terrj

iTrader: (2)

My 03 front left side spindle ball joint is torn and leaks pretty bad. I understand that you could just replace a ball joint if you could find one for cheap. My question is can i buy the 05-08 spindle and replace the whole thing or just buy the part and get the ball joint ? Are they the same ?

rottingcat

iTrader: (3)

05-08 uses a bigger badder(in the good way) ball joint
I would replace both sides with the 05-08...
otherwise just buy any aftermarket ball joint even eBay or autozone as they are all made for 03-04 ball joint

travlee

iTrader: (8)

I think its 06-08....

rottingcat

iTrader: (3)

https://www.z1motorsports.com/suspen...nt-p-8187.html

terrj

iTrader: (2)

So 06-08 are direct fit on the 03 without any modification ? If so i might as well replace both side since theyre much much cheaper than 03 for some reason..

rottingcat

iTrader: (3)

you can't put a 05 - 08 ball joint in an 03 spindle because the ball joint is a bigger
you have to use a 03 or 04 ball joint.
I was talking about replacing the whole spindle to 05+ (which includes the OEM ball joint which you can't buy separately only aftermarket) but that's a lot more expensive than just buying an aftermarket ball joint.

Thats why the ball joint prices are different in the link i posted.

terrj

iTrader: (2)

Thats what i meant haha. I was creeping on ebay and notice the 05-08 spindles are a lot cheaper than 03-04 . If its a direct fit i might as well buy the whole spindle and slap it on.

Bak3rme

iTrader: (1)

i bought my ball joints from conceptZ for i believe around 70-80 bucks shipped. the brand was SPD and have held up for 4 months so far. replacing it can be time consuming if you are just doing the ball joints alone.

terrj

iTrader: (2)

Bought a pair on ebay and theyre holding up just fine. Honestly it was a piece of cake, the hardest part was getting the cone seat off...

Swaglife81

The ebay versions you bought what did they look like. I've seen the blue ones which are most likely Mevotech, the red/black ones (look like a ES type knock off) and the black/silver ones. I'm in the same boat, the ones that busted on me are the lower ball joints on the translink arm.

terrj

iTrader: (2)

https://my350z.com/forum/brakes-and-...joints-20.html

mcubed45

You need the cone from the 05-08 as well.

Can anyone confirm if Z1 actually offers a bigger ball joint for the 05-08 or if it's the same ball joint with a custom cone adapter like CZP sells?

guitman32

iTrader: (15)

Late to the game but I would never replace a bj until it actually started developing play or making noise.

The most cost effective replacement option long term is to replace the whole spindle with OEM parts. All aftermarket bjs for the Z will last probably less than half as many miles as the oems (optimistically), which will most likely negate the cost savings. Obviously conjecture but I have found it to be 100% true regarding chassis parts across all platforms...

terrj

iTrader: (2)

Not sure about that but its easier for me to replace the ball joint instead of replacing the whole spindle , honestly 30m flat both sides if you dont count the time jacking the car up. And you will need to replace your ball joint if its leaking crap load of grease lol


You do need the cone and its a PITA to get it off, if you can find a way to get the cone off easily , the job difficulty will be 0 on a scale from 1 - 10 .
How about you call Z1 and ask if it fits , that's better than asking us

travlee

iTrader: (8)

i have used a ball joint separater from harbor freight to get them off

mcubed45

I just used a pickle fork. Destroyed the boots on the old balljoints but I was tossing them anyways. I have an 04 so I'm good. I thought it might be useful for other users if someone had any info on the Z1 BJ's. The CZP BJ's are not true 05-08 ones. It's an 03-04 BJ with a custom made cone to fit the 05-08 suspension. AFAIK no one sells a real 05-08 BJ and the only way you can get them is if you buy the spindle. If someone is "upgrading" from 03-04 there's a bunch of different parts required. TBH it's probably not worth the hassle to upgrade since the newer balljoints still break down and need replacing. It's nice that Nissan beefed them up in later years but it's still a part that wears out and needs replacing. The 03-04's definitely have a much wider selection of parts, including lifetime warrantied Duralast BJ's.