The tire/alignment shop told me I needed both lower ball joints on my '98 F150 4X4 before alignment. I was on my way out of town (400 miles round trip) so I asked how bad they were and was told "they are pretty loose". Skeptical and running late I opted to boogie down the road. Once I was back in town I purchased 2 Moog ball joints, went home and pulled my truck into my shop and found, based on my experiance with other vehicles, the ball joints are not loose at all. The reputable tire shop has recently changed hands and now I am wondering if a payment was overdue. The truck has 90k hard miles on it so wear is not out of the question, I just cannot feel anything loose. Anyone's insight into my dilemma would be greatly appreciated.

 

Did you check for looseness with the front end on the ground or jacked up?

 

All three. On the ground, jack under the lower control arm and jack under the cross member (suspension at full droop). I checked both sides in this manner and found no slop, no noise. I did not remove the tires.

 

Sounds like you should try a different shop. And if they come back with that, get them to show you the looseness, that you couldnt find any.

 

Here is the correct way to check for lower ball joint play.

With the vehicle lifted by the lower control arm (as close to the spindle as possible), put a bar between the tire and the ground and put upward pressure on the tire. This way all the spring (torsion) pressure is removed from the equation. By lifting the tire you will be able to see all available movement vertically in the ball joint. Only new joints will not move at all. All oints might have some play, but I believe that the F-150 ball joint wear spec. is 1/8" of play or something. Anything more than this and it should be replaced.

 

Thanks Colorado Osprey. I found the play, about 3/16 inch, and replaced the ball joints. For those interested, it took about three hours on the first, and about an hour for the second.

 

Glad the bad thoughts of your alignment shop are behind you.

(cringing) Did you change the uppers at the same time? You already had it apart. Probably not needed, but I would have personally if I was already in there.

 

My UPPER ball joints started making a horrible screeching shound over bumps when it was hot out at around 100,000 miles. So, the upper ones do wear out also!!!

 

I also opted to replace the upper ones as well. You will have to change the whole control arm assembly as well. Sounds like a pain at first but actually makes the job a lot easier.