When I lifted my truck I ripped the dust boot on the upper ball joint on both sides. I just got my new wheels on and the backspacing is 4 or 4.5 inches which makes the wheels stick out further than the stock ones. I noticed that when I drive it with the new wheels the trucks feels more floaty in the front. I read that the upper ball joint can't be replaced by itself, whats a good way to check and make sure the uppers are bad?

 

you are correct the the upper joints cannot just be replaced.... the whole arm must be changed. the best way to check them and see if they are good or not is to jack the front of the truck off the ground, grab the tire on the top and bottom and try to rock it back and forth. if they are bad you will definately feel some movement. and, if you get your head in there just right, you will see it too.

 

You changed the design of your front suspension, it's going to feel different then stock. Same as if you lift your truck and put heavy duty shocks on it. It's gonna ride like a dump truck, not a caddy.

 

When I lifted it and had the stock wheels it felt different than now with the new wheels(same tires) I think because the stock wheels were tucked in a lot further it changed the ride quite a bit. So just because the boot is ripped isn't a reason to replace the ball joint?

 

a ripped boot doesnt mean that you need to replace the joint..... at least for now. it will definately wear out faster with debris getting inside the joint now. just check it as i described it above, and if you are still ok then you can change it if you want to, but it might not need it right yet.

your increased track width over the stock wheels will change the ride, and now you cover more of the lane than before. going around corners and such will put more forces on the joints, and that could be what you are feeling, but it shouldnt be "wandering" by any means.

 

gonna go with mattd17 on this.

get the tires off the ground and wiggle the tire. any play means the UCA or LCA is bad...and/or tie rods. just watch that side and replace the UCA when it gets bad

the wider spacing of the tires can have a little bit of a stability feeling on the truck...but it's already 7 ft wide. It shouldn't have really affected it noticeably.