What are the symptoms of bad ball joints and and How do you confirm if there shot??

 

sloppy handling, a shimmy, wobble or even death wobble. Poor alignment (camber).

The way to test is to lift each front tire one at a time, put a pry bar under the tire and have a friend pull up on it while you watch the ball joints for movement/play.

 

That sounds like mine! Especially the camber. how bad are they to change? Or is it one of those "take it to a shop" deals?

 

Depends on your skill level and tools. Need to take off the wheels, pull the hubs and shafts, knock out old ball joints, press in new ones, put it all back together.

 

I could probably manage everything but pressing them back in. That sound like sppecial tools. Thanks.

 

You need a ball joint press and cup. I can't remember what size cup for the JK. My friend who has a mechanic had a big ass kit with a lot of cups.

 

Harbor Freight has 3-in-1 Ball Joint/U-Joint/C-Frame Press Service Kit
$49.99

 

From the factory service manual:

Radial (side-to-side) movement in the upper ball joint should not exceed 0.060" (1.5mm).

Axial (up and down) movement in the lower ball joint should not exceed 0.050" (1.25mm).

 

It's also a warrantied item on the bumper to bumper. I took mine in recently and had them replaced after trying to get an alignment.