how far can i drive with bad ball joints?

[xz96]

Im in a small town in the mountains, yesterday the truck squeak when I turn the wheels, and a local mechanic said it's the balljoints. he jacked up the truck and showed me the ball joints, the lower one's kinda worn, and it's a little sloppy. I'm 500 miles from home. The mechanic said there's no way to tell how far i can drive with these ball joints, he's like "probablly, i don't know, anything can happen". it's very expensive here to fix the ball joints, auto parts need to be shipped here from 200miles away.

the squeak noise started yesterday,

Today there's no more squeak and i wonder if it's safe to drive the truck home with bad balljoints?(500miles)

Should I stop every 2 hours on road, or just keep driving until filling up gas

 

[koda2000]

short answer is... it depends on how bad they are. the lower ball joint typically gets more wear than the upper. i'd say, if there's just a little wiggle in either joint, you should have no problem driving 500 miles. they start to clunk when they're really bad. what usually happens is that the rubber boot deteriorates and then the grease goes away and water and dirt get in. hence the squeaking noise. i can understand why the mechanic doesn't want to go out on a limb and tell you you'll have no problem, he doesn't want the liability if something does happen and would probably like the business. just take it easy you should be fine. heck some people just ignore the problem until the wheels literally fall off. that takes a lot of ignoring.

 

[SoNic67]

The wheel can fall off. That's the gamble.

PS: I always try to keep maintenance up to date on my cars just to avoid being stranded or expensive repairs out-of-town.

 

[colintrax]

You'll probably be fine for a few thousand. I put a couple hundred on with a bent control arm and busted ball joint.
Just remember, the wheel COULD come off. You're also hurting gas mileage and causing lots of wear on the tire. Id fix it asap. Like most people will tell you, get MOOG. Don't buy advanced auto brand lol

 

[drdoom]

Go for it.

 

[xz96]

short answer is... it depends on how bad they are. the lower ball joint typically gets more wear than the upper. i'd say, if there's just a little wiggle in either joint, you should have no problem driving 500 miles. they start to clunk when they're really bad. what usually happens is that the rubber boot deteriorates and then the grease goes away and water and dirt get in. hence the squeaking noise. i can understand why the mechanic doesn't want to go out on a limb and tell you you'll have no problem, he doesn't want the liability if something does happen and would probably like the business. just take it easy you should be fine. heck some people just ignore the problem until the wheels literally fall off. that takes a lot of ignoring.

now i understand why it squeak yesterday, there was a storm yesterday, water must got in.

 

[xz96]

You'll probably be fine for a few thousand. I put a couple hundred on with a bent control arm and busted ball joint.
Just remember, the wheel COULD come off. You're also hurting gas mileage and causing lots of wear on the tire. Id fix it asap. Like most people will tell you, get MOOG. Don't buy advanced auto brand lol

MPG is better than usual, I don't know why, average 20mpg, mostly highway 4.0sohc light load 2dr,29-30psi cold.. is it a good sigh for the ball joints?does this mean the ball joints are still ok?

 

[jremington59]

Slop a little grease on them and take it home. Just drive careful. If they were real bad he'd have told you not to do it at all..

 

[Flash]

If you drive 500 miles on a bad ball joint I'm almost sure 1 or both of your front tyres will be fragged by the time you get home so think of that when you're comparing expenses.

 

[99SportX]

I wouldnt worry about it. I have been driving my 99 mountaineer with clunking ball joints for a couple thousand miles while my 99 xlt is in the garage for ball joints and a whole ton of other stuff for the same reason. Finding time to get done has been the issue.

My dad owned this mountaineer before me and the joints had been clunking a while for him also. Not recommended to run this long for reasons of tire wear and safety as others have said, but you should be fine for 500 miles.

