Things You'll Need:
- Floor jack
- Long pry bar
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Step 1
Place the floor jack under the lower control arm on the side in question. Raise the floor jack until the vehicle's tire is 3 inches off the floor.
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Step 2
Insert the long pry bar under the tire. Pry up on the tire repeatedly while inspecting for up-and-down movement in the top or bottom ball joint. It may be necessary to have a helper use the pry bar while you look at the ball joints, watching for them to show evidence of extension. If there is movement or bumping when the pry bar is lifted, which would show looseness in the ball joints, place the fingers on each ball joint to help to identify the bad one. There should be no movement or looseness in either one.
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Step 3
Remove the pry bar and grab the tire at the top and the bottom and try wobbling the tire off the vertical plane. If there is play, either the hub bearing is bad or one of the ball joints is worn out.
