Bad Ball Joints?

[Jeff G 78]

About three years ago, I rebuilt my suspension with new bushings, springs, dampers, and ball joints. I had heard that only Moog and Nissan ball joints are any good, but for some reason, I was in a rush and bought a set at the local import parts store. Normally, their parts are Beck Arnley and the quality is very good, so I bought them there rather than waiting for parts to be shipped from MSA. I installed them, but have never driven the car other than around the block once or twice in the last three years. Now, I'm trying to get the car on the road and while I had the car on jackstands doing some other work, I noticed weird play in the front wheel. I could move the tire a lot and hear a clunk. Hmmm, I crawled under the car and thought I could see the ball joint moving. I went to the other side and found the same thing. Since it was tough to move the wheel and see what was going on, I had my wife move the tire back and forth while I was under the car. Sure enough, the ball joint was moving up and down 2-3mm at the socket. WTF? Has anyone even seen a brand new ball joint with tons of play in it? Since it was over three years ago, I can't return them :tapemouth , so I guess I'll order a new set from MSA, but I was shocked at how much play they had. I removed the parts and they feel fine when moved by hand. As far as I know, there should be no vertical movement correct?

[=Enigma=]

I seem to remember hearing that there were some ball joints which had a taper that did properly fit the taper in the steering knuckle. Was the play you was there or was is the ball moving up and down in the socket it rotates in?

[xray]

Quote Jeff G78: Snip... "Now, I'm trying to get the car on the road and while I had the car on jackstands doing some other work, I noticed weird play in the front wheel. I could move the tire a lot and hear a clunk. Hmmm, I crawled under the car and thought I could see the ball joint moving. ..."

IIRC, the ball joint is stuffed betweeen the steering knuckle and the front strut--hard to see by just crawling under the car...so were you seeing the whole joint move, or just the threaded part? If the whole joint moves, are the bolts securing the ball joint to the transverse link torqued down to spec? And the bolt which secures the ball joint to the steering knuckle ( castellated or vinyl lock nut on top of the ball joint, secured within the bottom of the strut) is tight as well? Not to insult, but simple visual inspectio of the ball joints is tough. Bad joints are usually detected by seeing too much play when the wheel is rocked by gripping the 12:00 and 6:00 position of the tire...might you be thinking of the tie rod end?

snip..."As far as I know, there should be no vertical movement correct?"

No significant vertical play within the joint itself is a correct assumption. There will be some, but it is negligible, certainly not 2-3mm...

Hope it turns out OK...

Steve

[Jeff G 78]

The ball joint-to-LCA nuts and TC rod bolts/nuts were torqued to spec as was the castle nut and I had to use a pickle fork to disassemble the taper, so all that was tight. The castle nut is sandwiched between the knuckle and the strut, so the only thing I could watch was the grease boot. I could watch the boot compress and stretch when the tire was moved left-right by grabbing at 3:00 and 9:00. I thought for sure I would see a tie rod loose, but that was not the case. The play appears to be coming from the socket itself.