Alignment after replacing lower balljoint?

[theory816]

I needed to replace my driver side lower ball joint as the rubber ripped.

The replacement part was fair to remove and install. My question is, do I need to get an alignment after replacing this part? I don’t see how this little part would affect the alignment.

And also should I replace the other side? It seems to be in ok shape.

Its an Rx400h.

• This topic was modified 6 years, 4 months ago by theory816.
• This topic was modified 6 years, 4 months ago by theory816.

[admin]

The answer is generally no, you don’t have to get an alignment because you have probably not had to remove any of the adjustable pieces. There are some tolerances to consider, for instance if you had to disconnect the big bolts attaching the strut to the hub, the slop in the bolt-to-hub interface could allow up to about 1/4 degree of camber change, depending on how you put it back together. If you are fussy about alignment settings you could have that checked, but if your camber on one side is off enough to matter, you will notice the car pulling to one side or the other.

Toyota/Lexus ball joints tend to last a very long time, so if you only had to replace it because it ripped, you do not have to replace the other side.

[Author]

Posts