Knuckle Joints and Your Vehicle's Control Arms

A ball joint is a very important part of a vehicle's suspension system. It connects the tire to the ball of the axle, providing a very simple and stable link between the two. If the ball joint malfunctions, however, it doesn't just stop the car from functioning properly; it can actually be dangerous if both the ball joint and the axle fail entirely, rendering the car useless. To prevent this kind of situation, many vehicles come with ball joints that are made out of steel, but even these joints can eventually be subject to corrosion and deterioration if they aren't properly maintained.

The reason that ball joints need to be regularly maintained isn't because they are inherently unsafe. In fact, ball joints are among the most durable and strongest parts on an automobile. Most of them are designed so that when they're in place, very little work needs to be done to keep them in good shape. Instead, what tends to happen is that the friction caused by passing pressure between the two leads to wear and tear. The more often this wears on ball joints, the more quickly they begin to deteriorate and become ineffective.

The most common cause of friction wear between ball joints is a buildup of mineral deposits around the rollers, bearings, and armature. These deposits can be caused by different things, such as road debris and road salt, so it's important to know which ones to look out for. You should also be aware that there are a few other ways that your ball joints can deteriorate.

The first thing that can affect your ball joint is how it is lubricated. A lubricant is a substance that lubricates moving parts, and one of the most effective lubricants on the market is water. To apply the lubricant, just make sure that the bearings are clean; wipe them with a damp towel or a paper towel and then rinse them off. If you have a spherical rolling joint, you will need to add a small amount of oil to the rollers. Make sure that you follow the manufacturer's instructions, though, because a lot of water-based lubricants will leave some type of oily residue behind.

Another thing that can cause fatigue is poor tire wear. If the tread on your tires is too worn, your ball joints will wear out faster than normal. If you have a two-wheel drive vehicle with a four-wheel drivetrain, you'll need to check the tire wear yourself. Get on your treadmill or some other machine and gently press down on the tires to see if there is any difference. If you do find differences, make sure you get the right size of tires and replace them with the ones that are not too worn.

If you have a ball joint in your knuckle, you should also watch for wear. The ball joints on knuckle pads are made up of two flat surfaces. One flat surface is made up of a thin layer of metal called a snap ring. The other flat surface is a soft plastic layer. The snap ring serves to secure the metal and the soft plastic together while the knuckle sits on top of it.

Now let's take a look at how the alignment system works. The ball joint actually pushes the lower tie rod ends of your knuckles in toward your center line. This pushes the tie rod ends out of your vehicle's cowlings. Over time, this allows the tie rod ends to rub against the ball joints. This causes wear and tear.

You can tell if you have worn out control arms if they don't extend far enough behind your front tires. If your control arms feel tight when you push them back into place, they may need to be replaced. Front suspension bushes are another area that can wear out if they become worn. When these bushes start to wane, the ride quality of your vehicle will decrease and steering will become more sensitive. The last thing you want is to lose steering control or worse, crash because your front suspension system is no longer capable of handling the load necessary for your vehicle.