How do I test ball joints, and if they're bad, how bad are they?

[askthemasses]

Got new tires today and they let me rock the wheels while it was jacked up. Passenger wheel didn't budge, driver wheel had very slight left-right play. Like, a fraction of a centimeter, but it still moved. I'm assuming something needs to be replaced- ball joints? How do I tell how bad it is? Like, do it tomorrow and not drive on it until then? Do it within the month and drive carefully?

 

[holyford86]

Side to side play would indicate worn steering components, Ball joint play is up down play. Play in either direction could also indicate loose wheel bearings, best to have an assistant wiggle the assembly and start putting your hands on components to track down where the play is coming from.

 

[Will]

Ball joints are balls. They wear every which way. Jack it up on stands, get under there and watch the ball joints. Leave the tires on for leverage. They will wiggle if they are loose. They will wiggle any which way you move them. They are ball joints, like your shoulder.

Steering joints (tie rod ends) are also ball joints, but they have nothing to do with this.

Wheel bearings--very unlikely to feel them like you are. Not impossible.

Find someone knowledgeable.

Or don't worry about it. If the old tires lasted ok, then it wasn't bad enough to make a difference.

 

[askthemasses]

Ball joints are balls. They wear every which way. Jack it up on stands, get under there and watch the ball joints. Leave the tires on for leverage. They will wiggle if they are loose. They will wiggle any which way you move them. They are ball joints, like your shoulder.

Steering joints (tie rod ends) are also ball joints, but they have nothing to do with this.

Wheel bearings--very unlikely to feel them like you are. Not impossible.

Find someone knowledgeable.

Or don't worry about it. If the old tires lasted ok, then it wasn't bad enough to make a difference.

Yea that's what I am wondering- if I can leave them for a bit. The dudes at the tire shop when I was getting new tires were saying they were bad, but I was also told that no one could check my brakes/ball joints because no techs were in... so maybe they just felt the same wiggle and said "yep they're faulty" but aren't pro enough to determine HOW bad they are? Or WHAT exactly is bad? And I don't know how to determine that myself yet. I'll get a second opinion.

 

[Denisefwd93]

Yea that's what I am wondering- if I can leave them for a bit. The dudes at the tire shop when I was getting new tires were saying they were bad, but I was also told that no one could check my brakes/ball joints because no techs were in... so maybe they just felt the same wiggle and said "yep they're faulty" but aren't pro enough to determine HOW bad they are? Or WHAT exactly is bad? And I don't know how to determine that myself yet. I'll get a second opinion.

My garage told me they were okay and they were moving almost a half an inch on both sides! Going by what you're saying, yours aren't hardly bad at all, just grease them it may make up the difference.

 

[91stranger]

half a centimeter is nothing to worry about in a truck. I would suspect the outer tie rod is starting to wear out. These can go a lot worse than half a centimeter. I wouldn't worry about it for a WHILE. If you want you can change one pretty easily for under $20-30 and a few hours out of the day if you are a laid back mechanic or if you are good at what you do then it would only take 30-45 minutes start to finish. Just have to get an alignment done if you do it yourself. I would physically look at the tie rods and balls joints and check for grease seeping out or torn rubber. If it was mine I would leave it if it is driving good and tires aren't wearing bad.

 

[adsm08]

The play from a joint will be felt in the tire at the point the joint is at.

So a tie rod will be felt with your hands at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions. Ball joints are felt at 12 and 6. A wheel bearing will be felt the whole way around, so if I suspect a wheel bearing I like to check in multiple spots, including 11/4 and/or 2/7. It is always best to have an assistant.

If you are dealing with a McPherson strut system that has no upper ball joint you also need to pay attention to where the tie rod connects to a knuckle, and where you feel the play. If the tie rod attaches in front of the ball joint you may only feel play on the rear of the tire, which would be a bad ball joint, or only on the front of the tire, which would be a bad tie rod. If the tie rod attaches behind the ball joint that is reversed.

 

[Shran]

half a centimeter is nothing to worry about in a truck.

Stop giving advice.

Half a centimeter, or 5mm, or roughly 1/4", is a LOT of play in any steering component. If I saw that much play in a ball joint - I would consider it extremely worn.

The only "normal" play in the steering should be left-right movement when the wheels are off the ground and only between the steering box itself and the steering wheel - There is always a little bit there. Elsewhere - ball joints, tie rod ends, wheel bearings - there should be NONE.

Ball joints are pretty easy but you need a ball joint press and torque wrench. Don't do just one either, do both on one side or all four. If one is bad, chances are good that the other three are going to fail sooner than later.

FWIW, probably 90% of the TTB/D35 trucks I've worked on came in with wheel bearing failure on both sides, usually to an extreme degree. 30-40% have had at least one bad ball joint, usually lowers. Not many bad tie rod ends though.

