Bell Crank and the Idler Arm joint Rubber Boots

[Gaetan Lavoie]

The dust boots on the Bell Crank and the Idler Arm joints are falling apart on my Dutchstar 2006 with a mileage of 50,000 miles . I have the Spartan Mountain Master GT chassis with the Independent Front Suspension - Reyco Granning 1460SE.

These joints are sealed and are probably worn to some extent since I can hear at time a clunking noise during turns. I am not too keen about getting these joints replaced unless I have some assurance that a better quality of rubber is now used in the manufacturing of these rubber boots.

Can someone clarify the situation with these rubber boots and secondly if one knows about a reputable repair facility in the Yuma AZ that could handle the replacement of these joints otherwise I will make arrangements to have the work done at Spartan on my way back home in Apr 16?

Any recommendations will be welcome.

Gaetan

[tom chelbana]

We have just been at Spartan and they wanted to do 2500$ worth of front end work dealing with the rubber boots. What we are going to do since there is no problem right now with the front end other then the boots we are going to clean the area where the boots seal around the joint and wrap with rescue tape which is a self sticking tape that looks like electric tape but seals and sticks much better. Then we are going to lub and then re-lub every 5,000 miles or once a year. The only thing to the boots do is keep grease in and dirt/water out so this will take care of that. If you have front end free play already then the front end parts will need to be replaced.
Tom 04 Essex with 125,000 miles

[rag_ftw]

Ditto, what Tom said. Since we don't have any play yet we didn't spend the $2500 either.

If you want more info on this problem do a search in this forum and you should come up with several threads that address this issue.

[Ramets]

This is a real sore point with me. When I was getting my ball joints replaced 3yrs. ago I contacted Spartan. They admitted they knew they had a problem with inferior rubber, but without actually coming out and saying it knew owners wouldn't be crawling under their coach's to check. All they had to do was wait til the warranty was up to avoid any liability. I still have a bad taste in my mouth after that conversation.

[JC2]

Originally Posted by Ramets

This is a real sore point with me. When I was getting my ball joints replaced 3yrs. ago I contacted Spartan. They admitted they knew they had a problem with inferior rubber, but without actually coming out and saying it knew owners wouldn't be crawling under their coach's to check. All they had to do was wait til the warranty was up to avoid any liability. I still have a bad taste in my mouth after that conversation.

I'm with Ramets on this one. Had ours checked 1-2 yrs ago and the Cummins-Onan shop where we get ours serviced showed me where the rubber boots were beginning to go bad. I had them replaced/front realigned for $2800. A repair like this needs to be done right instead of the band aid approach I've seen others apparently do.

[tom chelbana]

JC2 It will be interesting to see if your replacement front end parts have problems with in 3 to 5 years. A long as your front end doesn't have free play in then there is no problem. We have 125,000 miles on our K2 Essex suspension is tight and I grease it even when we are traveling on our 10,000 plus miles trip to Alaska. Remember that is all the boots are doing is keep grease in joint area and dirt and water out. If you can do that with different item other then rubber boots you are A OK.

[FormerBoater]

Our trusty old Eagle's boots are gone, but the ball joints are still tight.

I use Boeshield T-9 spray lubricant and corrosion protection liberally on the joints on a regular basis.

Boeshield was developed by Boeing to prevent corrosion and provide lubrication in aerospace applications. It has very good wicking properties and penetrates very well.

May help some other folks out in keeping the integrity of their ball joints when the boots fail.

The product is readily available at marine retailers and is handy for lubricating and protecting many other areas on the motorhome.

[Ray,IN]

The inspection procedure is to raise the wheels off the ground, and measure vertical play in the ball-joints with a dial gauge. .060" is the maximum play before replacement is required.
The backyard mechanic method is, after wheels are off the ground, pry up on them with a bar, if any play is felt, or observed by another under the MH, replacement time has arrived.

[Gaetan Lavoie]

I ordered the Bell Crank and Idler Arm Ball Joints from Spartan. The cost was $137.00 each plus delivery to Canada within 3 days for $32.00 for a total $306.00 (US Dollards).

I took the Ball Joints to Malmberg Truck Specialist in Ottawa (ON, Canada) for installation. It took them 4.5 hours to install the joints, inspect the front end and lube the chassis. The labor total was $569.00 (canadian dollars) including taxes (13%).
I also took the suggestion made earlier about T9 which I applied to the rubber boots before installation.
The total cost was less than $1000.00 Canadian Dollards

[DAJO]

Originally Posted by Gaetan Lavoie

I ordered the Bell Crank and Idler Arm Ball Joints from Spartan. The cost was $137.00 each plus delivery to Canada within 3 days for $32.00 for a total $306.00 (US Dollards).

I took the Ball Joints to Malmberg Truck Specialist in Ottawa (ON, Canada) for installation. It took them 4.5 hours to install the joints, inspect the front end and lube the chassis. The labor total was $569.00 (canadian dollars) including taxes (13%).
I also took the suggestion made earlier about T9 which I applied to the rubber boots before installation.
The total cost was less than $1000.00 Canadian Dollards

I don't think we are talking about the same parts. You are calling them idler arm ball joints. It sounds like to me they are what most people call tie rod ends a much simpler and cheaper part than the ball joints, two per side upper and lower. No truck shop can replace the actual ball joints without special tools to remove (unscrew) from the upper and lower arms.

[Gaetan Lavoie]

I stand by what I wrote. Here is a copy of one of the Ball Joint Package with the Spartan Part Number and the invoice from Spartan. Either look it up in the ReycoGranning Parts Catalog or call Spartan if you still have doubt.



Gaetan

[DAJO]

Originally Posted by Gaetan Lavoie

I stand by what I wrote. Here is a copy of one of the Ball Joint Package with the Spartan Part Number and the invoice from Spartan. Either look it up in the ReycoGranning Parts Catalog or call Spartan if you still have doubt.

Attachment 130709 Attachment 130710

Gaetan

Yup it looks like ball joints upper. Never heard them called idler arms before. Any way you got half of the ball joints replaced for a $1000 so right on track with prices we pay here, $2000 for the replacement of all four ball joints.

[Gaetan Lavoie]

If you take a look at the attached page of ReycoGranning Parts List, you will see the name of Bell Crank and Idler Arm Joints use to identify the two ball joints Item 17 Part No 705382-01. These two joints are screwed into the Bell Crank and the Idler Arm which are connected to the Relay Rod. The specialised tool for removing these joints is nice to have but not essential. Anyway these joints are not known as Tie Rod End Ball joints.

I hope that I clarify the situation.

Gaetan

[DAJO]

Thanks for the picture now it is completely clear. You have the newer style front end 1460 as I now have, it does not use the load supporting ball joint, the older 1370 and 1260 had the ball joint that people have had to replace. Most of the earlier post were referring to the older type. The earlier ball joints (four) that support the entire front end weight are screwed into the arm Spartan calls it a knuckle which is installed with red thread locker and requires special tools to remove. The attached link shows the 1260 front end and the 1460 front end. The other link shows the knuckle with the ball joints section one page two. Spartan could not get mine out on my KSDP and had to replace the entire knuckle assembly both uppers at $3000. Be glad as I am now that we have the 1460 front end that rides and drives even better. http://reycogranning.com/suspensions...3404218750.PDF
http://www.spartanchassis.com/cps/lo...3404218750.PDF