evenly instead of giving you a nasty surprise and making you work the entire front suspension over again.

Front suspsension overhaul isn't that hard of a job. If you had everything ready you could probably take care of the entire thing in a long day or maybe a day and the next morning.

EDIT:

I'm just trying to point out that if you do it yourself you could easily turn that several hundred dollar bill into a manageable $200 tops, even if you take the control arm to a machinist to install the bushings. $100 or so for the control arm balljoints, maybe $30-$40 for a single, and the boots are anywhere from like $6-$12? plus shipping depending on the specific boot.

Depending on the damage to the boot, and it may not be too hard to fix it, and I have repaired mine with a tire repair kit when I tore it during swap. It's just not worth skating out on when you could repair it for so cheap, with minimal labor.