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Aloha Folks,
Just a bit of backstory first. Last week, I had my Element in at the dealer for it's routine service interval last week (oil change, inspections, tire rotation, etc.) and asked to have the technician check out the CV boot since I had noticed a few specks of grease on the inside of the driver's side FRT wheel. They had found a small tear in the boot and replaced it under the powertrain warranty, for which I was grateful.
Actually, that was the second time the boot was replaced; it was changed out last October and at that time the service technician had indicated that the boot clamp had exhibited some damage, possibly due to being struck by road debris, causing the CV boot to become misaligned. This misalignment then allowed the CV joint to seep grease. I had to pay full pop for that particular repair.
This past weekend, I noticed a repeating "clicking" noise emanating from the driver's side FRT wheel. It would increase as I would accelerate and let up as I slowed down. On Sunday, the noise eventually went away entirely.
I crawled underneath to see if I could find the source of the noise and discovered that the lower arm ball joint bushing (bearing) had unseated itself from the knuckle assembly and was protruding a good 3-4mm. Obviously, as the wheel rotated, the nub on the CV boot clamp would make contact with the protruding bushing and as a result, the CV boot got twisted about its rotating axis. The metal-to-metal contact (the source of the clicking noise) apparently ate through enough of the clamp nub and/or the top of the bushing and the noise eventually let up.
The Element went back to the dealer this morning and I'm now faced with a 3-4 day wait (parts on backorder, nothing available on-island to complete the repair), a hefty repair bill, and out-of-pocket expenses for a rental car to boot.
Investigating the issue with the search function has established that the ball joint assembly is not serviceable on its own; it's an integrated part of the knuckle itself. When I get my Element back, I'm going to try a letter-writing campaign to American Honda. I figure it's worth a shot. I'm into a little over 3 years of ownership and it's disappointing that the part would fail so soon. I'm not an off-roader; I steer clear of road hazards like the plague, hell, I'll even avoid running over manhole covers if I can at all help it...
Before I start writing, I'm just curious as to how prevalent this problem is. Have any you other EOC'ers experienced similar issues? Any idea how/why the ball joint could/would unseat itself in that way? For a part that takes on a good load, a press-fit assembly seems like a crappy way to do something... Any feedback would be appreciated.
Just a bit of backstory first. Last week, I had my Element in at the dealer for it's routine service interval last week (oil change, inspections, tire rotation, etc.) and asked to have the technician check out the CV boot since I had noticed a few specks of grease on the inside of the driver's side FRT wheel. They had found a small tear in the boot and replaced it under the powertrain warranty, for which I was grateful.
Actually, that was the second time the boot was replaced; it was changed out last October and at that time the service technician had indicated that the boot clamp had exhibited some damage, possibly due to being struck by road debris, causing the CV boot to become misaligned. This misalignment then allowed the CV joint to seep grease. I had to pay full pop for that particular repair.
This past weekend, I noticed a repeating "clicking" noise emanating from the driver's side FRT wheel. It would increase as I would accelerate and let up as I slowed down. On Sunday, the noise eventually went away entirely.
I crawled underneath to see if I could find the source of the noise and discovered that the lower arm ball joint bushing (bearing) had unseated itself from the knuckle assembly and was protruding a good 3-4mm. Obviously, as the wheel rotated, the nub on the CV boot clamp would make contact with the protruding bushing and as a result, the CV boot got twisted about its rotating axis. The metal-to-metal contact (the source of the clicking noise) apparently ate through enough of the clamp nub and/or the top of the bushing and the noise eventually let up.
The Element went back to the dealer this morning and I'm now faced with a 3-4 day wait (parts on backorder, nothing available on-island to complete the repair), a hefty repair bill, and out-of-pocket expenses for a rental car to boot.
Investigating the issue with the search function has established that the ball joint assembly is not serviceable on its own; it's an integrated part of the knuckle itself. When I get my Element back, I'm going to try a letter-writing campaign to American Honda. I figure it's worth a shot. I'm into a little over 3 years of ownership and it's disappointing that the part would fail so soon. I'm not an off-roader; I steer clear of road hazards like the plague, hell, I'll even avoid running over manhole covers if I can at all help it...
Before I start writing, I'm just curious as to how prevalent this problem is. Have any you other EOC'ers experienced similar issues? Any idea how/why the ball joint could/would unseat itself in that way? For a part that takes on a good load, a press-fit assembly seems like a crappy way to do something... Any feedback would be appreciated.
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