Front lower ball joint boot question (1 Viewer)

[Layonnn]

I recently installed the 555 lower ball joint. I was reinstalling my skid plate a few days after and noticed the boot looking rather strange. Any ideas what caused this and how to get it oriented correctly?
I tried gently coercing it outwards with a pick and my fingers, no go. It looked normal when I put everything together.

 

[re_guderian]

Not sure, but I can imagine that ambient temps and turning (if the bottom of the boot stays fixed to the ball stud and slides on the knuckle, or the other war around) may impact it. Not sure i'd try to do anything about it for a few days. If you crank your wheels the other way (right), does it straighten out? Could you get a thin layer of grease between boot and knuckle? Would you want to?

 

[re_guderian]

Btw, I see you ball joint top is starting to rust like @Trunk Monkey said. I hit mine with primer just after install.

 

[Layonnn]

Not sure, but I can imagine that ambient temps and turning (if the bottom of the boot stays fixed to the ball stud and slides on the knuckle, or the other war around) may impact it. Not sure i'd try to do anything about it for a few days. If you crank your wheels the other way (right), does it straighten out? Could you get a thin layer of grease between boot and knuckle? Would you want to?

It's been installed and been in this condition for about a week.
It looks as though turning is causing it to somewhat get twisted like it is. I did try turning the wheel full left to right then back to center to no avail, still crumpled boot. I too was thinking some grease might alleviate any friction between the base of the boot and the spindle that might cause it to happen.

Still need to figure out how to "pop" the boot back out though haha.

Temps here stay pretty consistent. (Only around 20* fluctuation between day and night due to the high humidity)

Btw, I see you ball joint top is starting to rust like @Trunk Monkey said. I hit mine with primer just after install.

Good eye. I'll dremel that off next weekend and get some Rustoleum black on there.

 

[re_guderian]

Just curious if you used a puller, or a pickle fork to pop the knuckle off the stud? I'm wondering if a puller might have scored the top surface of the knuckle, prompting the boot lip to stick during turning? I used a pickle fork, a BFH, and a lot of pent-up aggression to get mine off. Now I don't want to go look at them...

 

[Layonnn]

Just curious if you used a puller, or a pickle fork to pop the knuckle off the stud? I'm wondering if a puller might have scored the top surface of the knuckle, prompting the boot lip to stick during turning? I used a pickle fork, a BFH, and a lot of pent-up aggression to get mine off. Now I don't want to go look at them...

Pickle fork didn't work, neither did BFH, nor heat, or penetrating fluid. After spending a day on it I had to cut it out with the sawzall. I don't recall the surface on the bottom or top being rough and the sawzall never contacted the bottom. There's a chance that could be it though.

 

[re_guderian]

Alright, I went and looked at mine that I did 3-4 weeks ago. One is normal, and one like yours. I had my wife turn lock to lock and you can see it twist a tad. The bottom is either sticking to the stud or the knuckle surface. I may have to take the tire off and see if I can get a grease needle anywhere near it. I doubt the boot is meant to handle that kind of repetitive motion for years and years? I doesn't move much, but with the folds I don't like it...

 

[re_guderian]

I recently installed the 555 lower ball joint. I was reinstalling my skid plate a few days after and noticed the boot looking rather strange. Any ideas what caused this and how to get it oriented correctly?
I tried gently coercing it outwards with a pick and my fingers, no go. It looked normal when I put everything together.

View attachment 1478880

 

[jerryb]

mine did the same thing when I went to grease the spindle bearing a week after putting the ball joints on.
With a jack under the frame and another under the LCA I saw what you have pictured. When I was done messing around, jacking up and down on the LCA to get the best angle to push the CV in for the slee tool I set the truck down and the boot corrected itself. You might try using two jacks and play with it a little.

 

[re_guderian]

Well, after today's debacle, I can only offer this advice: "don't futz with it"...

 

[re_guderian]

I ended up rebooting mine with an OEM boot kit. The OEM wire sucks, i reused the one from the 555. Kit has more grease. Went pretty fast. I had pushed the lower boot opening up over the lip at the top of the taper on the stud, then distorted it trying to get it back in place (was never successful getting the boot back down. ) All better now, and I'm just not gonna even look...

 

[HFDPNL]

I have been thru 4 or 5 in 3 years from the boots tearing....thank goodness for lifetime warranty.

I think my tears have been due to the boots catching on the knuckle, so I started greasing both surfaces on install to try to cut down on possible issues. The last set has lasted longer than any of the others, about 2 years without tears.