A useful tip for workshops
Question: I run a fairly large commercial vehicle (CV) workshop in the UK, and we are having problems when testing ball joints and associated parts.
Last week, we had a warranty return rejected by the part manufacturer as they couldn’t find a fault with it, yet the technician who changed the part assures me there was excessive play in the joint. I don’t want to be in this situation again as I’m out of pocket in terms of the cost of labor and parts.
I was wondering, do you have any technical publications/bulletins or anything in written form, which I can pass on to my technicians, that will give them the basic procedures and information that will allow them to make a correct diagnosis of faulty ball joints?
The quick answer is yes! But first of all, I’d like to make this comment.
The checking and testing of ball joints is a difficult thing to do and should only be attempted by an experienced HCV technician with the knowledge to understand and evaluate his findings. Often, track rods are described as “defective” because axial play dictated by the actual design of the part is believed to be the result of wear. In fact, many technicians don’t fully understand the conditions under which the vehicle is tested can determine the outcome. For example, the vehicle should only be tested as it would be driven; with the axle under load. Under no circumstances should the axle be relieved of load.
The following will give your technicians a good basis on how to test these parts.
