Jump to content

Ball joint or tie rod ends?


88red4cyl

Recommended Posts

Took my Monte to get new front tires yesterday, and the first shop wouldn't do it because they said I had a bad tie rod end... The driver front tire was worn on the inside shoulder all the way down to completely smooth with some belts sticking out... The passenger side tire looked fine..

 

So I went somewhere else and got my tires... I've been pondering since then if the tie rod end is actually bad, or if its a ball joint... At the first shop, they shook my tire left to right, and it moved quite a bit, but I thought a bad tie rod caused both tires to wear unevenly...

 

So before I order the wrong parts, I thought I'd check here first!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No, a bad tie rod can cause only one tire to wear. It has play so it will move back and forth a bit going down the road, but the other side stays true. This is especially gonna happen if your rear toe is pointed to the right

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If the tire wore smooth on the inside thats a ball joint. If it were choppy all across the tread thats a tie rod. Both a ball joint and tire rod will give you play at the 3 and 9 o'clock shake. What you need to do is jack up the front and and have somebody shake the wheel while you crawl underneath and inspect both for movement so you can be sure what it is. But because you mentioned the smooth wear on the inside that is more than likely the ball joint.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Grab the tire and yank at bewteen 4 and 5oclock and between 7 and 8 oclock and that will show the most movement with the balljoint. Going with 3 and 9 wont show too much unless the balljoint is beyond smoked

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And rob, toe wear is not always smooth! When the tire is so bad it would be chopped up so bad especially if the front tire is running around 1 degree of negative camber or more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Grab the tire and yank at bewteen 4 and 5oclock and between 7 and 8 oclock and that will show the most movement with the balljoint. Going with 3 and 9 wont show too much unless the balljoint is beyond smoked

Correct, that is the right way to check the ball joint for play, but his does sound beyond smoked

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And rob, toe wear is not always smooth! When the tire is so bad it would be chopped up so bad especially if the front tire is running around 1 degree of negative camber or more.

I didnt say toe wear was smooth, I said camber wear was smooth, which would be the ball joint.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Its an 06 Monte. If it has a smoked balljoint then thats a 1 in a million that has failed. The tie rods on them should be considered maintenance at 50K seeming they wear out that quickly

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Its an 06 Monte. If it has a smoked balljoint then thats a 1 in a million that has failed. The tie rods on them should be considered maintenance at 50K seeming they wear out that quickly

Well he needs to get off his but and go check for himself before I drive to Lorain and kick your ass for arguing with me. LOL

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll jack it up in the morning and see what I can find out... It's just about dark now.. Thanks guys...

 

EDIT- Do W's (specifically the Monte) only have lower ball joints? I assume they do since I can't find an "upper" on rock auto, only the lower, but I wanted to make sure..

Edited by 88red4cyl
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do W's (specifically the Monte) only have lower ball joints? I assume they do since I can't find an "upper" on rock auto, only the lower, but I wanted to make sure..

 

Yes. A McPherson strut suspension only uses a one (lower) ball joint.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yup, only 1. They the failure rate on them currently is almost non-existant.

 

Too bad GM couldnt make a tie rod and hub assy of the same damn quality.

 

Im not saying it cant happen on them with enough miles and rough road, but its not likely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Going to my grandparents tomorrow to jack it up in their drive which is paved, with a hydraulic jack... Jacking it up in my gravel drive with the spare tire jack while the ground is soft wasn't working too well for me...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It may be totally unrelated...but the company my dad works for has 2 06 silverado's, and both of those had extreme wear on all 4 tie rod ends. Not a huge issue....however, the kicker here is that GM said that their books allowed for 40/1000 of play in Each Tie rod end, and that both trucks were still in spec!:eek:

 

According to the mechanic that was working on the truck...he said it was an immediate safety fail. According to GM, it was a pass. I was in awe to say the least. So was the mechanic, as GM specifically instructed him that no play is acceptable.

 

And yes, we did have everything replaced with new.

 

I guess what I'm saying is that I wouldn't be surprised if the tie rods are completely toasted.

Edited by Regal_GS_1989
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...