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View Full Version : How to tell balljoints are bad?



Flynbryan19
02-25-2005, 07:30 AM
Just as the title says guys(gals). I have the 03' pred and have had torn boots for the balljoints for a while now, but have yet to notice any play in the ball joints. What should I be looking for to know when to replace them? They will develop slop when they're going bad right? I'm not going to replace them just yet just because the rubber boots are torn.

Masher13
02-25-2005, 10:54 AM
I would think it would be like any ball joint. I have a bad wreck and snapped one in half. When I got my Pred back from the dealer, my alignment was all messed up. So I tried aligning myself. Wasn't getting anywhere so I got pissed and kicked my tire. That's when I noticed my upper a-arm popping up and down. It's was BAD. Took back to dealer and gave them a mouthful. I was like how the hell could you miss that! The only slop in my front end now is the top shock bushing. There was a post on predowners about that. I need to do it.

Just grab the top of your tire and pull in and out. Any slop means replacement time. Put your front end up on something and do the same for the bottom. Since your boot is gone, just check it often. Like you said, don't fix what's not broken.