Balljoint "feel"

[Anthony 1,000]

Quick question, but how should balljoints (wishbone and trackrod end) "feel"? Finished stripping the front hubs from my old 205 this evening, and decided to see what sort of condition the suspension componants were in to see if they were worth keeping or not.

• Two of the ball joints were quite stiff to move initially, but once you overcame the initial sticking, they moved smoothly.
  
• One of the ball joints was much easier to move initially and felt smooth with no play in the joint.
  
• One of the ball joints was very easy to move and you could feel some slop in the joint.
  

I'm assuming the first one is correct, the second one is worn, and the last one is completely knackered - but just wanted to confirm this

[pug_ham 240 3 Cars]

From your description IMO:

 

1; sound not far from new, plenty of life left in them.

2; halfway house, nicely bedded in, might get six months to a year out of it.

3; well worn, close to, if not already and MOT failure point, best for the bin or keep as drastic spare.

 

Graham.

[Anthony 1,000]

Cheers for the confirmation Graham

 

Looks like I've got a decent passenger side wishbone and trackrod end then, which just coincidentally are the parts that I suspecting are worn on my new 205 (vague and unpredictable turning right, absolutely fine turning left)