Does this Ball Joint look bad?

[Matt]

Any movement is too much movement... Does it move when you hold the tire at the 12 and 6 oclock position and shake it? Note, to properly do this test you'll want to jack the tire off the ground via the lower control arm. If you lift it from the frame, the spring is pushing down with quite a bit of force and will make a bad ball joint not move due to the tension.

[collinsgto]

Is the Jeep sitting level?

no, its on jackstands with the tire off

Any movement is too much movement... Does it move when you hold the tire at the 12 and 6 oclock position and shake it? Note, to properly do this test you'll want to jack the tire off the ground via the lower control arm. If you lift it from the frame, the spring is pushing down with quite a bit of force and will make a bad ball joint not move due to the tension.

i guess "flex" is the better term. let me get the tire back on it and test this.


edit: got the tire back on it and there's no movement in the components.

damn i wish i could figure out whats going thud and katink. everything seems to be tight! there's gotta be something simple i'm missing.

[Matt]

disconnect the front sway bar links and take it for a [short] test drive.

[Sal-XK]

Sway bar bushings worn out maybe

[collinsgto]

sway bar bushings are fine. already inspected them

[Matt]

You sure? They're sneaky SOB's. They're under load right now, so you can't just grab them with your hands to see if there's any play. Good thing is they're easy enough to R&R. I'd definitely take them off and go for a short spin to rule them out before chasing down a deceptive front end noise.