 

[xz96]

If you drive 500 miles on a bad ball joint I'm almost sure 1 or both of your front tyres will be fragged by the time you get home so think of that when you're comparing expenses.

i guess the ball joint is not as bad as it looks like, already put over 400 miles on the truck after it started squeak, tire looks ok. tires do move slightly horizontally when i jack the truck up and push the tire by hand

 

[koda2000]

i guess the ball joint is not as bad as it looks like, already put over 400 miles on the truck after it started squeak, tire looks ok. tires do move slightly horizontally when i jack the truck up and push the tire by hand

the correct way to check front end components (ball joints & tie-rod ends) is to jack each wheel off the ground by the jack-point on the lower control arm. this keeps the truck at ride height relative to the suspension.

ball joint check:
grab the tire at 12:00 and 6:00 and push on the top while pulling the bottom. there should be no perceptible movement or play. a tiny bit is not unusual. if significant movement or play is felt the ball joints should be replaced.

tie-rod check:
grab the tire at 9:00 and 3:00 and push on one side while pulling on the other. there should be no perceptible movement or play. even a tiny bit is unacceptable. have the worn components replaced.

 

[Harris7381]

I wouldnt worry about it. I have been driving my 99 mountaineer with clunking ball joints for a couple thousand miles while my 99 xlt is in the garage for ball joints and a whole ton of other stuff for the same reason. Finding time to get done has been the issue.

My dad owned this mountaineer before me and the joints had been clunking a while for him also. Not recommended to run this long for reasons of tire wear and safety as others have said, but you should be fine for 500 miles.

Ok I just took a trip was unaware of bad lower ball joints went roughly 1500 miles then come home and steering got lose alot of wandering on my way to work(which is 40 miles away) monday then tues I started noticing real bad clunking in my driveway over rocks or potholes or rought terrain. I still have to make it the rest of the week to my job til sat does anyone think I will make it til then or am I pushing my luck. It is my only vehicle but I still have to go to work. So what do I do

 

[SenseiJ]

Ok I just took a trip was unaware of bad lower ball joints went roughly 1500 miles then come home and steering got lose alot of wandering on my way to work(which is 40 miles away) monday then tues I started noticing real bad clunking in my driveway over rocks or potholes or rought terrain. I still have to make it the rest of the week to my job til sat does anyone think I will make it til then or am I pushing my luck. It is my only vehicle but I still have to go to work. So what do I do

stop driving it. fix it. get rides if you have to.

 

[swshawaii]

Ok I just took a trip was unaware of bad lower ball joints went roughly 1500 miles then come home and steering got lose alot of wandering on my way to work(which is 40 miles away) monday then tues I started noticing real bad clunking in my driveway over rocks or potholes or rought terrain. I still have to make it the rest of the week to my job til sat does anyone think I will make it til then or am I pushing my luck. It is my only vehicle but I still have to go to work. So what do I do

This thread is from 2014, but the danger still applies. If you've ever seen the result of ball joint failure at highway speed you would call a friend or Uber. Park it until repaired and stay safe. Good luck.

 

[fast_dave]

Just sayin' - Besides being unsafe and wearing the inner edge of your tires out at an excessive rate,
bad ball joints will also beat the sheet out of your tie rod ends and p/s rack - one thing leads to another.
Pay now or pay dearly later -

 

[traveler]

All the way to the scene of the accident......

 

[C420sailor]

Sensei, you’ve been replying to 10+ year old threads.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Sensei, you’ve been replying to 10+ year old threads.

This one was actually bumped by someone asking the same question as the original poster.

Ok I just took a trip was unaware of bad lower ball joints went roughly 1500 miles then come home and steering got lose alot of wandering on my way to work(which is 40 miles away) monday then tues I started noticing real bad clunking in my driveway over rocks or potholes or rought terrain. I still have to make it the rest of the week to my job til sat does anyone think I will make it til then or am I pushing my luck. It is my only vehicle but I still have to go to work. So what do I do

You don’t drive it under any circumstances. If it’s effecting the steering it’s already terrible. If one lets loose your wheel will break off entirely taking a bunch of suspension with it, total your truck, and potentially kill you, or more importantly anyone else unfortunate enough to be near your car.

 

[fastpakr]

All the way to the scene of the accident......

Yep - that was exactly my thought when the thread title popped up. I'm not a Ron White fan, but that joke is etched on my brain.