1998 Frontier -loud noise when turning.

[Q45denver]

My truck is making a loud grinding/screeching noise from the suspension when turning sharply. It is a 4x4 4-banger manual transmission with 140K miles on it. Any ideas what to look for would be appreciated.

[Desert Rat]

Try putting a dollop of grease on your steering stops and see if it continues. The steering stops are on the knuckle towards the back of the truck. They come into contact with a point on the lower control arm. They will make noise without grease.

[Q45denver]

DR- The grease worked as described. While under the truck I noticed that the grease seals on the lower control arm ball joints are torn. Since these are exposed to the water and winter salt is there someway to replace them or extend their life?

I believe dealer quoted over $300 for each side to replace the control arms but as there is no play in them yet I would like to wait. Maybe I could install a Zerk fitting and keep them filled with fresh grease?

Thanks

[Desert Rat]

Check around your parts stores to see if anyone is selling ball joints for the LCAs. I do believe, however, you need to replace the arms. While expensive, that's probably not a bad thing, as I've seen a couple of the lower arms fail - they crack around where the balljoint is pressed in. They also can crack around where the shock tabs are welded.

You can also get universal boot kits at Napa for the quick and dirty fix. To install them, you cut to size, and you'll need to separate the spindle from the balljoint (don't use a pickle fork for this - remove the nut and hit the spindle itself with a BFH until it pops loose. You'll also need to release the preload on the torsion prior to doing this as well.