bad lower ball joint lead to howling?

[ftillier]

I've been hearing a bit of a growling/howling noise from the front left, more pronounced when weight transfers to that side (i.e. on right turns). I figured I was in for new hubs, got home and lifted the wheel off the ground and gave it a good tug. No play 12/6, but a clunk 3/9, and I could see the upper control arm moving. Took the wheel off to have a closer look, and the lower ball joint has visible play and is the source of the clunk.

Would a bad ball joint lead to growling/howling, or am I more than likely in need of a new hub too?

I currently have poly bushings - should I take the opportunity to replace the LCAs with the OEM style (from FCP) and get back that cushy ride, and get rid of the fear of LCA failure? Or is a single ball joint replacement straight forward?

 

[powershift]

It sounds like you discovered a new problem while investigating the howling. I think howling noise would be from the wheel bearing and not the ball joint if you isolated the origin to the wheel. I'd replace the poly bushings and that whole control arm that they came in with a Land Rover brand. It isn't worth the risk when there are repeated failures that could cause a crash on the freeway. How many miles do you have on the LR4?

 

[ftillier]

114k miles. I guess it's Christmas presents for the rover!

 

[ryanjl]

Replace the hole control arm.

Bad lower ball joint could be throwing you out of alignment, which could cause the howling.

 

[ftillier]

So control arm, and see if the noise goes away, and if not then hubs!

 

[ftillier]

Are the control arm bolts reusable, or do I need to get new ones?

 

[ryanjl]

Get new control arm bolts.

I replaced my hubs at around 125k miles. No play in them at all, but once I removed the old ones I could tell they felt a little "gritty" when I'd spin them.

 

[Al Pizzica]

I have a 2013 with 115k.
I had previously posted about this noise when weight transferred to the front RIGHT last year. Not so much a howling as a metal brushing noise but in the same category. I already had new OEM control arms so I replaced the wheel bearing (pretty easy job on these) and it made no difference. Posted here, nothing worked. It drove me nuts for about 3 months. What would make a noise when load is transferred over there? Could really hear it with windows open.
So guess what happened?
It just went away. Still have NFC what it was.

 

[Michael Conley]

I would hear a dull, rhythmic, low-frequency sound when I'd take right-handed jug handles (Jersey). Ended up being the wheel bearings (90k miles)

 

[ftillier]

Got my new lemforder lca's today, project for the weekend. Got new nuts, washers, and bolts, but forgot to order the bolts for the shock absorbers.