i tried to get my front end alligned since the inside 2 inches of my front tires is almost bald. they told me i would have to pay them 450 bucks to replace both lower ball joints and the idler arm. i said no way and took the car home and jacked up each wheel to check for play. there is absolutely no play top/bottom or side/side. does this mean everything is ok, or do i need to do something else to make sure?

 

one of two things, they're trying to rip you off and sell you parts and labor you don't need or you don't know what you're looking at. if you do know and you think it's good then i'd think the first possiability.

 

well, i wouldnt exactly say i know what im doing regarding these. i was just told that if there is vertical play in the wheels, the ball joints are bad, and if there is horizontal play, it could be tie rods. i couldnt detect any play either way with the jack right under the spring, so im trying to figure out if i did it right or if there is another way to tell if the ball joints are actually bad.

 

you have it, vertical play would be a ball joint, best to watch the stud in the joint and not the wheel as you pry on the tire. lot of places will tell you that a part is bad knowing they can beat flat rate and make money doing it, lot of places won't.