Hey guys, I just replaced my lower ball joint because of a catastrophic failure. It actually caused the lower control arm, with half of the ball joint and the stud attached, to dig into the wheel and puncture it from the inside.

I went ahead and replaced that ball joint because it's all I could afford at the moment, I plan on purchasing new tie rod end links, and new upper and lower ball joints within the next month.

So here's my question, During disassembly I nicked the threads on the CV axle and the nut will not go back on all the way. It probably only threads on about halfway. If I am not going to use the four-wheel-drive functionality, am I safe to leave it like that until I decide to replace the entire half shaft when I do the rest of the ball joints? Or is there something really wrong with leaving it mildly loose? I figured that if I'm not using it, then it shouldn't impact anything as long as it's not coming out of it's splines and hanging (which it won't)

You are safe.
For now.

I’m pretty sure there was a recall for those ball joints at one time. It’s a well known problem and you are not the first to have had it happen.

You should replace the lower ball joints with Moog heavy duty greaseable joints. They are 100 times better than the factory ball joints. I’ve got well over 100k miles on mine with no signs of looseness.
My factory lower ball joints needed replacement at 90k miles.

When you order a new CV axle, make sure it’s for a CRD and not the V6 model. They are different lengths.

When you start looking for upper arms, if you want a greaseable ball joint you will have to get the JBA arms. Otherwise, go with Moog.

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U.S. Army Retired