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Ball joint boot

jbarner

CEG'er
Joined
Aug 8, 2013
Messages
37
I saw energy suspension ball joint boots mentioned in other threads but no one mentioned a part number..

Anyone have any clue what the part number is for the boot that willl work with our ball joints? (99 Contour - 2 bolt LCA)
 
PM terryford8 and he will share with you his experience. If you want to do it yourself see http://www.energysuspension.com/universal-products/tie-rod-end-dust-boots.html

On the Ford ball joint kits I have for the 2-bolt arm, A=0.740", B runs 1.76" to 1.83" dia, as it's tapered. Looks like the largest ES unit, 9.13119, might stretch to fit?

FWIW, RockAuto has ball joint kits for 99 Contour 2-bolt arms for $7 to $8 each, maybe buy the kit, throw away the ball joint and keep the boot?
 
Are the 2-bolt control arms still fairly cheap? If so I would just place the whole thing if there is an issue with the ball joint, this way one also gets new bushings in the control arm.
 
Are the 2-bolt control arms still fairly cheap? If so I would just place the whole thing if there is an issue with the ball joint, this way one also gets new bushings in the control arm.

At RockAuto, $35 to $70 each depending on brand, probably a bit more at a brick and mortar store.
 
Well I just replaced with whole new control arms..originals had 160k on them plus all the abuse of living up north for a few years before I was gifted the car from my aunt. But I am a broke college student (nearly done with my masters) - so I bought cheapo LCAs off ebay (AM auto I believe) and the ball joint boots don't seem that great so I was looking to just swap them out now since it wont be too difficult to pop the ball joints out and put boots on since they are freshly installed..

Assuming the 9.13119 may work - I would just cut the current boot off and slip the new one into place?

I'd buy the ball joint kits but what are the odds they are any better then the ones already on these new (but cheap) LCA?
 
You did the right thing, replacing the control arms, as at 160K miles (or km's?), the inner bushings were shot. I suspect the ball joint boots will hold together for at least a few years. I wouldn't take apart the suspension again to put on the ES boots, especially if there's some question about whether or not they'll fit properly.
 
You did the right thing, replacing the control arms, as at 160K miles (or km's?), the inner bushings were shot. I suspect the ball joint boots will hold together for at least a few years. I wouldn't take apart the suspension again to put on the ES boots, especially if there's some question about whether or not they'll fit properly.


Yeah - 160k miles :) - mostly everything on this car is shot LOL. Rust hit it hard from sitting up north and being salted etc. I am slowly replacing parts as I can afford it or have the spare time to - front struts are coming up next weekend and sway bar bushings on front and rear and sway bar links in the rear..not quite sure about doing rear struts or control arms @_@ but we'll see!
 
Are the 2-bolt control arms still fairly cheap? If so I would just place the whole thing if there is an issue with the ball joint, this way one also gets new bushings in the control arm.

Prob I have experienced is that NEW LCA's with BJ's displayed cracking BJ boots in less than 4k miles!!!! Why replace the whole LCA when poly (or good quality replacement boots such as MOOG) will address this issue? This assumes the BJ's are not contaminated and thus need replacement (in which case your logic is "spot on").
 
Yeah I don't think these ball joint boots are going to last long. My more pressing issue is the new crunching noise I have now as I turn my steering wheel..not sure if it's strut related (mount/bearing) or something else..

I had originally been a dummy and overlooked the minor detail of torquing all the LCA bolts and BJ bolt with the wheel on (ride level height)..not sure if that messed anything else but I did go back and unbolt and retorque everything and some noise went away but still something unhappy on my front end - mostly the driver side
 
I had originally been a dummy and overlooked the minor detail of torquing all the LCA bolts and BJ bolt with the wheel on (ride level height)..not sure if that messed anything else but I did go back and unbolt and retorque everything and some noise went away but still something unhappy on my front end - mostly the driver side
There aren't any bushings or pivot points in the Contour front suspension (either 2 or 4-bolt LCA's) that will be sensitive to ride height preload when the bolts are being torqued.

The Contour rear suspension is another matter, the outboard bushings in the lateral links and the trailing link are in axial shear and therefore should be torqued with the suspension at normal ride height. I do this by putting a jack under the knuckle and raising it to ride height before torquing bolts. These bushings don't have enough stiffness to affect ride height if torqued in the wrong position, but it will probably prolong bushing life if done right.

The front noise you're hearing when turning may be an upper strut bearing, these are known to get full of road dirt and water and get noisy and draggy. If you're going to replace struts, using new upper mounts and bearings is strongly encouraged.
 
There aren't any bushings or pivot points in the Contour front suspension (either 2 or 4-bolt LCA's) that will be sensitive to ride height preload when the bolts are being torqued.

The Contour rear suspension is another matter, the outboard bushings in the lateral links and the trailing link are in axial shear and therefore should be torqued with the suspension at normal ride height. I do this by putting a jack under the knuckle and raising it to ride height before torquing bolts. These bushings don't have enough stiffness to affect ride height if torqued in the wrong position, but it will probably prolong bushing life if done right.

The front noise you're hearing when turning may be an upper strut bearing, these are known to get full of road dirt and water and get noisy and draggy. If you're going to replace struts, using new upper mounts and bearings is strongly encouraged.


I am in the process of doing the struts and mounts (easy things have turned into hard things lol) - hopefully tomorrow both fronts will be back in. The one side I somewhat got done - the mount seemed fine honestly..no cracking or separation which is unexpected..but none the less they are being replaced with KYB mounts and bearings
 
I was also looking through older posts. The tie rod boots mentioned were Energy but the Ball Joint boots were Prothane.

On the Ford ball joint kits I have for the 2-bolt arm, A=0.740", B runs 1.76" to 1.83" dia, as it's tapered. Looks like the largest ES unit, 9.13119, might stretch to fit?

FWIW, RockAuto has ball joint kits for 99 Contour 2-bolt arms for $7 to $8 each, maybe buy the kit, throw away the ball joint and keep the boot?
 
Prob I have experienced is that NEW LCA's with BJ's displayed cracking BJ boots in less than 4k miles!!!! Why replace the whole LCA when poly (or good quality replacement boots such as MOOG) will address this issue? This assumes the BJ's are not contaminated and thus need replacement (in which case your logic is "spot on").

what brand control arms did you use? Those that have used the one of the cheapest ones, Dorman iirc, noted that the ball joint failed fairly quickly. I hope it still holds true that OEM parts would last as long as the originals, or good quality replacements .... which will not be the cheapest.
 
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