Is there a way to tell, by driving, if your car needs ball joints and control arms? I already know that I need outer tie rods. Also, will the bigger 27mm outer tie rods fit into the stock inners. I have a 2000 2.7. Thanks

 

Don't know about the size... I would say if the rubber gaskets around the joints look good (no leaks, still pliable) then they are good. Replacing them is a b-i-t-c-h (uppers) if the pinch bolt hasn't been removed in a looooong time. Be sure to pick up a new pinch bolt from the dealer if you decide to do it.

 

If you start hearing clunking sounds or grinding sounds then your control arms could be bad. My car made a horrible grinding noise while turning the wheel right or left only when it was hotter than 90 degrees. Turns out the high heat was drying out the ball joints to the 2 lower control arms. The ball joints were also causing a thunk sound on braking and when starting off from a stop.

Replaced both lower control arms with Febi Bilstein control arms and now the car is quiet and I have better steering response.

 

Thanks guys. I really appreciate the info.