"Al Bundy" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> One of the top causes of a failure is the previous repair. You had your
> ball joints replaced and they are loose. My first thought is the
> installer did not tighten them properly. If you can tighten them and
> remove the play, perhaps you will want to go elsewhere for the
> alignment.

If I understand what he is saying, it is not the main nut on the ball joint,
but rather the three bolts that replace the rivets which are loose.

I have used this type of ball joint a lot, but never had them loosen.

Maybe the guy who replaced them originally drilled them out too big
in the first place. That can happen with a goober at the helm. Or
maybe he just didn't tighten them. (And, maybe the new mechanics DID
loosen them. Anybody who would quote $500 for this job is nigh onto
a thief, IMO.)

In either case that situation could be repaired by fitting proper bolts and
retightening. If it is an overdrilling situation, just drill to the most
appropriate
size and install new bolts.

I use Loctite on the nuts in this type of installation, but I guess a self
locking nut would work as well. I have seen some bolts that come with the
ball joints that are not very strong. This is another reason to replace
them
with good quality strong bolts.