Determining if ball joints are bad
 

I did the rear brakes on a friend's 2001 Honda Odyssey today and while driving around slowly on some pretty bumpy pavement (lots of bad patches from snow plow divots), I could feel the telltale sign of bad ball joints: tap-tap-tap in the front end.

Van has 145K on it and needs to last another year or two. I don't want to have them spend $125 for parts on each side and an $80 alignment, and spend a morning doing it all if it's something else. Friend is pretty sure they've never been replaced.

ball joint is press fitted into the A-arm, and with original bushings, think doing a whole $125 arm is a better job than a $45 ball joint and a lot of swearing pressing out and in.

What's the best way to determine if ball joints are in fact bad?

It could also be the swaybar links making the rattling noise. Cheaper and easier, if that's the case.

To determine if ball joints are bad, jack up the front of the car and take a prybar between the arm and the upright.....if there's play, it needs a joint.

As Kaisan posted-check the sway bar end links.

My Mazda P5 had the same symptoms last year. I replaced the stock end links with ones for a Ford Escape and the problem is gone. Apparently, the stock ones wear out quickly.

Not that you need to upgrade but maybe just get new ones.

Check it all. I had a loose shock. Same rattle. But checking BJ's is tough unless you can use something like a spring compressor.
The spring force is enough to trick you into thinking they are good.

Shaun, after reading below about the "feeling." I think they are way too loose to not do this.

If ball joints are bad, you can raise the front end and feel play in them usually. Grab the tire top and bottom and try to wiggle it. A visual inspection will also ID bad ball joints, usually. They never make a tapping noise. That's something else entirely.

Eric is spot on here, the most common thing I see , and usually makes the most noise is the sway bar end links. Ball joints do not usually make audible noise until they are in the danger zone. You can check as stated above by jacking the vehicle and rocking the tire from top to bottom, but I also like to use a huge pair of channel locks ( water pump pliers ) . and I will try to squeeze the joint with them, and will also try to lever them with a pry bar. This will usually show minor amounts of play, that you may or may not catch by just rocking the wheel by hand. Some times, because of how the vehicle is jacked up, and how the suspension is loaded, it is easy to miss a bad ball joint. I like to check the sway bar end links in the same fashion, however, usually when they are noisy, they are so loose that you can tell just by grabbing them, and giving them a few good tugs.

Thank you everyone. I guess my description of tap-tap-tap isn't very good. it's not a sound, it's the feeling of the ball moving in the socket. it's how I describe it. Every time I've felt this tapping low speed over bumps, I've replaced the joints, which were indeed worn out, and the front end was fine afterwards. But those were my cars and I "knew" them, the E320 being the most recent.

it could be the sway bar ends, but it feels more rooted/solid than that.

I'll get down there this week and run these tests, thanks again!:)

Shaun,

Alot of the arm kits come not only with the ball joints installed, but also with all the other suspension bushings (mount, etc) already installed. Sometimes it's easier and cheaper to flock shoot.

With the transmisison in park and the parking brake fully set, have someone rotate the steering wheel left and right while you look at the components. It is often VERY easy to spot the worn part with this type of inspection. As far as ball joints are concerned, all of the movement should be rotational. You should see no side-to-side movement of the joint and no vertical movement. Watch the a-arm suspension bushings/mounts as well. Condem any part that seems to "jump" or "pop" during this test. The test is MUCH more effective with the vehicle on the ground. The weight and drag of the tires emulates the real conditions the parts operate under.

angela

Also consider the sway bar bushings. Dodge Caravans are notorious for clunking due to looseness in these bushings that attach the sway bar to the body.

Thanks Angela. We're going to check it out on Wednesday at his Independence Day picnic.

And we'll definitely install the A-arm complete with ball joint. At 145K on the van, it almost makes sense just as a preventive/ride quality measure. After doing every single suspension component on my wagon, it drives beautifully.