Do I really need to replace the lower control arm?
 

So I went to a tire kingdom to get my rotors and brakes switched out (I know but I had no choice and was going out of town). They came back and told me the ball joint was bad on the front left side of the car.

The guy showed me by moving the tire side to side and there was a little play. I was just thinking about it and given enough pressure, you can make anything move.

Is there a test or something i can perform to see if the ball joint is really bad? There is absolutely no shaking or anything while I drive. The only thing I have to go on is this guy's word.

Also, if I were to change the lower control arm myself would I need to have the care aligned?

I also wanted to add that there is no noise coming from the area and the wear on the tires is normal

You can check it your self.Jack up that corner and grap your wheel/tire at 9 and 3 o'clock
shake the wheel you will see/feel the play at the joint.
You can change it your self and do need a aligned after that.
http://www.xoutpost.com/articles/x5/...trol-arms.html

I understand not wanting to not replace parts unnecessarily, but at the same time this also isn't the vehicle to cheap out on either. If anything, when one part wears out, the others are the same age and are soon to follow. Since you're already going to have someone in there replacing the stuff, I got an entire front end rebuild kit for around $1500 or less shipped (if I remember correctly) from www.fcpgroton.com. If you've got over 100k, it's probably time for preventative vs reactive maintenance. Just because it's not bad at this moment, doesn't mean it won't be soon enough, especially if someone is telling you.

From experience though make sure you lock the steering wheel (with key off turn the steering wheel slowly until lock), it's easir to do this test.
IMHO, bad wheel bearing may give you some play as well.

thanks guys. I just wanted to make sure. I have never changed out a control arm out of any of my cars (although this is my first x5) so I didn't know how frequently, if at all, this needed to be done. I also didn't know if they guy was just trying to get some extra business out of me.


I typically would not have sent my x5 to a tire kingdom but didn't really have an option at the time - usually a DIY guy


EDIT: Also, since I'll probably change out the control arm myself. How should I go about getting an alignment for the x5? Should I tow it there or should it be safe for a little drive to the dealership (about 10 min drive)? or would you trust a mom n shop place?

Not to sound arrogant, but...this isnt any ol' car either :D 5300lbs of German muscles that handles like a car VS a Lincoln Navigator that handles like a tugboat won't need suspension as badly.

As for doing the suspension, there are writeups as to the proper technique, in particular that everything needs to be under the weight of the vehicle before tightening and torquing everything down. I've done mine on driveup ramps and blocks...I've even seen guys on e38.org BMW 7-series information and links (which has a lot of good 4.4 maintenance tips) put the car on cinder blocks under all 4 tires, but those also weight only 4300lbs.

if you're going to tacke the lower arm yourself, i'd also r/r the upper arm and also the lower ball joint. i used urethane for the upper (thrust) bushings for $100/set and found ball joints for about $30/set from rockauto.

..i still have yet to replace the lower and tie rod assembly.

No trouble driving it there if you have tightened everything up. Over the longer term the problem is accelerated tire wear, and at the limit, handling.

You can use a small shop or the dealer, but make sure they understand BMW's specs relating to loading up the vehicle when aligning.

In the fact, wheel alignment is not necessary if you just replace front wishbones or push rods or ball joints. Just tighten them to the specific touque and you are good to go.