97 Blazer Slop In The Steering

[rlith]

4x4 ones go bad easily. Remember, all they are are ball joints on a stick... the 2wd ones don't go bad because they're solid.

[Mikado14]

Originally Posted by imnprsd

Maybe it's a question of how bad is bad enough to replace? Yes, the mechanic said I needed ball joints, but when I asked them if they are a safety hazard he told me I could drive it the way it is for thousands of miles.... That the boot was split so it wouldn't hold the grease and that I could expect accelerated wear. I asked the mechanic if he would replace the ball joints if he owned the car and he said, "probably not."

So I took it to another front-end guy who put it on an alignment rack and he said pretty much the same thing as what I stated above. Then when I asked about the sloppy steering that launched another set of possible senarios...and why I posted this question.

I value all your inputs, but from what I can tell ball joints are a subjective issue until it's too late (if you know what I mean). So I plan to have them replaced, top and bottom, and the bushings too... And then I will post the results of investigation for all to see.

All I am saying at this point is that $400 for a new idle arm, pitman arm, and steering donut has NOT fixed the slop in the steering.

PS
I see a lot of quality difference and cost difference between Moog, Duralast and other brands of ball joints. Therefore, I plan to use Moog parts to replace the top ball joint, since they seem to go out first; and a cheeper Duralast part from Auto Zone (with a lifetime warranty) for the bottom ball joints and bushings... That is unless anyone has an objections; i.e, what would you do if you owned this car and the steering was sloppy and you know at some point you got to do this front end maintenance. (BTW, I plan on keeping this car for another 100K miles!)

What bushings are you talking about? The upper and lower control arms?

[BlazerLT]

Sway bar bushings probably.

[blazee]

Are Moog Balljoints better than AC Delco?

[BlazerLT]

Yes, and usually cheaper.

[hunter01]

After I rebuilt my oldsmobile It still had a little slop in the front end. Polyurethane control arm bushings solved it. Zero play after that.

[wolfox]

My truck had sloppy steering and handling when I first got it too. It all turned out to be a low tire on the passenger side. Being low as little as 2 PSI will make the truck wobble, bounce, skip and do all sorts of strange things. I do hope that before you went through the expense of going to the shop - of checking your tire pressure.

[BlazerLT]

Also, yes, everyone check your swap bar bushings and ens links.