sup guys

well i took off my steering knuckle on the passenger side due to hub assembly/bearing failure and after the whole thing came out i noticed severe play in the upper ball joint where i could move the ball joint 360 turn with my index finger with minimal force, there is also a tear in the boot.

my question is : is the upper ball joint supposed to move freely unlike the lower ball joint which needs considerate amount of force to move it around,or is it simply worn out?

and how hard is replacing the upper ball joint if i dont want to get the whole control arm ? is it something i can do at home with basic tools and maybe rent a vice or something.

thanks

oh by the way i found out that the idiot that did my rotor last time on my 97 fucked up the bearing threads and i found diffrent sized bolts attached from the knuckle to the bearing .. and all stick in and out ..threads completely gone on the bearing flange.

 

You can rent the ball joint press tool from autozone if you don't want to buy entire UCA's. They sell the joints there too for like 20 bucks. I bought UCA's from ebay for like $60 refurb.

 

I would assume that the upper ball joint would be looser than the bottom since the top has more play. I wouldnlt be worried about rotating the joint easily. Boot rips and severe movement of join not sitting tight in the socket are pointing to worn ball joint and require attention. Just to be on the safe side I would replace them just because they cost $20. I have never used a press. A big hammer has always done for replacing the joint. Good luck

 

thanks guys, im propabaly going to change it before i put the knuckle back on so its easier.