Went for an alignment....

[Spartan]

And It was a no go. Apparently all 4 of my Ball Joints are bad.


I was reading through the balljoint replacement stickies above, and saw something that has me confused.

My truck is a 1996 2WD 5.0. How the tech at the dealership tested the balljoints was to raise the truck up on a lift, (not supporting the control arms) and used a pry bar to move the spindle up and down. There was mabey about 7/16" to 1/2" VERTICAL movement on the ball Joints. From what iv'e read on the stickies above, that is not an accurate test for your balljoints.

According to the service manual, the only tests you should do are with the arm supported, and wiggle the bottom of the tire in and out, and then the top, looking for horizontal play in the joints. IS THAT ACCURATE? I'm just trying to figure out if my balljoints are actually toast.


Other than a growling noise in the front (either tires or a wheel bearing) the truck rides smooth, without clunks or shimmeys that would be a dead giveaway for balljoint issues. Any Ideas???

 

[yavapaires]

And It was a no go. Apparently all 4 of my Ball Joints are bad.


I was reading through the balljoint replacement stickies above, and saw something that has me confused.

My truck is a 1996 2WD 5.0. How the tech at the dealership tested the balljoints was to raise the truck up on a lift, (not supporting the control arms) and used a pry bar to move the spindle up and down. There was mabey about 7/16" to 1/2" VERTICAL movement on the ball Joints. From what iv'e read on the stickies above, that is not an accurate test for your balljoints.

According to the service manual, the only tests you should do are with the arm supported, and wiggle the bottom of the tire in and out, and then the top, looking for horizontal play in the joints. IS THAT ACCURATE? I'm just trying to figure out if my balljoints are actually toast.


Other than a growling noise in the front (either tires or a wheel bearing) the truck rides smooth, without clunks or shimmeys that would be a dead giveaway for balljoint issues. Any Ideas???

Was the movement actually in the ball joints, or did the control arms move also? Try this old trick for checking kingpins. Jack up the wheel, using a suitable pry bar, inserted through a slot in the wheel, see if you can raise the tire/ wheel. Then grab the top of the tire, pushing and pulling it in and out. You can have a helper do this while you see where the movement really is.