ball joint & Strut Replacement 944-86 na

[jchiodi]

I was told by mechanic I trust that the drivers side ball joint and strut need replacement.. Cost to replace with genuine porsche parts (only way he'd do it)
about 1,100! I'm new to Porsches, but from reading here, I'm guessing I have the aluminum a-arms. Can these be rebuilt from kit? Am I stuck replacing the whole strut assembly? I have done these type of repairs before, mostly on Volvo, without too much problem.

[TexasBlake]

Ball joints are gravy:

http://www.texasblake.com/porsche/tech/controlarms.html


The ball joints are "non serviceable" according to Porsche, so your mechanic (who seems to not know anything about 944s) thinks the only way to replace them is to replace the entire control arm.

If you have the stock '86 struts you should just be able to replace the inserts.

[175mph951]

rebuild them with the race ball joints...they use brass busings instead of plastic...i believe its rennbay that sells them. as far as struts id go with bilsteins not factory boges...they will last longer and haved a great warrenty

[andyshoun]

I swapped out the alum control arms for earlier steel with replaceable ball joints. You can do this on the 85.5 and 86 year cars without any other modifications. You can get new control arm bushings and still save lots of $$ over the new parts. If you don't want to do the work yourself you can have the mechanic do it and you will still save lots. Next time you need a new ball joint it will be a quick, easy, cheep fix. It is one of the easiest jobs I've done on my car.