Checking for worn ball joints

[Rick98]

I checked all over this site for proper ball joint inspection with no luck. Ive read people saying that just grabbing the top and bottom of the tire and wiggling it to check for play. The other is lifting the control arm and then wiggling it to check for play. Mine dont move. I took my truck to get aligned since I just got new tires and the mechanic who installed my tires told me the ball joints look a little dry but they are solid. As i waited a the alignment shop he showed me the play that was present. He had a pry bar resting on the lift and he would pull the pry bar down and the entire wheel assembly would move. Both sides did the same. I dont know if this a normal movement being that this is a Ford since they do things differently. (I'm not trash talking Ford at all) I just need help. I would appreciate it if any can help. Thanks. BTW its a 00 explorer 5.0 4x4

 

[drothgeb]

Put it on jack stands and grab the wheel at 12 and 6 o'clock, if there is play then your ball-joints are most likely worn.

 

[scucci]

In the good old days we used to pry up on the tire and any up down movement was a no-go. Here is Ford's service manual procedure:

Ball Joint Radial Play
Lower ball joint — maximum 0.8 mm (1/32 in.)
Upper ball joint — maximum 0.8 mm (1/32 in.)

Ball Joint Inspection

1: Raise and support the vehicle.

2: Prior to performing any inspection of the ball joints, inspect the front wheel bearings.

3: Position a safety stand beneath the front suspension lower arm to be tested.

4: While an assistant pulls and pushes the bottom of the tire, measure the relative movement between the lower spindle arm and the front suspension lower arm ball joint using a suitable dial indicator. Any movement at or exceeding the specification indicates a worn or damaged lower ball joint. Install a new lower arm as necessary.

5: While an assistant pulls and pushes the top of the tire, measure the relative movement between the upper spindle arm and the front suspension upper ball joint using a suitable dial indicator. Movement at or exceeding the specification indicates a worn or damaged upper ball joint. Install a new upper arm as necessary.

 

[Creatve]

To throughly check the lower ball joints you have to jack up the car on the lower control arms just enough that the tires come off the ground and stick a prybar or something like it between the tire and the ground. Pry up and down to lift the tire a bit and watch for movement on the lower ball joints. Thats the proper way to check the lower ball joints on these vehicles.

 

[windsors03cobra]

Ball joints are a common wear item that need replacing after awhile on many automobiles. Replace what they said was bad and take it back for an alignment.

How many miles are you at ? I replaced lowers at 130k and uppers at 190k on my 99 5.0 AWDriver. I was overdue both times.
Really kicking myself in the arse over ruining 10k worth of tire life on my current treads.

 

[Rick98]

Ball joints are a common wear item that need replacing after awhile on many automobiles. Replace what they said was bad and take it back for an alignment.

How many miles are you at ? I replaced lowers at 130k and uppers at 190k on my 99 5.0 AWDriver. I was overdue both times.
Really kicking myself in the arse over ruining 10k worth of tire life on my current treads.

At the moment I have 117k

 

[Gixxer1000]

Just change your lower ball joints. The moog lower ball joints on Amazon are only $28 each. There's a good how-to sticky in this forum. If you have basic mechanic skills and the right tools changing the lower ball joints is not difficult. In my case the difference in how tight and responsive the steering with new lower ball joints is amazing. I wish I had changed them sooner. Also you risk ruining the inside edge of your front tires if you put it off.