How to check if need a lower ball joint replacement

Hi guys,
About to do the torsion key flip and since I need to get an alignment after I was wanting to check my lower ball joints. How do I go about checking if I need the lower ball joints replaced or not? What symptoms should I look for? Does anyone have pictures of worn joints? I own an 03 Ex Sport 4WD. Thanks.

Put a jack under the lower control arm, raise the truck just enough to see daylight under the tire. Take a pry bar of some sorts and insert it between the knuckle and the lower control pry up and down and look for movement in the ball joint. Some times you can wiggle the tire by grabbing at the 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock position and pushing on the 12 o'clock while pulling at the 6 o'clock, this method might take another person to watch the ball joints and watch for movement.

Eric

mechanix said:

Put a jack under the lower control arm, raise the truck just enough to see daylight under the tire. Take a pry bar of some sorts and insert it between the knuckle and the lower control pry up and down and look for movement in the ball joint. Some times you can wiggle the tire by grabbing at the 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock position and pushing on the 12 o'clock while pulling at the 6 o'clock, this method might take another person to watch the ball joints and watch for movement.

Eric

Click to expand...

The service manual just says to jack the control arm and shake it and check for radial (side to side play) and not check for up down play with any tools. Just quoting what the book says

96eb96 said:

The service manual just says to jack the control arm and shake it and check for radial (side to side play) and not check for up down play with any tools. Just quoting what the book says

Click to expand...

Take what the book says to do and cut it out, then print out what I said to do and paste it in the spot you cut out. Then reread what the book says and then check the ball joints.

From the sounds of it what you posted describes how to check tie rod ends, pitnam arm, and idler arm linkage. For these items you would grasp the tire at the 3 o'clock and the 9 o'clock position and try to wiggle the tire. And of course you will need to have the tire jacked up so you can wiggle the tire.

Eric

mechanix said:

Take what the book says to do and cut it out, then print out what I said to do and paste it in the spot you cut out. Then reread what the book says and then check the ball joints.

From the sounds of it what you posted describes how to check tie rod ends, pitnam arm, and idler arm linkage. For these items you would grasp the tire at the 3 o'clock and the 9 o'clock position and try to wiggle the tire. And of course you will need to have the tire jacked up so you can wiggle the tire.

Eric

Click to expand...

This is the exact quote from the book: (so you are saying its not correct in your experience- Honestly I heard pros tell me yes and no.)....

Raise the vehicle and place safety stands under the (A) suspension arm.
Have an assistant grasp the (B) lower and upper edges of the tire and move the wheel (1007) in and out.

While the wheel is being moved, observe the lower spindle arm and the lower part of the axle jaw. A 0.8 mm (1/32 in) or greater movement between the lower portion of the suspension arm and the lower spindle arm indicates that the front suspension lower arm ball joint must be replaced.
To check the front suspension upper ball joints, grasp the upper edge of the tire and move the wheel in and out. A 0.8 mm (1/32 in) or greater movement between the upper spindle arm and the upper portion of the suspension arm indicates that the front suspension upper ball joint must be replaced.

Holy this forum rocks. That was fast guys, really appreciate it. Thanks a lot mechanix and 96eb96

So I'm just wondering, what are the reasons to change the lower ball joint? It's so expensive! I was quoted $560 CAN to get it all done. Labour was the most expensive. (Shop is a reasonable and reputable shop though, I'm just saying lower ball joint jobs are expensive in general) I read the sticky for lower ball joint replacement, what is the difficulty level?

So what happens if I don't change it? The shop I go to is really good and recommended by everyone. It's Dale's Alignment up in Langley. I called them up today to get a quote on alignment and tire mounting/balance and installation of camber adjusters. They gave me a reasonable quote of $289 taxes in for all of the above. But since being the experienced shop that they are, and understanding I am travelling over 40km to get the job done, they also asked if my ball joints have been replaced since they are known to break down after 60k (i have 92,000 km now). So big question is, what happens if I don't change it?

And if I do change it, I'm guessing I may mess up the alignment/steering while I'm at it, so it's best to do it before I bring it in for an alignment correct?

Thanks again!

96eb96 said:

This is the exact quote from the book: (so you are saying its not correct in your experience- Honestly I heard pros tell me yes and no.)....

Raise the vehicle and place safety stands under the (A) suspension arm.
Have an assistant grasp the (B) lower and upper edges of the tire and move the wheel (1007) in and out.

While the wheel is being moved, observe the lower spindle arm and the lower part of the axle jaw. A 0.8 mm (1/32 in) or greater movement between the lower portion of the suspension arm and the lower spindle arm indicates that the front suspension lower arm ball joint must be replaced.
To check the front suspension upper ball joints, grasp the upper edge of the tire and move the wheel in and out. A 0.8 mm (1/32 in) or greater movement between the upper spindle arm and the upper portion of the suspension arm indicates that the front suspension upper ball joint must be replaced.

