> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bill Day
> snip>
> Anyway they give me a clean bill, say the ball-joints are solid and send
> me on
> my way.
>
> Do you think they should have checked them with the truck suspended on the
> four post or with the suspension completely loose?
>
> What is the worse thing that can happen if that upper driver ball-joint
> comes
> loose at say 65 MPH, rollover? Would it have behooved them to check it
> differently?
>
> Bill Day
You can check ball joints by placing a floor jack under the control arm and
raising the tire an inch or so off the ground. Then use a pry bar under
the tire and try to move it up. I don't know if there's a precise
measurement but more than just a smidge of movement would indicate the ball
joint is bad.
Typically when a ball joint is going bad you will have plenty of warning.
You will get a lot of slop in the steering when you hit a bump and any good
alignment tech will notice that his alignment settings won't stay put. I
can't remember for sure but worn ball joints may be noticeable during a
sharp turn as well. I've driven on them, just been a long time ago.
As for the folks who have had them fail while driving....a Mopar tech friend
of mine says he sees lots of severe problems brought into the dealer but
with so much obvious wear on or around whatever is failing that the driver
had to have known for some time that something was wrong but ignored it
until it became critical. I know people like that. :-(
Ray
.
.
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