I was doing the winter-to-summer-tire changeover on our '09 Mazda 5 Saturday, did the standard brake inspection (looking for lots of meat left on the pads) all around, and finally, on the front, checked for side-to-side & up-and-down play. CLUNK, CLUNK, CLUNK! What the ... ??? Definitely not normal, and present on the driver's side only. My first suspicion was outer tie rod ends. Indeed, some play there. I gingerly drove over to the dealer, and picked up both sides. Installed the one on the driver's side. Clunking attenuated, but still present. OK, more detective work req'd. (Something loose in the manual transaxle? GAH! Hopefully not! CV joint? Likely not, boot not torn, and no clicking.) Hey, it's the ball joint (which doesn't look to be replaceable.) Phoned the dealer, and confirmed that the ball joint is an integral part of the lower control arm. No stock, but they're due in Tuesday or Wednesday. (I'll replace both sides.) I don't drive the 5 often, and was so glad neither the ball joint or tie rod end had failed while my wife was driving. I should have caught it earlier.
Anyway, the car's parked for a few days - I consider the ball joint play severe enough to be unsafe. There are various YouTube videos on this topic, some of them very good. (They're typically of the Mazda 3, but the 5 shares the same platform, and everything looks pretty similar.) Anyway, most of them show the long nut that goes through the pivoting bushing not being tightened when the wheel is hanging. It is inserted under no load, but is not tightened until the weight of the car is on the suspension. Makes sense. So here's my question - although it's not shown in the FSM, should I lube the bolt when reassembling things? To me this would put less stress on the bushing when the LCA pivots. (Or should the bolt be 'grabby' on the rubber?)
I'm not surprised that the ball joint & tie rod end are shot - we've had a crazy winter with unusual freeze-thaw cycles, with the resultant severe potholes. The car has 131K km on it - about 80K miles.
Any input much appreciated!
Anyway, the car's parked for a few days - I consider the ball joint play severe enough to be unsafe. There are various YouTube videos on this topic, some of them very good. (They're typically of the Mazda 3, but the 5 shares the same platform, and everything looks pretty similar.) Anyway, most of them show the long nut that goes through the pivoting bushing not being tightened when the wheel is hanging. It is inserted under no load, but is not tightened until the weight of the car is on the suspension. Makes sense. So here's my question - although it's not shown in the FSM, should I lube the bolt when reassembling things? To me this would put less stress on the bushing when the LCA pivots. (Or should the bolt be 'grabby' on the rubber?)
I'm not surprised that the ball joint & tie rod end are shot - we've had a crazy winter with unusual freeze-thaw cycles, with the resultant severe potholes. The car has 131K km on it - about 80K miles.
Any input much appreciated!