Inspecting Your Ball Joints
*EASY*
Inspect the suspension ball joints every six months with this procedure:
- Park the vehicle on level ground with the engine OFF, the parking brake engaged, and the transmission in PARK (for automatic) or REVERSE (for manual). Do not elevate the front wheels; the vehicle weight must be on them.
- Crawl underneath your car and identify a ball joint from your owner's manual. Wear gloves and a long sleeve shirt so as not to burn yourself on any components, especially from the exhaust system. Also wear eye protection so foreign particles like undercar dirt do not enter your eye.
- Wipe the exterior of the ball joint clean to expose the ball joint wear
indicator. Note the height of the metal stud immediately below the grease plug
or fitting. The stud should
extend through the surface of the ball joint housing when the socket is
functional.
- If the ball joint is worn, the stud will have receded into the socket
housing. When the stud is flush with the housing surface, the ball joint must
be replaced.
- Repeat the above two steps for all remaining ball joints.
Because of the special tools and skill required to adjust and repair steering linkage components such as ball joints, any such procedures should always be performed by a professional automotive technician.
