Wheel movement...safe to drive?

[97splorer]

I finally pinpointed the noise I have been getting when I turn at slower speeds. It is almost like a grinding/binding sound. I jacked up the drivers side of the X and shook the wheel left to right with virtually no play. Then I went top to bottom (12 o'clock-6 0'clock) and I have some movement. I can feel and hear the movement coming from the upper ball joint. I thought if the ball joints were bad the play would be from left to right. Anyways, is it safe to drive untill I can fix it or not?

 

[boominXplorer]

if its very minor it will be fine for a little while. How bad does your steering wheel shake? ball joints are up and down and a tierod problem would be side to side. Then if it was loose all the way around then wither you dont have your lugnuts tight or its your wheel bearing

 

[97splorer]

The steering wheel doesn't really shake that much and the movement in the wheel is not major but it is there, It moves about 1/8" maybe a little more.

I can only tell there is a problem when I am making slow turns, but it seems to be getting a little more frequent.

 

[boominXplorer]

sure your camber adjuster bolts are tight? The ones that bolt the control arm to the rame.

 

[97splorer]

I checked everything I could find for loose bolts and found nothing loose. The upper ball joint used to pop and squeek real bad and I greased it up but apparently it didn't help. The play is coming from the upper ball joint on the drivers side.

 

[nailhead_sled]

Can you actually see the upper ball joint moving when you wiggle the wheel?

A day or so ago I noticed the drivers side wheel is out of whack camber wise and is starting to humm. I jacked her up today and reefed on the wheel checking for play. I too have considerable play up and down as well as a wee bit side to side.
When I wiggle the wheel while looking at the ball joints, they don’t seem to be moving at all.
Am I missing something or is this a bearing issue?

 

[Doug]

It's alright to drive on worn ball joints though it will cause your tires to wear though it's definantly something you'll want to take care of. While I've never heard of a ball joint seperating on the road I'm sure if left long enough it's possible. If it's a bad bearing you'll hear grinding expecially when turning, when the truck is jacked up the wheel will be very easy to move in any direction. It's also possible it's a combination of problems.

 

[rino351]

We had this happen to one of our trucks at work, and we only drove it from the point at which we found the problem, to the shop to get it fixed.

 

[nailhead_sled]

I’m heading out of town for the weekend directly after work , so I was left with no option but to drop my vehicle off at a shop near the office to have them replace the hub/bearing assembly.
Just received a call from them indicating that the upper and lower ball joints are also bad. Can’t help but feel this is B.S. as yesterday while checking the wheel for play, the joints did not move at all when shaking the wheel.
A bad bearing will cause up and down play in the wheel, right?

 

[Ford_Racing_Guy]

i usually put my hand on the balljoint while moving the wheel so you can tell if the balljoint is moving or not

 

[nailhead_sled]

Picked the vehicle up at lunch with the new bearing. Lifted the front end and gave the wheel a shake. No play at all. Just another story of a shop trying to add another few hundred to the bill.
This is why I much prefer doing things myself.

 

[MattPersman]

should have had them show you the play on the dial indicator at the shop of the ball joints. there is a spec and you have the right to have them show you their testing and reading if you do not believe it