Yel-lo plz take a look

[wilfredom]

[wilfredom]

Hey yel;
since u have good expirience with this links (I turned over both links & in effect the noise lessened) but closer inspection revealed that the lateral link is still fit or though to move.. by comparation the upper link is very loose...seems I need to replace both..ur imput would be greatly appreciated man...

[yel-low]

Noise from the upper link is not as prominent as the lateral link. Your upper link appears to still be in good shape. I can't really tell but the rubber bushing does not look like it is torn. That does not say the ball joint isn't bad. The only way to tell is to jack the car up and wiggle the tire inspecting for movement/excessive play.

The same goes for the middle lateral link. I can't really tell if it is bad without holding the tire and rocking it. If you have any sort of play then replace the link. At the fist stage of the link going out it is a bit difficult to feel the slop with just arm power. When you are cruising on the road there are enormous force being transmitted through that link. Over time the slop gets so bad that you can actually feel the internal ball joint in the link move. 98% of the time the middle lateral link is the culprit so I would start shopping for a new one in the time being.

[wilfredom]

The knowledge u have with this parts is evident from the instand I saw ur cross cut pic of this same link & I'm VERY grateful u attended my request with ur advice..I knew I can count with u...tnx for that bro...
I did the "rock the tire" test but didn't feel nothing really wrong so I took off the upper link & manually test it.. it have a lot of play at the balljoint..the lateral link showed little loosness but to my knowlwdge, it doesn't feel as bad as it looks in the pics ???..as per ur previous recomendation, I turned over both links so as to show another face to the pivot point & the noise lesssened a lot..I know I need to replace both links..just to be sure.. I'm gonna do it one at a time & report..thx agai yel..

[yel-low]

I got so tired of having to replace the lateral links on pretty much every single Millenia I bought that I was going to fabricate my own. In the end the effort was not really worth it when new ones can be found at ~$25 all over the net. I wouldn't have even been able to buy all the raw parts for less than that. I've just accepted it as a normal wear and tear part. Rotating the joint helps a bit and may help you sell the car (if you were trying to pass it off) but nothing can replace a brand new shiny lateral link.

[wilfredom]

Originally Posted by yel-low

I got so tired of having to replace the lateral links on pretty much every single Millenia I bought that I was going to fabricate my own. In the end the effort was not really worth it when new ones can be found at ~$25 all over the net. I wouldn't have even been able to buy all the raw parts for less than that. I've just accepted it as a normal wear and tear part. Rotating the joint helps a bit and may help you sell the car (if you were trying to pass it off) but nothing can replace a brand new shiny lateral link.

Fabricating or modifing one from another car doesn't sound like a bad idea..if the intention is to keep the car for some time..imagine, my car is only 53k & although our roads in the island r really bad, I think is a premature failure.. so an investment in a better part will pay in the long run.. & no, I have no intention to sell mine..any time soon..still I'm in love..