Click to expand...

What I stated is what the book says, yes? In your first post you said "side to side", the book dosen't say side to side, it says "grasp at "A" and "B" and push in and out NOT side to side. Side to side is for checking tie rod ends and such like I said in my first post.

The reason for changing the lower ball joint usually stems from being loose. The lower ball joint loosing up will cause sometimes a clunking or a rattle noise in the front end. Also it will cause the bottom of the tire to kick out some and cause the alignment to be off, thus causing wear and tear on your tires.

To do the job yourself you will need a ball joint press and a axle nut socket to remove the axle nut from axle so you can slide it out of the wheel bearing. I would say for someone who hasn't done it before I would suggest getting help from someone who has. Tearing the ball joint out is a very dangerous job if you have never done it before. Keep the questions coming, we are willing to help.

Eric

mechanix said:

What I stated is what the book says, yes? In your first post you said "side to side", the book dosen't say side to side, it says "grasp at "A" and "B" and push in and out NOT side to side. Side to side is for checking tie rod ends and such like I said in my first post.

The reason for changing the lower ball joint usually stems from being loose. The lower ball joint loosing up will cause sometimes a clunking or a rattle noise in the front end. Also it will cause the bottom of the tire to kick out some and cause the alignment to be off, thus causing wear and tear on your tires.

To do the job yourself you will need a ball joint press and a axle nut socket to remove the axle nut from axle so you can slide it out of the wheel bearing. I would say for someone who hasn't done it before I would suggest getting help from someone who has. Tearing the ball joint out is a very dangerous job if you have never done it before. Keep the questions coming, we are willing to help.

Eric

Click to expand...

I wrote the response quickly and meant side to side movement on the ball joint, not the tie rod side. Thanks for the clarify.

I was a bit confused where you wrote up and down...(axial play)
I can make my ball joint go up and down with a prybar, but it is rock solid with the indicated test in the manual. I double checked with a dealer and they said that is normal for an Explorer because its loading characteristic, unless the joint is brand new. They even passed it on inspection.

You are the pro, lets clarify that issue . Do you need tools or is a hand check sufficient.

Thanks

Crap now I'm a little confused, so according to that diagram, if I want to check the lower ball joint, I would hold the lower B and A and push in and out and look for looseness where? I thought the lower ball joint is covered by the tire? How can we see the movement? Or is it just the fact that if it moves, then it needs replacement/ means it is loose.

mechanix said:

Put a jack under the lower control arm, raise the truck just enough to see daylight under the tire. Take a pry bar of some sorts and insert it between the knuckle and the lower control pry up and down and look for movement in the ball joint. Some times you can wiggle the tire by grabbing at the 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock position and pushing on the 12 o'clock while pulling at the 6 o'clock, this method might take another person to watch the ball joints and watch for movement.

Eric

Click to expand...

I too am a professional ASE certified mechanic, and I must agree that THIS method is the PROPER way to check lower ball joints.

JoeCool6972 said:

I too am a professional ASE certified mechanic, and I must agree that THIS method is the PROPER way to check lower ball joints.

Click to expand...

Thank God for you guys haha. I'll try that method! But thanks to all who contributed.

JoeCool6972 said:

I too am a professional ASE certified mechanic, and I must agree that THIS method is the PROPER way to check lower ball joints.

Click to expand...

Sorry Joe. Not on these vehicles. Use the method that was posted from the book.

ornithology said:

Crap now I'm a little confused, so according to that diagram, if I want to check the lower ball joint, I would hold the lower B and A and push in and out and look for looseness where? I thought the lower ball joint is covered by the tire? How can we see the movement? Or is it just the fact that if it moves, then it needs replacement/ means it is loose.

Click to expand...

If it's bad you'll FEEL the wheel move in and out so you won't need to see the ball joint when checking. If it's really bad you can hear it thump when you do it. (assuming the hub is tight and bearing good)

donlightbody said:

If it's bad you'll FEEL the wheel move in and out so you won't need to see the ball joint when checking. If it's really bad you can hear it thump when you do it.

Click to expand...

Damn, alright thanks man. Hopefully I don't feel anything then .

How bad is bad though?

Both ways are valid ways to check for loose ball joints. Sometimes the method shown in the manual isn't as effecient for finding those borderline cases since you don't have as much force behind compared to a prybar being shoved between the knuckle & arm and having pressure exerted on it.

Chilton's manual says 1/32"movement should be replaced. I don't know that I'd be in a rush at that point though. To measure that you would certainly need a helper to watch and make sure it is the ball joint and not a loose hub or worn bearing. Still, I just can't imaging 1/32 of an inch. That what Chiton's says. My 88 Bronco II had a lower ball joint that had damn near a 1/4" slop for a long time with no issues except some thumping noise. My ex is nice and tight tho

Well, the explorer is tight, not the ex-wife :bsnicker: