Ball joint, hubs, knuckle, other?

I tried searching but when you aren't sure what the problem is, searching is difficult at best.

My Jeep is suffering from loose steering, seems like you have some play before things grab to turn the tires. Today I looked at it really closely while my wife moved the steering wheel back and forth so that I could see what component was contributing to the wear, it's definately NOT the tire rods, they are very tight.

So...the tire rods are moving perfectly with the steering wheel, but when turning to the left it seems the front axle is shoved right slightly before the wheels start turning left, and vice versa for the turning to the right. This leads me to think there is something in the ball joints or knuckle that is loose and/or worn out. I looked it up in my Haynes (lousy book anyway) but all it says is that a ball joint takes special tools and isn't covered in the book.

Are ball joints something that could be doing this? Any other contributors? Are ball joints really beyond the shade-tree mechanic? Thanks-

PS, lots of wierd results when you search for 'ball joint', lol.

if the whole axle is shifting then look at the trackbar. That's what's supposed to keep the axle centered under the Jeep.

87manche said:

if the whole axle is shifting then look at the trackbar. That's what's supposed to keep the axle centered under the Jeep.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll look at that specifically. what should I be focusing on, where it mounts to the frame, joint from bar to frame or the bushing on the bar? IOW, what is the common failure in track bars?

there is a ball joint at the upper end of the track bar that mounts to the frame bracket and a bolt on the axle side either the ball joint is worn out or the bushing or hole that the bolt passes thru is worn.