winterbeater
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Royal Oak, Michigan
If you have up-down play, it points to a lower joint. If possible, see if you can jack or pry the wheel up, and then pull back and forth on the top of the wheel, to test for side play. If there is no side play, you might not need an upper joint. Of course, if there's any doubt, you would do better to replace it anyway, but on the 99, the top joint is designed to move up and down, to provide self-adjustment, with the lower joint alone providing vertical location (earlier models used a more complex system with an adjustable ring).
alohajeff, from what's posted above, I'd put a second jack under the steering knuckle and see how much up/down play you have in the lower joint. And check the top joint for side to side play. I think Mr. Currie knows what he's talking about.