Is it possible to replace ONLY the ball joint without having to buy complete lower control arm? I see some for sale for only the lower B.J. for around 50. I understnad it may need to be pressed in, and thats fine we have a small machine shop where I work that can do that no problem. Im trying to keep this repair as cheap costing as possible as the cars gotta last 3 weeks til trade in. thanks in advance guys.
Front Lower Ball Joint Replacement
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tammiesmurano03
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I'd go for it. Anything going to be better than the worn out crap you are driving on. My murano is at 180 000 km now, I will be happy to get 250 000km out of this car then it's going to the junkyard. Already got my money out of it
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846 Posts
I've been through a couple of these but need to get another set of fresh control arms on. I did the good stuff and I did eBay. I am looking to get the better stuff, but I have high mileage. Do I go Dorman or Mevotech? It's about a $20 difference in total and I dont expect to keep the car for more than another year...maybe a little more.
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Hopefully someone is still monitoring this thread. I need to replace the control arm on my wife's 07, from what I've read I don't need anything more than what's already in my garage, however; my father in law says that since it's AWD you need a lift to replace LCA. I haven't seen anyone specify this, can you offer insight?
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Lift? Jack stands do the same.
There is some confusion about awd and the cv axle on the passenger side and mixing of fluids etc and I don't that's been clarified but as for lca, I don't see any reason of a concern regarding lifting.
There is some confusion about awd and the cv axle on the passenger side and mixing of fluids etc and I don't that's been clarified but as for lca, I don't see any reason of a concern regarding lifting.
No lift needed. I did my 2006 in garage. Placed on jackstand direct to frame so I could use my floor jack to raise / lower the suspension to help align the ball joint with the hub etc... As for mixing of fluid... IF your replacing the Passenger side AXLE shaft... It has an inner and out shaft... Once removed, it is possible for CVT Trans fluid to drain into your Transfer case. To prevent this... Drain a couple quarts of CVT into a clean container. Replace axle shaft. Then refill the CVT fluid. It's a good idea after the job to drain your transfer case fluid and replace... as this is the most abused / overlooked fluid on your Murnao. It holds very little and every time I change transfer case fluid on a Murano, it comes out very black. It's a simple process, but there is limited space to remove the fill bolt, and get new fluid pumped back in. I use a hand pump that runs from the gear oil bottle, and place a 90 degree plastic fitting on the hose end that slides into the transfer case plug hole... then pump slowly until fluid runs out. There's about 1" clearance to do this. It only takes about 1/2 quart. I use Mobil 1 75w-90 synthetic. I've replaced the Transfer case fluid on 4 Murano's and 2 Rogues that I've owned.
So Control arms are a DIY job. No lift needed. A good pickle fork or two pickle forks are needed to release the old ball joint... Some can be a bear. A large shot peen hammer works too. After replacing, my Murano continues to drive rock solid. It's been 30,000 miles and I used Advance auto parts brand and a 30% coupon... so just over $100 bucks per control arm!
So Control arms are a DIY job. No lift needed. A good pickle fork or two pickle forks are needed to release the old ball joint... Some can be a bear. A large shot peen hammer works too. After replacing, my Murano continues to drive rock solid. It's been 30,000 miles and I used Advance auto parts brand and a 30% coupon... so just over $100 bucks per control arm!
Successfully replaced both front lower control arms (LCAs) on our 2005 SE in latter March 2016 (approx 145,000 miles). No problems with the install...until 3 months later when the original LCA Pivot Bolt (part # 54368-CA00A) broke.
I had ordered new LCA pivot bolts and LCA frame bolts from my local Nissan dealer however they didn't arrive in time and so we had used the original bolts for the replacement installation.
The fact that 3 months later we had a steering/alignment problem and found the broken pivot bolt gives rise to the following question:
What is the correct method for tightening LCA bolts?
Answer 1: OK to simply tighten with the front suspension hanging in the air;
Answer 2: Must have wheels on the ground or at least wheel on an elevated ramp or rack so that the pressure is neutral on the LCA attachment points while tightening the bolts to the torque spec. The reason given for this method is that, at "wheels on the ground" position, the LCAs are at minimal pressure or torque, and thus the bolts (especially the pivot bolt) will not prematurely wear out.
Several mechanics, including a local Nissan master tech, says that Answer 1 is they way it's always done. However, I see in the Nissan manual a reference to "wheels on the ground" as the preferred method for LCA bolt tightening.
Please weigh in on this question and your experiences.
Thank you.
I had ordered new LCA pivot bolts and LCA frame bolts from my local Nissan dealer however they didn't arrive in time and so we had used the original bolts for the replacement installation.
The fact that 3 months later we had a steering/alignment problem and found the broken pivot bolt gives rise to the following question:
What is the correct method for tightening LCA bolts?
Answer 1: OK to simply tighten with the front suspension hanging in the air;
Answer 2: Must have wheels on the ground or at least wheel on an elevated ramp or rack so that the pressure is neutral on the LCA attachment points while tightening the bolts to the torque spec. The reason given for this method is that, at "wheels on the ground" position, the LCAs are at minimal pressure or torque, and thus the bolts (especially the pivot bolt) will not prematurely wear out.
Several mechanics, including a local Nissan master tech, says that Answer 1 is they way it's always done. However, I see in the Nissan manual a reference to "wheels on the ground" as the preferred method for LCA bolt tightening.
Please weigh in on this question and your experiences.
Thank you.
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376 Posts
I replaced the LCAs on my MO about three yrs ago. Saves money on doing the repair myself but what a pain in the ass it was. I bought the new LCAs from RockAuto.
Recently when replacing the outer tie rod ends I realized that the ball joints where bad again. I called RockAuto and the LCAs I bought have a lifetime warranty. I will buy the new ones again and they will refund me once I ship back the bad ones.
Just not looking forward to doing this repair again. Having power tools makes the repair much easier. Got a friend who has a air compressor and power tools so I will be doing it at his place on a weekend while having a few beers. That should make this repair go smoother than the first time.
Recently when replacing the outer tie rod ends I realized that the ball joints where bad again. I called RockAuto and the LCAs I bought have a lifetime warranty. I will buy the new ones again and they will refund me once I ship back the bad ones.
Just not looking forward to doing this repair again. Having power tools makes the repair much easier. Got a friend who has a air compressor and power tools so I will be doing it at his place on a weekend while having a few beers. That should make this repair go smoother than the first time.
The compressor and power tools or beers?
i recently done this my self, but the presss i used didnt work to extract the b- joint ,what i did was cut the b-joint with a grinder & make it flat and two hits with the 3lb hammer and was out 
!! just be secure on hit the b joint not the control arms , and then i used the press to put it back it was easy for me i hope it does for you.
!! just be secure on hit the b joint not the control arms , and then i used the press to put it back it was easy for me i hope it does for you.I have replaced the front driver side ball joint (only) on my 2003 Nissan Murano....it is a pain but if you get a press that is made for it then it isn't so bad. I rented a press from Autozone that wasn't exactly made for this model and it made it tricky.
I would recommend that if your Murano has a lot of miles, it'd be better to replace the complete arm, that way you get new bushings also, or just get new bushings pressed into the old arm. I took a look at the rear bushings and not sure if that one can be pressed, or its one-piece with the rear arm support.
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1aauto.com
Partsgeek.com
It can be done however, if you cause it to insert slanted, its garbage.
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