I have a question About My car

PATRICKPENA0713

MEMBER
1996 CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO

I have a question About My car. When I took my car to get inspected, They told me I failed because I needed to replaced R/S lower ball joint, R/S Outer rod and Brake hose was twisted, One Question is when they mean R/S It means Right Side Correct, Also the biggest question I need anwsered is when Saying R/S which point of view do they Use left being driver side and right being passeranger(inside the car POINT OF VIEW) or do they use the point of view from outside the car looking forward left to right(LEFT BEING PASSENGER RIGHT BEING DRIVER SIDE). Also could you give me advice on how to replace ball joint, I don't have the money to get it fix. Thank you.

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,873 POSTS

Left and right are always from the driver's seat. I too was thrown by the use of "R/S". I guess it took too much work to write "right side".

The outer tie rod end is a fairly standard design. Loosen the lock nut, then remove the hex nut under the cotter pin. No need to remove the cotter pin if it's rusted in place. Just shear it off with the nut. If you bend the cotter pin first, you can fit a six-point deep socket on the nut. Once the nut is all the way off, bang on the steering arm to shock the tapered stud loose.

The ball joint is something different than anyone has used before but GM is famous for trying out new designs on the cars they sell. It just bolts to the control arm, then the tapered stud apparently goes into the strut housing. I can't find a picture of the housing because on your car they only replace the cartridge when the strut is weak or leaking. They leave the old rusty housing on the car. Be sure to use a click-type torque wrench on the four bolts and tighten them to the specs given on the sheet that will come with the ball joint.