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Your vehicle's suspension and steering systems depend so much on ball joints. This is because these joints allow you to control and manipulate your vehicle on the road.
As you use your vehicle, these ball joints will get worn out, which may grossly affect your driving experience. It would help if you replaced worn-out joints as soon as possible to regain control of your vehicle. Here are the four signs that you need to replace your car's ball joints.
Clucking and squeaking noises
As you use your vehicle, the ball joints will wear down. Worn down joints usually produce clucking and squeaking noises. So if you hear such noise in your suspension or steering systems, it is highly likely that the ball joints need replacement.
The ball joints are protected from debris, dust, and dirt by some rubber material. If the rubber gets damaged or torn, grime and sand will get their way into the ball joints, causing some friction. The friction eats up the balls, causing them to wear off and produce funny noises.
Shaking And Vibrating
When your vehicle shakes and vibrates as you drive, it could be a sign that the ball joints have some issues. When the ball joints get loose, they will get jostled about as the vehicle moves. This will cause vibrations that will be transmitted to the vehicle's chassis via the steering wheel. When you notice vibrations and shaking, the sooner you have the ball joints checked, the better.
Steering Wheel Wobbles
The suspension and the steering system of your car are designed such that they can allow you to keep the vehicle perfectly on a straight track, with little or no effort from you.
When the ball joints get worn out, the suspension and steering system's parts will become misaligned, causing the steering wheel to wobble or wander. It is challenging to maintain your car on a straight path if its ball joints are worn out. This will make your driving more difficult and dangerous.
The Tires Wear Excessively
Since your vehicle will wander and wobble on the road, your tires will bear the extra stress to keep the vehicle on the right path. The additional stress on the tires causes a lot of friction between them and the road. This is why the tires will wear out very fast.
If you need ball joint replacement performed, we invite you to bring your vehicle into our auto repair shop today!