ball joint question/dilemma

[f100cleveland]

It is posible to align a truck with bad ball joints. I had mine done at a shop with a new lazer type alignment rack. They even put in somekind of bushing to get it within specs. I got a printout that shows it to be good to go. 10k later afer rotating tires once they are all worn on the inside. I put in all 4 ball joints and had it aligned by a different shop. It went down the road straight and didn't wander.

 

[hheynow]

So I had a meeting with the owner of the body shop and he sent me over to the repair facility next door who did the alignment. They lifted my truck with two floor jacks and tried to wiggle the tires but the ball joints were tight. My concern is when I drive over a bumpy roadway the front tires seem to shake. They say my truck has CASTOR WOBBLE (what ever that is) and I'm to return tomorrow when they can properly inspect my front suspension & steering by putting it up on their rack.

What is castor wobble? How does one cure it?

 

[BJS]

Castor is the angle of the axle knuckles with relatation to vertical. Here is a link to some information on the terms used in allignment

If I'm not mistaken there is no provision for adjusting the castor or camber on the Dana 60 front axle. The castor is set by the ball joints so any castor wobble would be in the ball joints by my understanding and when I look in my service manuals I'm not seeing anything that would make me question myself.

As far as can you allign these trucks w/ bad ball joints. Technically yes since the only provision for adjustment is toe. So if you only checked the one adjustable measurement it could be correct so therefore alligned. But if you're on a modern computer allignment rig then you have the other information there and a seasoned tech SHOULD be able to tell that they are bad.

 

[DaveBen]

You can add a wedge under the axle housing where it attaches to the springs. This will change the caster angle.

Dave

 

[f100cleveland]

So I had a meeting with the owner of the body shop and he sent me over to the repair facility next door who did the alignment. They lifted my truck with two floor jacks and tried to wiggle the tires but the ball joints were tight. My concern is when I drive over a bumpy roadway the front tires seem to shake. They say my truck has CASTOR WOBBLE (what ever that is) and I'm to return tomorrow when they can properly inspect my front suspension & steering by putting it up on their rack.

What is castor wobble? How does one cure it?

When they had your truck jacked up did they use a big bar under the tire to see if the ball joints moved? Thats the only way mine would move.

 

[hheynow]

PROBLEM SOLVED !!!

I have one bad ball joint (driver's upper), tie rod end is worn and the control arm needs bushings. These will be addressed soon. BUT, he did a quick fix for free that made a world of difference. The tie rod sleeve was loosened and he twisted the rod and retightened the two bolts on the sleeve which did not affect the toe. There must have been some slop because it's so much better with just this quick repair.

BTW, none of this is related to my accident so my case won't need to be reopened.