How easy should a ball joint move?
While healthy ball joints allow for smooth movement from side to side, they shouldn’t wiggle or jolt up and down. This is a clear indicator that you need to look into ball joint replacement. Watch out for these symptoms of worn ball joints: clunky, knocking noises, particularly when going over bumps.
Why do ball joints have so much movement?
Ball joints are only to have rotational movement. Any up/down or in/out movement is wear and is a sign they are going out. More movement, more worn out they are. They are very simple devices. Click to expand…
Which is bigger a lower or upper ball joint?
Nope, lowers are usually much bigger than uppers as they handle most of the weight. Lowers are typically press in where uppers are bolted or riveted in. This is on 2WD setups. 4WD are typically pressed in both upper and lower but still the lowers are larger.
Can a ball stud move up and down?
In the way you describe things, it makes it sound like movement up and down is okay, i.e. the ball stud moving up/down inside the ball joint housing. This is bad. Again, ONLY rotational movement should ever be in a ball joint that is not worn. Rotational movement happens on 2 axises in a ball joint as explained above.
How do you measure the runout of a ball joint?
For a strut-type suspension, place a jack stand under the cradle to allow the strut to fully extend. Attach the dial indicator clamp to the lower control arm and locate the dial in a vertical position to measure axial runout at the steering knuckle. Place a jack under the ball joint and load the joint by raising the jack.
How big of a ball joint do you need?
Uh no movement up and down is normal. That can be felt anyways. Missouri fails a safety inspection at .060″ of play. Believe me…you can feel it. Ya I’ve been lucky that I’ve never had ball joint issues. Absolutely zero play every time I check. 1/8″ is crazy talk. Anything over 1/16 of an inch is not good.
Is there rotational movement in a ball joint?
Again, ONLY rotational movement should ever be in a ball joint that is not worn. Rotational movement happens on 2 axises in a ball joint as explained above. Hope that clears it up for ya.
Nope, lowers are usually much bigger than uppers as they handle most of the weight. Lowers are typically press in where uppers are bolted or riveted in. This is on 2WD setups. 4WD are typically pressed in both upper and lower but still the lowers are larger.
In the way you describe things, it makes it sound like movement up and down is okay, i.e. the ball stud moving up/down inside the ball joint housing. This is bad. Again, ONLY rotational movement should ever be in a ball joint that is not worn. Rotational movement happens on 2 axises in a ball joint as explained above.