How dangerous?

[evalha007]

Is driving with worn ball joints?

I have a related post elsewhere, but I need an answer by tomorrow. I am going on a 12 hour round trip this weekend and I would like to take the ti. I am trying to decide if I should overpay to get them done before the trip, or wait until after to get the ball joints replaced.

I cannot vouch for how worn they are, but the mech said they are "pretty bad" and showed my how by moving the wheel, the ball joint would move also...

[cali-ti]

do you notice the car wandering when you're driving it or anything?

[aceyx]

It's what keeps the wheels from wobbling about on their own. You know what they say about an ounce of prevention . . .

Not to mention the peace of mind. How much more does it cost, if you're gonna have to have it done anyway? Ever been stuck on the highway? Lemme tell ya; it sucks.

[evalha007]

When I first got the car (6,000 miles ago) I noticed that when I hit a big seam in pavement or a rut, the wheel would jerk somewhat. I heard (apparently incorrectly) that this was just a result of the suspention being stiff since it is a "handling" type car. (I had never driven anything even remotely sporty, so I had no idea)

But other than that, it feels fine.

[Phil Marx]

It's unlikely they're going to come apart. I've never seen it. Mostly your steering will be vague over about 65-mph, the car may wander a bit, and you'll get some shimmy on braking and your front tires will get chewed up. Sort of like driving a brand new domestic car! But that's not gonna be much different before or after a 12-hour trip. It's probably taken them 100k to get to this point.

[tastade]

I just had my front ball joints and control arm bushings replaced and it really tightened up the front end of the car. The suspension feels new and not so worn out. I didn't notice the suspension was so worn until I had them replaced. Like you, I thought it was an artifact of the stiff suspension and not worn suspension. Mine probably were original with 135k miles.

I made several 15 hour drives in the condition they were in, however you never know when something like that will fail. Most likely it will be fine. Even if they replace them, there is the possibility they will mess up the install and cause a failure on your road trip. I would replace them when it is convenient and don't have to over pay for them. Drive carefully!

[evalha007]

Turns out it is a moot point anyway.

I took the ti in to a friend of mine who is a mechanic. He and another mech started laughing when I described how the original mech had "tested" to show me that my ball joints were bad...

To make a long story short, my ball joints aren't bad at all, and the original mech was just trying to sell some extra repairs. I did find out that one of the steering arms needed replaced...

Took my 12 hour trip; the car ran like a dream!!!