I just bought a car and found out the guy drove it off the road. The car wobbles so bad its not driveable. When i jacked the car up I can move the left wheel all around. The ball joints nuts are tight but they have TONS of movement in them. Do I just need new ball joints?
ball joints
- Thread starter Josh21040
- Start date
Ball joints or bushings... Is this the front or rear wheel? Is the movement at the top or the bottom or both?
its the front left. it moved up and down ALOT. I think the left to right movement is from the up and down being so loose. Can the balljoints break inside?
Yes, balljoint can either wear out or completely breakdown. To check if it's the ball joints, pull off the wheel, hold the tie rod still and try to move the bottom and top of the knucle in and out. You'll either see the bushings aren't holding the upper control arm in place or the control arm will remail in place but the knuckle will still move.
CRE said:
ill do that. Can that be enough to cause my car not to be drivable? i hope thats all thats wrong with it.
Josh21040 said:
My front left ball joint is going out. It's not bad enough (yet) that it moves more than several milimeters, but when that little amount of slop affects the wheels alignment the shift while in motion can be massive. When I drive on the highway if the groove or rut in the pavement changes it can pull on the front end with almost enough pressure to make me feel like the car is turning. It's not, like I said, mine isn't shot yet, but I can definitely feel it. I'll be replacing it very soon.
So, in short, yes.
Another more severe issue would be a break in the front or rear subframe. But, if the wheel itself is moving freely, I'd suspect either the balljoint(s) or bushings.