I've heard this attributed to the space between the wheel bearings, but if that was the case then the D28 would be prone to the same issues - however that is NOT the case, in my experience.

 

[askthemasses]

Took it to a shop and got second opinion and they said it was actually a lousy caliper on that wheel that was allowing for the slight play. One of the ujoint boots is torn, but otherwise everything else looked fine.

But I'm going to do the wheel bearings while I'm in there anyway.

 

[Denisefwd93]

Took it to a shop and got second opinion and they said it was actually a lousy caliper on that wheel that was allowing for the slight play. One of the ujoint boots is torn, but otherwise everything else looked fine.

But I'm going to do the wheel bearings while I'm in there anyway.

4wd?

 

[askthemasses]

2wd

 

[91stranger]

Stop giving advice.

Half a centimeter, or 5mm, or roughly 1/4", is a LOT of play in any steering component. If I saw that much play in a ball joint - I would consider it extremely worn.

The only "normal" play in the steering should be left-right movement when the wheels are off the ground and only between the steering box itself and the steering wheel - There is always a little bit there. Elsewhere - ball joints, tie rod ends, wheel bearings - there should be NONE.

Ball joints are pretty easy but you need a ball joint press and torque wrench. Don't do just one either, do both on one side or all four. If one is bad, chances are good that the other three are going to fail sooner than later.

FWIW, probably 90% of the TTB/D35 trucks I've worked on came in with wheel bearing failure on both sides, usually to an extreme degree. 30-40% have had at least one bad ball joint, usually lowers. Not many bad tie rod ends though.

I've heard this attributed to the space between the wheel bearings, but if that was the case then the D28 would be prone to the same issues - however that is NOT the case, in my experience.

This is a forum. I can give advice if I want. The OP is obviously a newbie to anything mechanical on a truck since they were asking questions like this to begin with. This is also an older truck so small amounts of play is normal in my opinion. I used to do tires everyday for 2 years. Every car that came off the ground got their tires shook. 1/2 centimeter or 1/4" is not a lot when talking about a truck. As long as the boots are in good shape, not seeping grease, or really old/rusty then it's fine (like I previously said). Now that doesn't mean you shouldn't replace them if you have the time or money. Not all of us (me) are made of money so we cant fix every minor issue when they come up. The OP was asking for input on if it was ok for this minute or 6 months and so on so I gave. Please do not tell me to stop giving advice when advice is asked.

 

[Shran]

... I can give advice if I want. ... it's fine ... Not all of us (me) are made of money...

Yeah, you have made it abundantly clear in other posts that you have no money. I get it, I had a kid at 19, worked for $11/hour and lived in a shitty trailer park for quite a while - I'm sure I can tell you a few things about being broke. That is still no excuse for giving bad advice about steering components to a potential audience of 7 billion. A set of 4 ball joints for a 1997 2wd truck are less than $20 from RockAuto, the tool is free on a rental deal from your local parts store.

Worn out steering parts are a total different deal than a muffler that fell off or a broken tail light. This is the reason why so many states have safety inspections now - people just let it go until catastrophic failure happens. Don't be that guy.

 

[askthemasses]

Yeah, you have made it abundantly clear in other posts that you have no money. I get it, I had a kid at 19, worked for $11/hour and lived in a shitty trailer park for quite a while - I'm sure I can tell you a few things about being broke. That is still no excuse for giving bad advice about steering components to a potential audience of 7 billion. A set of 4 ball joints for a 1997 2wd truck are less than $20 from RockAuto, the tool is free on a rental deal from your local parts store.

Worn out steering parts are a total different deal than a muffler that fell off or a broken tail light. This is the reason why so many states have safety inspections now - people just let it go until catastrophic failure happens. Don't be that guy.

Obviously different opinions here, and it's important to remember that that's OK. No one can convince the world that they're right- you both have previous experiences that validate your current opinion. No reason to invalidate someone and especially no reason to call out someone's financial situation. I appreciate the opinions from BOTH OF YOU, and both responses will help guide me forward. No reason to be crude.

 

[Andy D]

Going with Shran on this. The way a ball joint wears is the tool steel ball hammers out its sheet metal socket. The balls are capable of hammering their way completely out of the socket. You really don't want this to happen. 5 mm is 4 mm too much play. I was lucky, both times I was pulling into a parking space. I started working on cars when I was 10 yrs old, I'm still at it at 67. You young guys,especially with kids, if money is tight, fix your own stuff, Get good used parts at a JYard. My last front end job on my 528e, I used used parts that I re-greased by drilling a 3/16 in the socket crown and using a zerks that tapped itself in. After I greased a balljoint, I covered the hole with a blob of RTV. These were tight, a little bound even. But they all needed boots. I used day glo orange urethane boots that cost 4.99 a pair. Good as new