How to check if upper ball joint needs replacement

[ornithology]

Well, if you read my other post, I was checking for the lower ball joint. Now it came to my curiosity what about the upper one? Is it possible that only the lower requires replacement and not the upper joint? How would I go about checking the upper ball joint? Thanks in advance, love this forum.

 

[jls1znv9999]

You would need to have the front up (MAKE sure you use jack stands and something that will prevent it from crushing you)
Then while under the vehicle or area where you can visually see the upper joints, have someone place a cheater bar or other heavy wall pipe from the outside of the bottom tire and have them slightly lift up. If you see give in the ball joint (similar to checking driveshaft). There will be some very slight wiggle but if there is more they have got to go. Also check to make sure boot's are not hard/cracked or if they are present.

If you should decide to replace them i would suggest Moog. They are better and cheaper than OEM and they have limited lifetime warranty and each has a grease fitting. This fitting will allow you to keep from having to do it. Someone has a sticky up for replacing these if they are out of your skill range. It's not that bad and it's pretty much straight forward.

MAKE SURE TO NOTE THE CAMBERS AND THEIR LOCATION>

 

[ornithology]

Thanks! I'll give er a look this week.