First suspension work

[theophile]

So I've had my '02 for just over 2 months and still loving it. But I'm thinking I need to take care of some maintenance issues the previous owner may have neglected.

It looks to me like the boots on the upper and lower ball joints and the tie rod end are torn:




I'm pretty sure I already know the answer to this, but does this mean I have to replace the joints? It would be really nice if I could just replace the boots and regrease the joints.

I've made a similar observation about the shocks:



There's plenty of "best shocks" threads already, and I know to stick to Moog for suspension parts.

Any other tips or "while you're under there" advice? This'll be my first time under the fender of this car, and I'm a little nervous.

 

[1LoudLS]

as far gone as those boots are (not just a small tear but completely shredded up) I would be extremely surprised if all of those joints are or soon will be toast... once moisture, dirt and contaminates get it there, it really wears hard on the surfaces in there.

also with that amount of wear, you can pretty much bet that it is well past the time to replace any and all wear items under the car... I would make sure to inspect all of the ball joints, tie rods and links and bushings front and back just to how neglected that car has been.