Why should ball joints and tie rod ends be changed in pairs?
It is not absolutely necessary, but many professional installers insist on replacing both even if only one is bad. This is because both have more or less the same mileage and sooner or later the other one is going to fail too. In many instances, the companion part on the opposite side is marginal, so it makes sense to replace both ball joints (uppers and/or lowers) or both tie rod ends (inner and/or outer) at the same time. It also saves the customer the inconvenience of having to bring his vehicle in a second time. There is some evidence to suggest that suspension and steering components on the right side of a vehicle have a somewhat higher rate of failure than those on the left side. The right side takes more punishment when it comes to close encounters with curbs, potholes and other obstacles, and the typical vehicle makes more righthand turns than lefthand turns. Even though all suspension components have the same mileage, those on the right side often need to be replaced at a lowe
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- Why should ball joints and tie rod ends be changed in pairs?
