i recently had an alignment done along with tires changed on my volvo. the mechanic mentioned my front passenger side ball joint was loose. (i suspected something was wrong because i would sporadically hear this loud whistle noise coming from that side, but only when in motion. when i'm braking, the sound would go away!) how expensive is it to replace the loos ball joint & should this be done for the front driver side as well as the rear tires, or just the one the mechanic noticed a problem with? also, how safe is it for me to continue driving my car?)

"THANX!"

 

Hmmmmmmmmmm. Most of us have seen ball joints get so bad that the wheel actually falls away from the car, the ball joint falls out of the control arm. That's very rare, usually the wheel shankes so much that the person gets the car fixed first.

The ball joint is in the front control arm. So, you're looking at replacing the control arm on that side. Usually an alignment shop will NOT do an alignment if you have bad or worn suspension parts.

 

When they get really bad, the wheel can fall off. The ball joint opens up and the "ball" pops out. So the wheel moves out away from the frame and that corner of the vehicle drops down on the pavement. They shouldn't do the alignment even if you refuse the repair. If the joint is loose they can't really set it where it should be and even if they did it will shift by the time they back it off the alignment rack.
That and when you get the ball joint replaced, yup ....... you should get an alignment.

Most cars have stamped steel control arms and the ball joint is one with the arm so the whole thing needs to be replaced (per picture). Price will depend on where you source them. I bought a pair recently at a parts store as I wanted the lifetime warranty, about 95 bucks each. There are only two bolts that hold it to the frame and one pinch bolt that holds it to the bottom of the spindle so it's not a bad "do it yourself" project.
Some have an aluminum arm and the ball joint is replaceable separately. They bolt on so if you get under there and see the bolts you can do just the joint.

You still want to try and find that "whistle" as no ball joint I've ever ran across whistled no matter how worn or badly installed. It might be a scraping noise from the brake pads that goes away when you step on the brakes and apply pressure that takes the "play" out of the caliper and pads. ?? no clue, you need to track that one down.

 

fcp has them for $34.99. at that price, do both sides. its a total of 3 boils per side.

 

The control arms with the replaceable ball joints were only sold on the '93 and '94 cars. I did get a set from a jy and have installed them on my '95. Rather change the ball joint only than the entire arm. Also thinking about putting poly in the frame attachments of the arms which should make them just about lifetime.