How can you tell if you need new ball joints? Will bad ball joints effect tire wear?
jingvalson@mchsi.com

 

jack up the front tire just above gound level, with a long pry bar move the tire up and down. any upward movement is bad
worse case if yours were like mine you just grab the tire and can move it

I would think that bad joints will prevent accurate alignment, thus abnormal tire wear

 

If you've got more than 30K miles on it W/O replacements, you'll likely need them.

 

I need upper and lower on my 2000 7.3l the shop said it would take em all day charge = $700.00!!!!! Is this right? Also my check engine soon light is on so I have that checked my throttle sensor is going in and out and bam theres another $280.00 out the door!!!!

 

Thank you very much. That was my assumption.

 

I just had one side done at Mieneke Muffler and car repair. $200 included new seals and greasable ball joints. More than I wanted to tackle myself when I read the procedure on this site. Sure changed the way my 2001 handled. JOHN

 

Only $200 per side? That doesnt' sound too bad, especially after hearing about the $700 job at the dealer. Why didn't you go ahead and have both sides done? Just curious.

 

Two reasons: 1) Extra loose cash avaliable at the time ( college kid now )
2) I usually only fix whats broke.
Your right that the other side will probably need fixin'. They originally told me $150 but I told them to check and replace any needed seals as they got it apart and they said they destroyed one as they took it out The other they saved. Done the same day I took it in. Several hour job...happy with it so far. JOHN