Ball Joint Question on a 70'

[OGFAIRLADY]

i have a 1970 Roadster.

i just wanted to ask when it would be a good time to change my upper and lower ball joints. i have a little play when i rock the tire back and forth.

[spl310]

Now

[OGFAIRLADY]

got it thanks!

[RBMann]

Make sure it is the ball-joint as there can be play in a lot of places. I had some play and worked through it by cost. Wheel bearings were bad, idler arm was bad and then ball-joints.

[keith0alan]

Find where the play is and fix that. The a-arm spindles are much more likely to be worn than the ball joints. Of the several front end assemblies I have taken apart it is rare to find good spindles and equally rare to find bad ball joints.

[pebbles]

Back and forth could be play in the fwd end of the upper a arm spindle, or tie rod end, rather than a ball joint.
An aggressive lube of the zerks will show any excess play in worn ball joints, unladen.

[msampsel]

Back and forth could be play in the fwd end of the upper a arm spindle, or tie rod end, rather than a ball joint.
An aggressive lube of the zerks will show any excess play in worn ball joints, unladen.

How far can an unladen ball joint fly when the key in the starter sticks on in ones garage?

[lagomorph]

Is that a Japanese or European ball joint?

[RBMann]

Damn, I was thinking export or domestic market ball joint.

[RBMann]

I found it helpful to take a big c-clamp and lock the arm going to the tie rod to its travel stop. Then check the other side for play. This way you have something solid to tug against making it easier to locate play in one side at a time.

[pebbles]

Back and forth could be play in the fwd end of the upper a arm spindle, or tie rod end, rather than a ball joint.
An aggressive lube of the zerks will show any excess play in worn ball joints, unladen.

How far can an unladen ball joint fly when the key in the starter sticks on in ones garage?

To the wall with a fully charged batree.

[mraitch]

The upper ones tend to last longer (less stress). Good idea to purchase some lowers anyway - when you say "back and forth" are you referring to vertical movement( holding top of tire and bottom) or horizontal movement (holding tire left and right)
Sfar as I know - vertical indicates ball joint/spindle wear) while excessive horizontal is more indicative of all the other bits.

[jhayden]

Picking up on a point already made here by others, i.e. that ball joint replacement may not be indicated, Ross’ (Sports Imports) excellent tech article explaining the usual wear pattern/sequence for front suspension components can save one a lot of time and money when troubleshooting our cars:

http://www.sportsimports.ca/archive/tec ... /att01.htm

(sixth paragraph)

Jon

1970 SRL LT1 (numbers don't match)

[dbrick]

The proper way to check the lower ball joint is with the car supported by the lower A arm, I use a floor jack. It's not like most people picture it, the joint is in tension, not compression. The front spring pushes down on the A arm and the lower joint "pulls" down on the spindle, essentially trying to pull the ball joint apart. This will also unload the upper control arm bushings to check them.
The jack takes the load off the balljoint, so any looseness is more obvious. If you're not sure if the movement is bearings, put your fingers between the brake disc and backing plate and wiggle the wheel. If the looseness is the bearings, you can feel the disc move.

Upper joint carries no load, so no need to jack it up, if it moves, it's worn.

[OGFAIRLADY]

thanks guys, i will look into this.