Hello,

I've got a repeated ball joint issue and don't know what else to try. 2011 Ranger XLT 4.0 4x4 with torsion bar suspension. Just under 140k miles. Over the last year my front suspension got very loose, made clunking sounds over bumps, wouldn't drive straight, and my tires began to wear unevenly. I assumed it was ball joints, so I replaced the lower ball joints with precision chassis components from Oreilly's and got an alignment. It drove nice for a bit, but the clunking was still there pretty quickly so I assumed that wasn't the issue. Replaced the upper control arms (upper ball joints built in), the outer tie rod ends, and the front shocks and got another alignment. Still making clunking sounds and not driving straight. I didn't know what else to check and with limited time before this winter and need for new tires, I just brough it into a shop. They told me they checked everything, knowing I just replaced all the ball joints, and the symptoms pointed to a bad lower ball joint on the driver side and that I probably just got unlucky and got a bad one. So, I went ahead and replaced the driver side lower ball joint with a new same lower ball joint that I got on warranty from Oreilly's, and while I was at it, I did the sway bar links and bushings. It drove like a dream for about two weeks with new tires and a fresh alignment but, now it's starting to make some slight clunking noises when I go over sections of rough road at low speeds. Seems to me like the lower ball joint again. Is there something that could be wrong that is taking out lower ball joints on the driver side? The only thing that hasn't been replaced now is the lower control arms which the shop thought looked and felt good. Are precision chassis ball joints just complete junk? Am I just that unlucky and got two bad ones in a row? I don't do any off-roading but the roads in my area are pretty bad. Haven't slammed any major potholes that would have taken it out. I'm just lost at this point, and I don't want to shred my brand-new tires. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

If those are the original lower control arms to the truck, the bushings are likely dry after 13 years and that's the noise you're hearing over bumps. Can't tell whether that would affect the feel of the ride though.

 

I doubt that ball joints would go out so quickly. I agree with zilla. It is likely one of your bushings on the control arm. I can confirm that bushings can clunk. I have been searching for the source of a clunk on the left front of my Ranger for more than a year. I replaced both ball joints, tightened the bearings, replaced the roll bar ends, and still have the clunk. It did not clunk in rainy weather. I assumed that the rubber had broken loose from the metal in a bushing and would quiet down when lubricated by water. I found that silicone spray would quiet it down temporarily. I am still driving it and it is still clunking, but I now know what is causing the noise.

 

That makes sense that it would be those bushings considering it's the only thing left that hasn't been replaced. The two things that don't make sense to me is that the first ball joint I put in was in fact bad after about a month, and secondly it doesn't make sense that it would have gotten better temporarily both times when I replaced the ball joint :/

 

Many of the ball joints now have plastic bushings internally rather than metal, which is why they tend to fail prematurely. It's simply caused by corporate outsourcing to other (cheaper) countries with little regard for quality products. Quality = Higher Cost, so if nobody wants to pay higher prices for quality, than why bother making quality parts?

Planned obsolescence also comes into play. Quality parts with low failure rates don't equal large quantities sold or high demand like cheaply made parts do. Pretty much everything sold on Ebay/RockAuto or the parts houses is a 50/50% part. There's a 50% chance it will work, and a 50% chance it won't make it more than a few months, if it even works in the first place. It's just the way things are these days.