ball joints for beginners

[maddmike]

vehicle: 03 TJ sport dana 30, stock steering and susp., 2.5" lift.

I'm in the process of checking all the ball joints in the front of the vehicle to diagnose a small springy-clunky noise which happens occasionally when i steer and/or go over a bump in the road.

what is the correct method for checking the quality of ball joints? I was going to have someone steer the vehicle back and forth while i inspect each joint for play and/or noises coming from the joint. Is this acceptable or is this totally inaccurate? or should I be checking for something else? All bolts in the front steering and susp. have been checked for proper torque and re-tightened already.

FYI all rubber boots are intact and not cracked or leaking, except for one for which I am replacing the entire ball joint.

Thanks for any help.

[battallion14]

I had a similar sort of problem but I could actually see that the top of the tires were leaning in (camber). I replaced all 4 yesterday and it wasn't that difficult. Took me about 4 hours and now that I know what I am doing I could probably do it in 2 or 3 hours. The lowers were the hardest ones to get out. Good luck.