Cracked steering knuckle

DafyddJones

Paid Member
So yesterday my car was at my usual garage to get the lower and upper ball joints replaced as the lower one on the passenger side had some play. I did think about doing it myself but I thought they would be much faster than me doing it and I would be without a car for more than a day. But there’s a crack in one of the steering knuckles which I think they’ve caused when trying to remove the upper ball joint and it’s costing me a lot to pay for a new one. Is this a common occurrence?
 
If the crack is around the ball joint you can bet they've done it being ham-fisted with a hydraulic press... Not that you'll be able to prove it without a before/after pic. :rage:

I know when I did mine I fabricated an array of drifts and supports to alleviate any stress on the aluminium knuckle. I used a hand press and still needed a little heat and grease to slide the new ones in smoothly. :grimacing:

If they had to buy a new knuckle it probably came with a ball joint so ask for the other one back and sell it on to recoup a few quid...