Ball joint replacement

How to tell a ball joint is worn

• There is a knock or clunk from the front over speed bumps, in potholes and under braking.
• There is a creak or groan from the wheel when the steering is turned standing still or at low speed. A dry joint often makes this sound.
• The steering feels loose or vague, and the car wanders in ruts.
• The inner or outer edge of a front tyre wears faster than the middle.
• The joint's rubber boot is torn, with grease around it.

Many drivers notice nothing, and the play is only found at a service or at the inspection. Control arm bushes, track rod ends, anti-roll bar links, a shock absorber top mount and a wheel bearing cause the same symptoms. If the joint is replaced on a guess, the play can stay where it was. So we look on the lift for where the play is before we replace anything.

When a ball joint is replaced

A ball joint has no replacement interval in kilometres or years. It is replaced when the joint has play or the boot is broken. Many ball joints last more than 100 000 km, and the replacement often comes between 140 000 and 270 000 km. Salted roads and frost-damaged streets shorten a joint's life.

Once the boot has torn, the joint is worth replacing in good time, because it usually wears loose soon. The replacement can then be done on your own schedule, not only after a failed inspection.

Ball joints do not have to be replaced in pairs. The joint on the other side has as many kilometres behind it, though, so we check it at the same time. If it is worn as well, both are worth replacing at the same visit.

How the work is done

1. We lift the car and check the suspension. We rock the wheel at its top and bottom and work the control arm with a pry bar. We see whether the play is in the ball joint, the control arm bushes, the track rod end or the wheel bearing. We tell you what we found and what the work costs. The work starts only once you have accepted the price.
2. We remove the wheel. If the joint's position affects the wheel angles, we mark it before removal.
3. We undo the taper pin nut and free the pin from the steering knuckle with a ball joint separator. Where the pin is held by a pinch bolt, we undo the bolt and pull the pin out.
4. We remove the old joint. How it is fixed varies from car to car. A bolted joint comes off by undoing the bolts. We press a pressed-in joint out, and the new one in, with a press. On a joint riveted at the factory we drill out the rivets and fit the new joint with bolts.
5. We fit the new joint and tighten the fixings to the manufacturer's torque. Split pins and single-use nuts and bolts are replaced with new ones.
6. We refit the wheel, road test the car and check the work once more on the lift.

If the ball joint is an integral part of the control arm, it cannot be replaced separately, and the whole control arm is replaced. A new arm usually comes with new bushes fitted. Before the work we tell you which construction your car has and how it affects the price.

On a car driven on salted roads, the taper has often rusted into the steering knuckle and the bolts into the control arm. Rust is the usual reason the job takes longer than expected.

Replacing the ball joint alone does not usually change the wheel angles much. If the whole control arm is replaced or the joint's position affects the angles, they are worth checking with a four-wheel alignment. We tell you if an alignment is needed.

How long it takes

Replacing one lower ball joint is less than an hour's work on many cars. When the joint is pressed or riveted in place or parts have rusted in, it can take close to two hours. If the whole control arm is replaced or the wheels are aligned, the job takes longer. We agree when the car will be ready at the same time as the price.

What the price of a ball joint replacement depends on

The price depends on:

• How it is fixed. A bolted joint is quick to replace. A pressed-in or riveted joint takes more time.
• A separate joint or the whole control arm. If the ball joint is an integral part of the control arm, the whole arm is replaced, and the part costs more.
• Lower or upper ball joint. Replacing the upper ball joint is a job of its own, with its own price.
• One side or both. The price is for one joint. If the joint on the other side is worn too, we tell you what replacing both costs.
• Rust. A taper or bolt rusted in place adds work.
• Parts. Original and aftermarket parts differ in price. We tell you which parts we use.

So we check the car and tell you the price before the work starts. If something else turns up during the work, we tell you about it and its price before going on.

The ball joint and the inspection

At the inspection the ball joints are checked by eye, on a play detector and by rocking by hand, also with the front wheels off the ground. Under Traficom's inspection regulation, play in a ball joint caused by wear is grounds for a fail, and in a dangerous case the inspector also bans the car from the road. The same applies to a ball joint mounting that is loose, deficient or damaged. A damaged boot and a missing locking device on the mounting, such as a split pin, lead to a repair notice.

According to Traficom's statistics, in the periodic inspections of passenger cars in 2025 a front axle fault was grounds for a fail 126 260 times, about 16 % of all grounds for a fail, and the reason for a repair notice 54 334 times. Among single inspection items the front axle was the most common reason for a fail. The same item also covers control arms and their bushes, wheel bearings and anti-roll bar fixings. The statistics do not say how many of the faults concerned ball joints.

On the inspection certificate the fault often reads like this: «Alatukivarren pallonivel, välyksellinen, vasemmalla edessä» (lower control arm ball joint, play, front left). If the certificate names other faults too, we carry out inspection repairs to the whole fault list.

What you can check yourself

• Turn the steering wheel to full lock and look with a torch behind the front wheel, at the end of the control arm. If the ball joint's rubber boot has cracked or there is grease around it, the joint will soon wear loose.
• Turn the steering wheel slowly in the yard and listen for a creak or groan from the front wheels.
• Check the edges of the front tyres. If the inner or outer edge has worn clearly more than the middle, there may be play in the suspension or the wheel angles may be out.
• Leave checking for play to us. Rocking a wheel needs the car lifted, and nobody should go under a car that stands on a jack.

When not to drive the car

A ball joint with slight play can usually be driven to the workshop, but a time is worth booking soon, because the play grows. If the car failed the inspection without a driving ban, the law says the fault must be repaired as soon as possible. Do not keep driving if

• there is a hard banging from the front in every pothole or under braking
• the steering feels clearly loose or the car will not hold its line
• a front wheel is visibly out of line
• the inspector banned the car from the road.

If a ball joint fails, the bottom of the steering knuckle comes loose from the control arm. The wheel turns askew in the wheel arch, and the car can no longer be steered. A car under a driving ban may not be driven until the fault has been repaired and the car has passed the inspection. In that case the car comes to the workshop on a tow truck, unless the inspection station has issued a certificate that allows moving it to the nearest repair place.