[COmtbiker12]

Hey everybody, I have a 1987 Mazda 626 that's been sitting in front of our house for the past few years and has rarely been driven. Its in pretty good condition but it seems when its driven there's a clicking from the right side whenever we turn left. We think its bad ball joints and if it is how much should this cost to replace? My dad thinks its gonna be really expensive (upwards of 1k) but I have no idea. Anybody know? Thanks.

 

[MTB_Rob_NC]

Hey everybody, I have a 1987 Mazda 626 that's been sitting in front of our house for the past few years and has rarely been driven. Its in pretty good condition but it seems when its driven there's a clicking from the right side whenever we turn left. We think its bad ball joints and if it is how much should this cost to replace? My dad thinks its gonna be really expensive (upwards of 1k) but I have no idea. Anybody know? Thanks.

Clicking is a very common symptom of bad CV (constant velocity) joints going bad. They arent cheap, but they arent expensive either. I would e-guess that you could find a remanufactured part for under $200. If you are some what mechanically inclined it is not too difficult of a job in most cases.

 

[COmtbiker12]

Where would I find one of those? And what sort of work would it be to do myself? I'm mechanically inclined but don't necessarily have access to a full garage of tools or anything.

 

[Jayridesacove]

Not saying you can't diy, but it would be hard without a lift and a full set of tools.

 

[fiddy_ryder]

you should be able to get re-man'ed cv joints at places like checker, autozone kragen. around $100 a pop.. youll need some open end wrenches sockets, and decent mallet to bang them out. oh yah floor jack and jack stands.

 

[MTB_Rob_NC]

Where would I find one of those? And what sort of work would it be to do myself? I'm mechanically inclined but don't necessarily have access to a full garage of tools or anything.

Any parts store will have them. In most cases you would jack up the side that is bad, pull of the wheel, the brake assembly, wheel assembly and the CV joint is what attaches the wheel assembly into the transmission.

It is a common repair, and not that expensive if you have an outside mechanic do it either. They might even get away with just repacking the CV joints. Look under the side of the car where the clicking sound is coming from and look for rubber boot looking things. If you can visibly see cracks, more than likely all the grease is gone causing the issue.

 

[COmtbiker12]

Do I need to lift the car up in order to see it at all? Also if there's cracks will they be able to repack it or does that mean that it needs a new one? I obviously have limited automotive knowledge.

 

[Wumpus]

You should call around and see. It has been quite a few year since I had a cv joint replaced(on your exact car), and it was less than $250.

 

[COmtbiker12]

You should call around and see. It has been quite a few year since I had a cv joint replaced(on your exact car), and it was less than $250.

That's good to know.

 

[Angus]

Do I need to lift the car up in order to see it at all? Also if there's cracks will they be able to repack it or does that mean that it needs a new one? I obviously have limited automotive knowledge.

You can see it by crawling under the car look at the back side of the tire, see the big rubber thingy near the center? That is what covers the CV joint and holds grease in and keeps water & dirt out, If its cracked you'll defintly need a new cover as for repacking, Ive not ever been so lucky, I would find a local Mechanic( not a car dealer) who is willing to use your parts, so you can buy the remanufactured type. Good Luck

 

[firetoole]

is that the rootbeer colored 626?

 

[COmtbiker12]

is that the rootbeer colored 626?

Its a sky blue that's even more faded from being non garaged for like 60% of its life.

Plus, Scuba Yellow is WAY faster