[LSQ63]

Hi all,

I was wondering, does this look normal? This is on the driver side. If it's not normal (broken) is it safe to drive like that and for how long? Second picture is passenger side for reference. I'm wondering if it's just a different part maybe. Also idk if that's related but he car sometimes makes metallic rubbing noise when turning, or sometimes getting off the line for a second.

 

[LSQ63]

There are no vibrations when the noise happens and the pitch is always the same. The wheel bearings guess sounds very likely or maybe an axel?
The tirewear is probably due to my driving in the mountains lol this car is a lot more fun and sporty than it looks lead people to believe.
I will be taking the car for an oil change in a couple of days and they offer complementary inspection, so we'll see what they say. I do hope that it's just a different arm. Either way, I hope it's not something expensive.
Thank you all for replies, I'll post update after inspection.

 

[LSQ63]

LSQ63 - Before you let them do any of the work after the "Free Inspection", check back with the forum. For example, the wheel alignment printout that shows one wheel might be out at .016 from its spec .012. The shop will tell you it will rip your tire to shreds. Using some math, .004 of an inch cannot not be corrected given the design of the front end of a car. There is no way to move the mechanical parts that control alignment .004 of an inch. It can be done with a hammer in under 30 seconds if you understand what I mean here.

Thank you for the advice! I wasn't gonna. I only went to the dealer because they had a good offer for an oil change. Otherwise I take it to a local German car shop. Either way it passed everything from a visual inspection, they were actually impressed with the condition. Also the tires had even wear so I guess it's not a suspension issue, just me putting them to their paces. Dealer had no recommendations for maintenance.

They also mentioned nothing about the joint looking different.

 

[LSQ63]

The ball joint boot appears to be degrading/softening. This usually indicates that the rubber is reacting to either the grease inside or something from the outside. I've seen this occur over long periods of time on OE parts or even on poor quality replacements in just a few weeks. Eventually it will fail. Looks like other 3 control arms have been replaced by the looks of the blue color on the boot retaining rings.

Why would anyone not replace all of them, if they are going to replace 3 out of 4? Anyway I guess there are ultimate cheapskates should should not buy B5s lol. What happens if that ball joint fails?