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Ball joint play - What is "acceptable"

blistovmhz

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Vancouver, BC
I know this topic has been done to death, but I've never seen an answer I'm content with.

The Cherokee FSM specifies that "some" up/down play in your ball joints is normal.
Nearly every ball joint manufacturer (spicer included) states that "some" up/down play is normal, and they state this right on their product description.

So what is "some" ?
I've had 7 Cherokees from my '90 Limited to my '98 Sport, and all have had "some" up/down play in the ball joints. I've always wanted to swap in a new set to see if new joints will clean up some of the road clunks, but after talking to several manufacturers, it sounds like "some" play is intended. So at what point do you replace ball joints? I've got several axles laying around, and they all have about 1/8" vertical play. This makes some noise, but I'm not sure at this point, that installing new joints will fix anything. On top of that, I beat the living hell out of my Jeeps, and in 10 years of wheelin', I've never busted a ball joint. I'm pretty convinced at this point that 1/8" is "normal/acceptable/inthedesign".

What's the community say?
More importantly, Who's actually installed a brand new set of ball joints (something high quality), and checked for vertical play?
 
Three is always a little give in them. They have to be able to rotate. There is also play to allow grease to lubricate them. If they were completely tight you wouldn't be able to get smooth turning out of them. Replacing them is a more of one of those thing that you just know. You know how you use your jeep and what you have put it through. You can tell acceptable play and too much play in them.
 
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