Ball Joint Longevity

OrganDoctor said:
harveyp6 said:
Keith Coman said:
. The car has passed every 6 monthly roadworthy inspection for the last 10 years with no comment about the ball joints.
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That could well be just because they don't know how to check them. It's that way in the UK so I see no reason why the same shouldn't apply where you are. I've lost count of the worn out ones I've replaced straight after the test.
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Is there any special procedure required for checking the P6 balljoints inview of its unusual suspension?
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The telltale clunk every time you go over a pothole tends to be a bit of a giveaway :)

Dave
 
OrganDoctor said:
Is there any special procedure required for checking the P6 balljoints inview of its unusual suspension?
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To check the TOP joint, grip the tyre at the bottom and try to lift up and down, so the pillar goes up and down as well. Neither should have any movement. Any movement that is there is play in the joint.

To check the BOTTOM joint, grip the tyre at the bottom, and try to move the bottom of the tyre in and out, if there's any movement then look around the tyre as you're doing it, and most times any play will be in the bottom joint, but possibly in the bottom link tie rod joint, or the inner bushes of one or both of them. Don't confuse any small amount of movement you may feel in the wheel bearing as play in the ball joints.

Most MOT testers check in the same way as they would for checking excess play in the wheel bearings and so don't see anything.
 
The above instructions are with the vehicle on a lift with wheels hanging free....or with a jack under the lower suspension and wheel off the ground ?
 
OrganDoctor said:
The above instructions are with the vehicle on a lift with wheels hanging free....or with a jack under the lower suspension and wheel off the ground ?
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Wheels and suspension hanging free. If you lift under the bottom arm you've already taken any excess movement out of the equation, and if you try to lift the wheel then all you'll succeed in doing is giving yourself a hernia. That's probably another reason so many cars pass the test when the joints are shot, I hadn't even thought of that as a possibility.
 
Dave - Cheers mate for the links.

Harvey - Good description, that's one question that I've had in my mind for a while.
 
I was just looking for this thread to ask what the Harvey Approved Precedure for checking the ball joints was and the answer was already there, thanks!
 
Just a heads up, I have found that kok brand as sold in australia through repco makes a few rubber boots which are perfect for p6 ball joints. I've read though that the rubber does perish after a while but they are less than five dollars a pair and come in some really handy sizes.
 
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