lower ball joint loose in control arm when car jacked from under control arm
 

Started getting a rattle and after jacking up under lower control arm and then using a pry bar to lift the tire, discovered the ball joint is loose in the control arm and moves up and down about the thickness of the snap ring. Ball joint is worn too. Do these ball joints wear externally at the shoulder of the stud end that seats up against the control arm as well as getting loose internally? do lower ball joints also wear loose in the control arm? And if so, am I hosed, or is there a way to fix the looseness when putting in a new ball joint? My impression is that ball joints on this truck press fit in, and the keeper ring keeps it there... Or, do they just drop into the hole on the lower control arm and the keeper ring keeps it there? I've got a 1996 Dodge ram 2500 with 2nd gen Cummins. Any feedback or help would be appreciated. Tkx!

The ball joint is bad, and needs to be replaced. The ball joints are press fit.

Hello Pkokitty,

Yes, I'm sure the ball joint is bad, but it appears that the joint assy is loose in the control arm as when I pry up the tire the ball joint housing is moving as well up and down in the control arm about the thickness of the clip ring i.e. I pry up the tire and the ball joint assy rises up in the control arm to create a space about the thickness of the clip ring, between the clip ring and edge of the hole on the control arm. If the whole ball joint assy is moving in the control arm, does that mean the control arm is damaged and not recoverable i.e. a new ball joint won't correct the problem?

Hey Bubba, No the ball joint should NOT move at all in the control arm. It is a real tight fit. But not all is lost. MOOG makes a ball joint called Problem solver. The housing is a little oversized and is knurled. There are a couple others that make this type of ball joint. Do a Google search of WHAT BALL JOINT SHOULD I USE OVER AT GENO'S GARAGE. It will explain it all.

Hello PekoKitty,
Wow, Geno's Garage article says a mouth-full. Looks like I may have an enlarged control arm hole. Now I need to spec things once I pull it apart and see who may have done what. I had no idea so many aftermarket parts would have such variations in critical dimensions. Thanks for referring me to the Geno's Garage blog post. Now I have an idea what's going on and what I'm up against.

Thanks!
Bubba Diesel