Slight play in passenger side radius/control arm?

[ashner19]

2001 Ex sport 185k miles

First off I am no mechanic so I may not know the exact name for this part but I think its the raduis arm or control arm. While searching for the old motel mattress squeak gremlin on the front passenger side I noticed that the control arm has a little play in it in the lower part left of the shock in the pic. when i pull on the arm its able to move a few centimeters. The drivers side does not do this. The bushings seem ok and maybe i just need to tighten the bolt. I dont have the tools to get in there atm. Its a large bolt in a tight spot.

How dangerous is this while driving? The wheel has a little play in it as well when lifted on jack stands. Thanks in advance for any comments suggestions.

Still looking for the source of the squeak. Could this be a factor? Pretty sure its not coming from the brakes or shock at this point.

 

[poker4me007]

That's your upper control arm, all bolts should be tight and there really shouldn't be any movement with one wheel is lifted off the ground. If you have a little play it might be because of the loose bolt or worn bushings, ball joints, tie rods, etc..
Note: If you have both front wheels off the ground you might have a little movement.

And Yes it could be Very Dangerous have someone who knows what there doing check it out ASPS

 

[RickOTR]

It's a good idea to check all the bolts and fasteners every once in a while. I had a loose control arm bolt years ago. Now I make it a habit to check them regularly

 

[ashner19]

Thank you both for the replies. Yes I need to pay attention to those and do more inspection when I have the truck on jacks for an oil change.

Turns out the passenger side upper ball joint had failed and I suspect the creaking noise was from the wheel bearing. I had them do those and a brake fluid flush while it was at the shop cuz I didnt want to be without a vehicle while I waited for parts. But at the 250$ and hour labor they charge I couldnt afford to get more of the recommended work done. Im all for supporting repair shops but they wanted 75$ to replace windsheild wipers and 50$ to put in new reverse light bulbs. Both jobs took me less than 5 minutes at less than 20$ for parts. I was disappointed they couldnt tell me the name of the parts they used and it wasnt on the invoice. Wish I wouldve caught this in time so I could do the repairs myself and saved over 500$.

The passenger side lower ball joint cover is torn and I just got a new moog lower ball joint(no dust cover?). Plan on tackling this soon while I replace the brakes. Grateful for the write ups on this site for lower ball joint replacement. That will be very helpful and save me a lot of money if I can get it done.

 

[XLTrunner]

Those shop prices are insane. $75 to swap out the wiper blades and $50 to replace some bulbs? Beyond ridiculous. I'd be looking for another shop for future repairs. Better yet, invest in the necessary tools and learn to do some of this maintenance work yourself (assuming you have somewhere to work on it).

 

[ashner19]

Those shop prices are insane. $75 to swap out the wiper blades and $50 to replace some bulbs? Beyond ridiculous. I'd be looking for another shop for future repairs. Better yet, invest in the necessary tools and learn to do some of this maintenance work yourself (assuming you have somewhere to work on it).

Absolutely. Over the last few years i have been doing most of the maintenance myself. I’ve done the brakes, new spark plugs, new starter, new shocks, all the oil and filter changes, etc. Unfortunately I neglected the to keep up with the ball joints and wheel hubs. An expensive lesson and I will do a better job shopping around for a more reasonably priced repair shop.