Warning Signs Your Vehicle Needs Ball Joint Replacement

Keeping the maintenance up on your vehicles is crucial to your vehicle’s overall life span. It’s also crucial to the safety of your vehicle as well. Allowing certain issues to go unrepaired could make your vehicle dangerous to drive. Ball joints can greatly affect how your vehicle operates and how safe it is to drive. This quick guide will give you some information on how to tell if your vehicle needs ball joint replacement.

Front Tires Wearing Unevenly

This is one of the most common signs that the ball joints on your car need replacement. You may start to notice that the wear on the front tires is uneven. When ball joints have gone bad it will cause the suspension to create “play.” Play is the term used to describe what happens when the front wheels are out of alignment. This will cause the front wheels to wear out faster than the back wheels. This may cause you to be in need of new tires more often.

Cabin Vibrations

All vehicles vibrate some when in operation, but if you notice very harsh cabin vibrations, you could have suspension issues like a ball joint needing replacement. You should not let this problem go unrepaired. It is often an inexpensive fix.

Loose Steering Wheel

Another sign that a ball joint needs replacement may be a loose steering wheel. When your suspension is in good working order, the steering wheel will feel nice and tight. The ball joints can quite literally affect how the entire vehicle feels when you are driving. Fixing ball joints is easy, but allowing them to go unrepaired can cause a dangerous driving situation. A loose steering wheel does not give you the same kind of reaction time and could lead to an accident. You should visit an auto shop for steering repair quickly. 

Rattling Noises

Listen out for any kind of clunking or rattling noises. This will likely come from under your vehicle. Clanking and rattling usually indicates a loose part in the suspension system. The sound will likely get louder as the ball joints wear out further. Remember, this is an unsafe driving condition and should be dealt with quickly.

What To Do

If you suspect that your ball joint is worn out on your vehicle, you should have a professional check the car as soon as possible. Allowing any maintenance issues to go unrepaired could lead to worse issues later on.

Categorised in: Car Repairs