P1atinum
Aerodynamically Challenge
- Location
- Orlando, Florida
Looks like at least one of my ball joints are gone. I started to notice the jeep pulling to the right and some uneven tire wear and about two weeks ago it got worse.
So I check the ball joints with the pry bar under the tire method and the only joint I noticed any play in is the driver side upper. Then I took it to the alignment shop to check the specs for me and confirm my diagnosis.
Alignment specs are here
Front left – Driver side
Camber Neg 1.1 (out of spec)
Caster 5.7 (in spec)
Toe 0.08 (in spec)
SAI 11.1
Included angle 10.1
Front Right – Passenger side
Camber Neg 0.4 (in spec)
Caster 6.2 (in spec)
Toe 0.14 (in spec)
SAI 10.7
Included angle 10.3
Front
Cross Camber -0.6
Cross Caster Neg 0.5
Total Toe 0.22
Now I need to replace the upper driver side ball joint at least, but the alignment shop said I needed adjustable ball joints to get the front end within spec on camber. I took this with a grain of salt.
I have a couple of questions with this.
With my alignment specs what benefit will I have going with adjustable ball joints say .5 adjustable as opposed to standard ball joints, am I really going to gain that much? Seems that some are not a fan of the adjustable ball joints.
Should I replace all 4 ball joints while I have it torn down or should I only do the uppers. From what I read the biggest issue is with the uppers and when doing an adjustable ball joint you only replace the upper joints. Correct me if I am wrong here.
So I check the ball joints with the pry bar under the tire method and the only joint I noticed any play in is the driver side upper. Then I took it to the alignment shop to check the specs for me and confirm my diagnosis.
Alignment specs are here
Front left – Driver side
Camber Neg 1.1 (out of spec)
Caster 5.7 (in spec)
Toe 0.08 (in spec)
SAI 11.1
Included angle 10.1
Front Right – Passenger side
Camber Neg 0.4 (in spec)
Caster 6.2 (in spec)
Toe 0.14 (in spec)
SAI 10.7
Included angle 10.3
Front
Cross Camber -0.6
Cross Caster Neg 0.5
Total Toe 0.22
Now I need to replace the upper driver side ball joint at least, but the alignment shop said I needed adjustable ball joints to get the front end within spec on camber. I took this with a grain of salt.
I have a couple of questions with this.
With my alignment specs what benefit will I have going with adjustable ball joints say .5 adjustable as opposed to standard ball joints, am I really going to gain that much? Seems that some are not a fan of the adjustable ball joints.
Should I replace all 4 ball joints while I have it torn down or should I only do the uppers. From what I read the biggest issue is with the uppers and when doing an adjustable ball joint you only replace the upper joints. Correct me if I am wrong here.