Tesla Model 3 Squeaky/Creaking Ball Joint DIY Repair

Is your Tesla upper ball joint noisy? Watch this video to see how to shut it up.
Other Tesla DIY Videos here:
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[@MindofMatter]

FYI, its been 5 months and the sound still has not come back. Good, cheap fix at least in the short-term.

[@WhiteTrashTennessee]

Is it still going good ?

[@MindofMatter]

@@WhiteTrashTennessee yes, 151863 miles and still no noise

[@philgaulrapp121]

Thanks for posting this. My right side just started “moaning” the other day and I made a service appointment, but I’m going to try something loke this but with a grease gun and needle over the weekend.

[@MindofMatter]

Let us know how it goes,@@philgaulrapp121

[@timz7548]

I'm surprised ATF was good enough to keep things good. Based on everything I've heard with the grease users, do it twice a year now.

[@solobeyu8363]

I bought the grease and injector with the needle and it worked for me and no more squicky sound anymore. Thank you very much for sharing this.

[@MindofMatter]

@@solobeyu8363 glad it worked!

[@NicholasMarcelin]

This worked like a charm. Been driving for a week and it hasn’t returned. Tesla quoted me almost $500. Fixed in under $20

[@MindofMatter]

Checking in and the sound still hasn't returned for me. Glad you were able to fix yours too.

[@frankma2817]

My 2019 3 just reached 68K and the noise.just started. I follow the instructions and bought the grease needle from Amazon. Problem fixed. Thanks

[@MindofMatter]

Good to hear!!

[@harmanx.]

This worked for my car as well. It's a 2018 with about 57,000 miles -- squeak on driver's side. I did the injection (motor oil using a medical syringe/needle), drove it around -- no luck at first. Injected more, drove around, still no luck. Injected more and then the noise went away finally while driving. It took more oil than I expected -- maybe 10 or 12mL. The oil needs to fill the rubber enclosure enough to reach the the joint properly.

[@MindofMatter]

Great to hear!! Congrats!!

[@deeg.7082]

I used silicone lubricant and injected, worked out great…😊😊

[@JamesTsai]

Thank you for sharing this. My Model 3 has less than 37K miles and squeaks far worse than yours. Portland Tesla Service Center wanted $500 to replace the control arms. Rip off for their poor engineering. Your tip on getting the car high enough to get a jack under it helps!

[@MindofMatter]

Hope the squeak stays away!

[@arturstirums7304]

Thank you I will try to do the same.

[@user-zw4ei8ss5f]

我以前尝试过这种方法，问题没有得到改善，现在看来是我注入的润滑剂太少了。我明天就去买注射器和ATF油，感谢你的分享！

[@liquidsnakeblue1]

This ended up working for me, but I had to drive it a hundred miles or so for the noise to completely go away.

[@MindofMatter]

Good to hear it worked! Yeah, maybe the metals have to be impregnated with the oils over time to work. Thanks for the tip/update!

[@Jordan-su9fz]

@@MindofMatterstill no noise?

[@MindofMatter]

@@Jordan-su9fz still no noise at all

[@JoseCampos-jl8kq]

It needs grease not transmission fluid.

[@liquidsnakeblue1]

Tried with grease and it didn't work

[@sfiv1987]

It takes a while to kick in.

[@rajsavraj1106]

Took mine to Tesla, managed to fix it free of charge under warranty however the Service centre experience was poor, staff seemed useless and weren't very helpful. Annoying

[@MindofMatter]

Thanks for letting us know. At least it was free. Did they replace the ball joint, lube it or something else?

[@rajsavraj1106]

@@MindofMatter They replaced both front ball joints and the arms too. It must of been quite bad as my creaking noise was really awful almost as if it was grinding.

[@kyle8380]

They make a needle for the end of a grease gun to inject grease. I would not use a surgical needle to inject random fluids. Needle is like $8. Put in the right stuff.

[@MindofMatter]

Out of curiosity, why would you not use a surgical needle?

