front end shaking.. ball joint?

Greetings. Ok, so for around two weeks now I've been getting a bad shake to my car. Two different instances, the first is only occasional, and feels a bit like I blew a tire. The almost constant shake I get is usually mild, but does get extremely noticable at times.

Its been suggested that my ball joint may be bad/going, which I plan to check on tomorrow. Any other suggestions of things I should check on while I'm in there? Also, I checked at autozone to see how much one would cost, and they have it. Both autozone's computer and the haynes manual are saying to replace the whole control arm, with the manual also telling me I can't get the part seperately. Any thoughts/suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

Greetings. Ok, so for around two weeks now I've been getting a bad shake to my car. Two different instances, the first is only occasional, and feels a bit like I blew a tire. The almost constant shake I get is usually mild, but does get extremely noticable at times.

Its been suggested that my ball joint may be bad/going, which I plan to check on tomorrow. Any other suggestions of things I should check on while I'm in there? Also, I checked at autozone to see how much one would cost, and they have it. Both autozone's computer and the haynes manual are saying to replace the whole control arm, with the manual also telling me I can't get the part seperately. Any thoughts/suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

Might want to get the alignment checked out and make sure the wheels are balanced. I'm not sure how a ball-joint would make the car shake. When mine were bad the joints popped really loudly.

And FYI, the balljoints on the lower control arm have been recalled from the factory. Call the dealer with your VIN number and see if the recall has been done. If not, take the car in and get them taken care of. It's required by law for them to change them out for the life of the vehicle. Just a good piece of info for you.

Jack the car up and shake everything. Make sure nothing is loose or can move around.

Thanks for the replies. Well, I just noticed that inputing my car for the 'garage' thing doesn't display in the threads. So, for clarity I have a 1991 Eclipse, 2.0l Turbo, slightly modified.

I just got tires mounted/balanced on a set of 17s. The major shaking has not reappeared since these were put on. I still get the minor shakes a tad. I will be getting an alignment after I get paid this upcoming week. The shop who did the work tipped me off on the ball joint. Unfortunitly I will be waiting until Tuesday for a day off to do anymore work/inspecting.

Be careful riding on worn suspension parts. If a ball joint breaks while your cruising, you're going to be in for quite a ride.

Well, project is over for now. I checked it out and there was a good bit of slop in the passenger side ball joint. I attempted to replace it myself, but wasn't able to get the ball joint's stud out of the steering knuckle. After a day at a shop, and an unpleasant blow to the wallet, The problem appears to be all cleared up. Thanks for y'alls help.