Signs of worn Ball Joints?

Charlie Mike

Charlie Mike

New member
Hi All,
Been a long time since I've posted here. Life's responsibilities seem to get in the way of the fun Jeep stuff.

Anyways, I recently noticed that at highway speeds my rig will subtly veer left and right. If I hold the steering wheel completely straight and still, I will stay within my lane but I'm definitely kissing the left and right lines as I sway back and forth very gradually. Also, when I begin to slow down from highway speeds on the off-ramp there will be a very noticeable shimmy left and right in the steering wheel. It's definitely not a violent "death wobble" per se, but it's very noticeable.
Thoughts? Worn Ball Joints?

Thanks everyone!
:beer:
 
hinrichs

hinrichs

Caught the Bug
How many miles are on them? I would also double check the torque of your drag link. Mine was loose...well very loose...and it was doing what you are saying. I also hit a bump and almost changed lanes as well.
 
WJCO

WJCO

Meme King
Charlie Mike said:
Hi All,
Been a long time since I've posted here. Life's responsibilities seem to get in the way of the fun Jeep stuff.

Anyways, I recently noticed that at highway speeds my rig will subtly veer left and right. If I hold the steering wheel completely straight and still, I will stay within my lane but I'm definitely kissing the left and right lines as I sway back and forth very gradually. Also, when I begin to slow down from highway speeds on the off-ramp there will be a very noticeable shimmy left and right in the steering wheel. It's definitely not a violent "death wobble" per se, but it's very noticeable.
Thoughts? Worn Ball Joints?

Thanks everyone!
:beer:
Click to expand...

Could be a tire issue, but more likely sounds like play in your steering linkage. I would start by having someone turn your steering wheel back and forth while you look underneath for play. A tire rotation may also move the bad tire to the rear and eliminate the symptom if it is a tire issue. That's where I would start. If you do want to check ball joints, you can do that by jacking the vehicle up and putting the axle on a jack stand to keep the weight on the joints, then use a shovel or 2x4 to check for ball joint play.
 
toxicwaste29

toxicwaste29

New member
It's easy enough to check over your front suspension. Jack up the front and stick a bar under the tires and pry up and look for bj movement. Also have someone shimmy the steering wheel back and forth looking under it for movement in any joints. Easy enough to check out the front end in less than an hour
 
Jeepfan30

Jeepfan30

Member
I have 20,000 miles on my stock ball joints, all with 35's and had C gussets welded on. When I jack the jeep up I hear a clunk as the tire leaves the ground, and again when I lower the jeep and the tire contacts the ground. When I put a pipe under the tire and pry up I can see and feel movement up and down in the upper ball joint. I would say time to replace right?
 
Last edited:
HighwayTrout

HighwayTrout

Hooked
Jeepfan30 said:
I have 20,000 miles on my stock ball joints, all with 35's and had C gussets welded on. When I jack the jeep up I hear a clunk as the tire leaves the ground, and again when I lower the jeep and the tire contacts the ground. When I put a pipe under the tire and pry up I can see and feel movement up and down. I would say time to replace right?
Click to expand...

Unit bearing maybe.
 
WJCO

WJCO

Meme King
Jeepfan30 said:
I have 20,000 miles on my stock ball joints, all with 35's and had C gussets welded on. When I jack the jeep up I hear a clunk as the tire leaves the ground, and again when I lower the jeep and the tire contacts the ground. When I put a pipe under the tire and pry up I can see and feel movement up and down. I would say time to replace right?
Click to expand...

I would actually try and see where that clunk is coming from. Could be ball joints. Verify for yourself, but I believe allowable movement is .050 to .060 per Jeep. If they're worn enough to cause the clunk you're talking about, chances are they're worn beyond that. As HighwayTrout suggested, check your unit bearing. That's a much easier check. Grab wheel at 12 and 6 oclock and try rocking the wheel with your hands.
 
Jeepfan30

Jeepfan30

Member
I tried rocking both wheels at 6 and 12, no movement that way. Just movement up and down.

WJCO said:
I would actually try and see where that clunk is coming from. Could be ball joints. Verify for yourself, but I believe allowable movement is .050 to .060 per Jeep. If they're worn enough to cause the clunk you're talking about, chances are they're worn beyond that. As HighwayTrout suggested, check your unit bearing. That's a much easier check. Grab wheel at 12 and 6 oclock and try rocking the wheel with your hands.
Click to expand...
 
WJCO

WJCO

Meme King
Jeepfan30 said:
I tried rocking both wheels at 6 and 12, no movement that way. Just movement up and down.
Click to expand...

If you can, with the vehicle jacked up and axle on a jackstand, have a helper pry the wheel up and down while you put your hands on steering and suspension components, you should be able to find that clunk pretty quick. Check sway bar links too, they tend to make noise when they fail. What was your original symptom for looking into this?
 
Jeepfan30

Jeepfan30

Member
The clunk is definitely the ball joint, I can see it moving up and down when I pry on the bottom of the tire. Sway bar links and all other components are tight. Just curious if I can see the ball joint move and can hear the ball joint clunk when raising and lowering the jeep if it's time to change them.

WJCO said:
If you can, with the vehicle jacked up and axle on a jackstand, have a helper pry the wheel up and down while you put your hands on steering and suspension components, you should be able to find that clunk pretty quick. Check sway bar links too, they tend to make noise when they fail. What was your original symptom for looking into this?
Click to expand...
 
mudmobeeler

mudmobeeler

Caught the Bug
Jeepfan30 said:
The clunk is definitely the ball joint, I can see it moving up and down when I pry on the bottom of the tire. Sway bar links and all other components are tight. Just curious if I can see the ball joint move and can hear the ball joint clunk when raising and lowering the jeep if it's time to change them.
Click to expand...

If you see movement then you should be changing them.
 
WJCO

WJCO

Meme King
Jeepfan30 said:
The clunk is definitely the ball joint, I can see it moving up and down when I pry on the bottom of the tire. Sway bar links and all other components are tight. Just curious if I can see the ball joint move and can hear the ball joint clunk when raising and lowering the jeep if it's time to change them.
Click to expand...

mudmobeeler said:
If you see movement then you should be changing them.
Click to expand...

I can't remember the exact spec, but if it is .060, that's about 1/16", so not much. If it's making that kind of noise and you can visually see it, I would change it. Might as well do both on that side at the same time since the labor involved in getting to the ball joints isn't something you'll want to do anytime soon if the other one fails.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom