Lower Ball Joint Test Video

[RumHam26]

I did my best to test the play in my lower ball joints today. I have never done this before so I took a video of what I saw and am hoping for some input from y'all. The video below show the movement while pulling on a pry bar beneath the tire. I felt and saw no movement while trying to wiggle the tire top to bottom and side to side.

This is the drivers side - the passenger was about the same. Are these dangerous to be driving on or are they OK?

https://youtu.be/Su1UgjsvUqo

 

[octanejunkie]

Check this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Su1UgjsvUqo&feature=youtu.be

 

[catrains]

the ball joint test is jack up on the lower control arm wheel off the ground. then place a strong steel bar under the tire and pry up with your other hand on top of tire feel for any popping .. this is due to the ball joint being worn..

ball joints move that is normal but no play/pop feel ...when you pry up on the tire the joint will indicate l any wear as it will move up as you pry up..

 

[RumHam26]

Check this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Su1UgjsvUqo&feature=youtu.be

This just linked me to the video I posted

 

[RumHam26]

the ball joint test is jack up on the lower control arm wheel off the ground. then place a strong steel bar under the tire and pry up with your other hand on top of tire feel for any popping .. this is due to the ball joint being worn..

ball joints move that is normal but no play/pop feel ...when you pry up on the tire the joint will indicate l any wear as it will move up as you pry up..

Thanks catrains. I did the test as described except for putting my hand on the tire. I did see a tad bit of play in the joint but I felt, saw, or heard no popping. Just not sure if the play in this video is normal or a sign of wear.

 

[turbo8]

Thanks catrains. I did the test as described except for putting my hand on the tire. I did see a tad bit of play in the joint but I felt, saw, or heard no popping. Just not sure if the play in this video is normal or a sign of wear.

Using a metal bar will put a lot more force on the joint than what you can do with your hands. The joint has the weight of the vehicle on it.

 

[alanflies]

Honestly from that clip it looks like the knuckle is moving up and down independently from the LCA...There should be zero up or down play there. New OEM lowers are cheap insurance and you will know exactly how many miles and what kind of abuse they have seen.

 

[BoomSticks]

This is the broken record message I keep repeating elsewhere:

If you've got more than 200k miles, replace with only OEM LBJs.

That's it. Simple. Don't **** around hmm'ing and huh'ing and testing. There have been way too many that fail without warning.

Just replace your LBJs with OEM.

 

[HiLife]

^^^That