As some of you know, I am planning on replacing some suspension components in the near future. I'm wondering now about other parts I should replace while I'm in there, and I suspect at least one of the ball joints is bad.

I hear an occasional clunking sound in the right front end and some odd behavior when I reverse with the steering at full lock. How does one perform a cursory check of the ball joints? I've heard that one can raise the vehicle and try moving the wheel by hand in different directions, similar to checking for play in the wheel bearings. But which direction indicates a bad wheel bearing and which indicates a bad ball joint?

Also, are the upper ball joints available only as part of a new upper control arm assembly, or is it possible to purchase them seperately? I've not found the upper ball joints on Baranco's Web site.

 

you can go to any place that does alignment and ask them for a "shake down" they can do all the work for you but ft loweres area pain to do but might as well get those done and just buy a skunk2 upper control arm kit

 

check the boots around the lower ball joints. make sure they have no tears in them. also with the car in the air attempt to shake or wiggle the tire, it should have no play in it. it could be a sign of a faulty balljoint or tie rod.

any noises or squeaks can also mean trouble.

upper balljoints require the upper control arm as they can not be seperated.

lower balljoints can be purchased but must be pressed in/out.

 

You can do the shake test like you say, but it is not conclusive.
Try raising the car with the jack with the tires suspended and put a prybar between the lower control arm and the ball joint and try to move it. You don't need a lot of prying pressure to move the joint if it is loose. You can also try putting the prybar between the wheel and the ball joint nut and pry upwards for movement. Honda ball joints have zero tolerance in play, so there should be none whatsoever.

 

Thanks.

I'm probably going to replace the lower joints regardless, as they're not very expensive and I have to take the knuckles off anyway.

If the uppers are bad, I'll replace them with OEM control arms. I won't need the camber adjustment, as I'll be pretty close to stock ride-height, and I don't trust adjustable UCAs. But new UCAs will cost me $230 or so, and that's an expense I'd rather avoid if I can. It seems to me that the lower ball joints take most of the abuse, so I'm hoping the uppers are fine the way they are.

 

listen japanese ball joints almost never go bad with a good boot what do you think they are from a ford or chevy... unless your car has like 180k or more id make sure they were bad be4 changing them

 

Ball joints can go bad if you're swapping out axles, transmissions, your motor, or doing clutch jobs often. Anything that requires disconnecting the lowers puts wear and tear on them and I have gone through a couple sets because of all the abuse I put on them. This probably doesn't apply to R guys because all of the stuff I mentioned comes great stock, but still.

 

The car's got 152,000 miles and counting. Plus, for the last 100,000 or so it's been on a suspension that's way too low with spring rates that are way too soft, and it's been driven on nasty, potholed roads pretty much all its life.

I figure I might as well replace the ball joints now so I don't have to go taking stuff apart again in another couple of years.

But I want to check them out first. If they're good, and look like they'll be good for a while, then I'll save my time and money.

 

where can u buy the ball joint instead of the whole knuckle

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MK Ultra &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The car's got 152,000 miles and counting. Plus, for the last 100,000 or so it's been on a suspension that's way too low with spring rates that are way too soft, and it's been driven on nasty, potholed roads pretty much all its life.

I figure I might as well replace the ball joints now so I don't have to go taking stuff apart again in another couple of years.

But I want to check them out first. If they're good, and look like they'll be good for a while, then I'll save my time and money. </TD></TR></TABLE>

With that sort of mileage, you should check your bushings too. Clunking noises are often the result of worn out bushings.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nonvtecD &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Ball joints can go bad if you're swapping out axles, transmissions, your motor, or doing clutch jobs often. Anything that requires disconnecting the lowers puts wear and tear on them and I have gone through a couple sets because of all the abuse I put on them. This probably doesn't apply to R guys because all of the stuff I mentioned comes great stock, but still.</TD></TR></TABLE>


yeah i was helping a friend with that and we ended up messing it up...

x2