Replacing Upper Ball Joint Seal Boot

[joey]

The shop that installed my KW coilovers damaged the upper control arm ball joint seal boot. Has anyone tried replacing the upper control arm rubber ball joint seal boot?

Chrysler doesn't sell the ball joint seal boot separately. The only way to repair the seal is to buy the Upper Control Arm, with the seal attached. One dealer is asking $218, and another $208. I believe these seals are "sealed for life" so trying to replace them may not be a good idea.

Edit - Just took a pic of the damaged seal. The first pic is Fatchance's coilovers.
When I saw the damage at the shop, the seal was squished flat, so the hole looked wider at the time.

[Moose]

Originally Posted by joey

The shop that installed my KW coilovers damaged the upper control arm ball joint seal boot. Has anyone tried replacing the upper control arm rubber ball joint seal boot?

Chrysler doesn't sell the ball joint seal boot separately. The only way to repair the seal is to buy the Upper Control Arm, with the seal attached. One dealer is asking $218, and another $208. I believe these seals are "sealed for life" so trying to replace them may not be a good idea.

That's too bad. Sorry to hear about what happened. Is the shop going to cover the mistake?

[kenm]

Have you checked the price from the Mopar SuperCenter a site supporting vendor. They gave me a great deal on tire pressure monitors. Go to their site and send them a e-mail on the site part request. Make sure and tell them you are a forum member. They sold me tire pressure monitors for $28.50 each. The best I could find around here was $49.00 each. Thats about a 40% savings. Enjoy!

[arnoldw]

Is it badly torn? I'd just leave it alone for now and change it when the ball joint shows wear....that might take a while depending on conditions.

[joey]

The shop said they will fix it. But they think they can find an aftermarket seal and fix it cheap when they align the car.

I actually did call MoparSuperCenter and they are selling the part much cheaper, after the forum discount. I didn't mention their price cause I wasn't sure if it was kosher to publicize forum discounted prices.

IMO,the boot/seal is damaged pretty bad. It is cut like a slice of pie, with the widest missing section about 1/2" wide. I don't want to keep driving the car this way and have to later pay the repairs out of my pocket.
Since I need an alignment in about 2 weeks, and alignments cost about $120 for 20" wheels, and I also need wheel balancing, I think I can probably negotiate a free alignment and discounted wheel balancing price.

But I thought I would first ask/start this thread just in case someone had found a way to fix the seal without replacing the upper control arm.

[badpenny]

The seals were damaged by the damn "pickle fork" last year when I installed Eibach springs on my R/T. I carefully cleaned the outer surface of the seals with Prepsol then alcohol. Carefully applied several coats of black RTV (NOT forcing it INTO the seal) to close the damaged areas. So far, the seals have held up, no cracks or openings. It's worth a try if you can't find any replacements.

[DUBSTER]

I think you should repace them A.S.A.P!!!!