[@kyle8380]

@@MindofMatter well if it worked it would be fine. I would guess the orifice would be too small for thick grease to travel through.

[@MindofMatter]

@@kyle8380 Yeah the ATF went through it just fine. I was just curious if there is some reason not to use surgical grade stuff for things like ATF or oil, like it might explode or something if you put too much pressure on it

[@n3rdygranpa5]

I tried surgical needle with grease ... Very difficult to get it thru the smaller needle opening

[@imfloridano5448]

I've never seen a repair like this. If their is a zert on the top of the ball joint get a grease gun and lube the joint. Replace would be a better idea

[@MindofMatter]

There is no zerk fitting on it. I could replace it but at the very least I'd like to wait for warmer temps. However, to be honest, if this stays quiet and tight I see no reason to replace it

[@JoseCampos-jl8kq]

You need to buy the Jack up rubber adapters.

[@MaliWari]

❤❤❤

[@maibanguyenalex]

Hi, thanks your clip, but will oil leak again?

[@MindofMatter]

so far no noise, no leaks, no problems after all this time.

[@maibanguyenalex]

@@MindofMatter thanks so much

[@Frost-ng4hi]

Was filling it with the syringe 2 times enough? Not sure how much I should do

[@MindofMatter]

Whatever I did on the video was enough. Update from today: still works great and no squeak all this time after this video was posted

[@Frost-ng4hi]

@@MindofMatter Cool man good to hear it’s working great! My car is out of warranty and no way in hell im paying 500 dollars to fix it just for it just to make this same sound again at some point. Thanks for the vid!

[@MindofMatter]

@@Frost-ng4hi Yeah, hard no on that cost for me too. I am at 153k miles so this fix works for me!

[@rivernet62]

Why bother with the syringe and punching a hole in the boot? Just unclip the boot and pull it down to create a pocket, which you can fill with motor oil. Put the clip back on the boot and you're done.

[@carefulcarpenter]

What do you prefer: new technology or classic cars? Cars or trucks? Trucks or motorcycles? Road bike or dirt bike? Answer correctly and you may win a prize!

[@MindofMatter]

I guess my ideal would be a 1990 or so fuel injected car. I don't like carburetors, I like fuel injection I've always liked cars better than motorcycles Cars are safer and more useable I prefer working on cars better 1990 or so to me is the best mix of modern technology but do it yourself simplicity Trucks are cool too, maybe from 1995 to 2005 or so As for motorcycles, definitely dirt bike, 100% better for me

[@carefulcarpenter]

@@MindofMatter I have a 1989 Volvo 740 Turbo wagon( our cat was named "Turbo Bob"). I bought it for 2300 dollars from my son. I figured he could use the money before he moved to Stockton, CA. I drove it over the hill to a project in Mountainview for a week. It has never been registered since he bought it. It was a project car, but I still don't have the funds. The body is almost perfet! The interior is in great shape for its age. I wanted to turn it into my work vehicle (tools in the back, and rack on top). ☺ Charging the battery right now. Dreaming of projects, and working on projects.......... my life after Engineering School at Minnesota. Question to my son when he was around 12: "Which would you prefer: a brand new bike, or we could spend the 3-day weekend fixing up your old bike.?" 🇺🇸 Bonus prize for correct answer.

[@MindofMatter]

@@carefulcarpenter I think we would have the same answer! Those volvos are great cars

[@carefulcarpenter]

@@MindofMatter I restored a 1979 Volvo 240 sedan around 1979. I had a nice paint gun and compressor, so one morning I sprayed the entire vehicle in our driveway. Then rubbed/polished it---- like a pro. ☺ Everything was in great order except it needed some work on the automatic transmission. I gave that car to our son to finish up when he turned 14--- 1995. That was the year I bought a Honda American Classic Edition motorcycle (ACE '95). By age 18 he had it parted out to rebuild a Volvo he cherished more. Years later he realized what I had given him! ☺

[@MindofMatter]

@@carefulcarpenter any pics of either?