who knows how to correctly test lower ball joints ? i have some popping going on during low speed tight turns..

also where can i find a pair of K6145 ball joints for sale ? napa and autozone have nothing like that, no other stores are here,.,.,.


thanks.,

 

First off, how many miles are on your car? Second, if you are hearing any popping from the front corners, it is more than likely your ball joints. Once a car has about 100K miles on it, start planning to replace them. Believe me, I did a FULL front suspension upgrade and rebuild on my car and OH MY ***, what a difference. My car handles and turns better and easier than when it was new. If you want to see all the details of it, check out my site at: http://www.cardomain.com/id/88iroczguy
Check out page 8 for the front susp rebuild, check out page 7 for the rear.

 

is actually in regards to a B body chevy car i have, not an F body, but same deal though,

where did you find ball joints of decent quality at ?

thanks.,

 

Jack the wheel up off the ground by the lower control arm; a floor jack under the spring pocket is best. Raise it up just far enough to get the end of about a 5' 2x4 under the wheel. Lever the wheel up & down while watching the BJ, see if the part attached to the spindle (will move with the wheel) moves with respect to the part attched to the control arm (stationary, sitting on the jack).

K6145 is a Moog number, it's the stock replacement for these cars (and a whole lot of others too). Billions and billions of parts stores carry Moog. www.carparts.com and places like that might be other sources. NAPA carries Moog in their own boxes, so you could use whatever they list for your car, and it will be a K6145.

{edit} you posted while I was writing... B bodies along with A bodies are somee of the chassis that share stuff with F cars, in fact the control arms themselves are the same between F cars and A cars, the F car control arm even has a place for the shock absorber that F cars don't have.

 

not sure they may have wear indicators on them, check your manual, best way is to have someone turn the wheel from lock to lock and watch for excessive or free movement. you can jack the front up and use a bar under the tire and work it up and down and watch for movement, takes a long bar, 6' or so.

 

which ball joint is typically the one that usually wears out more or first and/or causes popping/sloppy steering or pulling or anything when is worn out ?

so NAPA balljoints are made by fed mogul/moog ? or ?
whjat brand is on the box of NAPA susp parts anyways ?

thanks guys, this is good stuff.,

 

An idler arm with no grease in it can make that sound cause I installed one without the fitting therefore it was dry. I'm an amateur mechanic I know more about my computers than both of my cars.

 

on car, or trucks with the spring between the control arms the lower ball joint wears. on cars with the spring above the control arms the top wears.