ball joint bad?

i was under my 95 xj and after i noticed a number of things wrong with my car i also noticed that the ball joints on the drivers side were not sitting even like the passenger side. i.e. you could see gaps on just one side of the ball joint between the knuckle and the axel and it didnt have gaps on the passenger side. I have also noticed that when i turn left in a parking lot going slow (under 5) my car jumps like it does when you try and turn in 4lo and it starts to turn sharp then jumps forward instead of turning. Is this my ball joints going bad or do i have ANOTHER problem that it could be? I also searched for about an hour and got the write ups for it but no problem relating to mine.

have you been using 4 lo on pavement? sounds like hammered ball joints. probably just as you suspected. lift the car and try wiggling the drivers wheel pulling/pushing on top and bottom of the wheel. i would not drive it til its fixed. might end up damaging more parts.

To check the ball joint, jack up that side so the tire is about an inch off the ground. place a wooden block or similar fulcrum on the ground in front of the tire. use a long bar on top of this fulcrum so that when you push down, it pushes up on the bottom of the tire. If, when you do this, you can see any play at the ball joint, the ball joint is bad.