Happy Saturday to All,
Like all of us who have these cars, half a century old, mine could use a front end rebuild if not done already. My car has a 63kmi on the clock so it is probably not as bad as most originals its age but it is still 50 year old rubber wear components. I’ve been thinking next winter would be a good time to tackle that job I read is no day in the park.
Anyway, the car is slated to be in my daughter’s wedding to be held a few hundred miles away. Aside from detailing the car I did want to look it over to be assured it was ready for the trip and presentation. A tie rod end boot is torn so I’ll replace that. Everything else up front seemed solid ….until I got to the ball joints.
Checking the ball joints, I lifted the car from under the LCA and yanked the tire from all directions. All seemed tight. I wedged a pry bar under the tire, lifted, and the spindle separated upward from the LCA a good 1/8 inch….maybe slightly more. I checked all four ball joints and got about the same vertical, up and down, movement. But no horizon, side to side, movement at all.
I told a respected friend about this and he said”all ball joints need to be changed immediately”. He said there should be absolutely no noticeable up/down vertical movement in a ball joint at all. Unsafe. So I read a little bit and back in the day some ball joint up/down vertical movement is normal with some vehicles.
What do you think? Is this normal? Do at least the ball joints need to be replaced before the road trip and wedding? Father of the bride needs to arrive with the car on time and bride and groom need to safely drive away in the car.
Thanks so much in advance for your response.
Like all of us who have these cars, half a century old, mine could use a front end rebuild if not done already. My car has a 63kmi on the clock so it is probably not as bad as most originals its age but it is still 50 year old rubber wear components. I’ve been thinking next winter would be a good time to tackle that job I read is no day in the park.
Anyway, the car is slated to be in my daughter’s wedding to be held a few hundred miles away. Aside from detailing the car I did want to look it over to be assured it was ready for the trip and presentation. A tie rod end boot is torn so I’ll replace that. Everything else up front seemed solid ….until I got to the ball joints.
Checking the ball joints, I lifted the car from under the LCA and yanked the tire from all directions. All seemed tight. I wedged a pry bar under the tire, lifted, and the spindle separated upward from the LCA a good 1/8 inch….maybe slightly more. I checked all four ball joints and got about the same vertical, up and down, movement. But no horizon, side to side, movement at all.
I told a respected friend about this and he said”all ball joints need to be changed immediately”. He said there should be absolutely no noticeable up/down vertical movement in a ball joint at all. Unsafe. So I read a little bit and back in the day some ball joint up/down vertical movement is normal with some vehicles.
What do you think? Is this normal? Do at least the ball joints need to be replaced before the road trip and wedding? Father of the bride needs to arrive with the car on time and bride and groom need to safely drive away in the car.
Thanks so much in advance for your response.