Can pillowball mounts be repaired?

[siren676]

Lately my camber plates have been making knocking noises on big bumps. I have read that this is a commonish problem with pillowball top mounts.

I jacked the front of my car up and when the wheels were off the ground I could move the strut up and down about 1-2mm. Is this repairable or will I have to get new camber plates or go back to factory mounts?

[Burning Angel]

Without seeing them I can't say for sure, but it's likely the spherical bearing is just worn out and needs replacing

[siren676]

Alright, that doesn't sound too bad. I'll take it to the alignment place that installed them and see what they recommend.

[jondee86]

Pillow balls / spherical bearings are a wearing part. Depending on
the camber plates you have, the pillow ball may be able to be
replaced. If you get real lucky, you might be able to get a standard
pillow ball from an industrial bearing supplier. Press the old one out
and press the new one in. Sometimes you can mod the camber
plate to take a standard industrial item, if it only needs a small
amount turned out of the seat.

Cheers... jondee86

[Dell'Orto]

Yeah they're usually a fairly common item, GE052 or something from memory. Cheap as, sub $10 each

[siren676]

That's not too bad, I know they can be taken apart as I had a look when I got them. The plates are just cusco ones so should be able to get something.
The only pain will be having to disassemble the struts an getting another alignment, although that could be good as I could get more camber.