Ball Joints & Alignment

[ELM'sLX+CHL'sDX]

Hi Guys:

Would worn ball joints on the upper control arms (front & rear) cause the camber to be out of alignment? My tires are wearing a bit quickly on the outside and the toe is within specification.

Thanks,
Claude

[DBMaster]

I would say definitely yes. Do you have play in the upper ball joints? What makes you say they are worn?

[Jareds 89 LX-i]

Well I do know that they can't do an alignment if the balljoints are bad, so I would say yes they will effect it. I'm not sure how much that could actually change camber, but probably just that tiny bit is enough to throw the alignment off a degree or 2

[DBMaster]

UPPER ball joints being bad would definitely affect camber somewhat. I think it's a little strange though as I have over 200K miles on mine and the uppers are tight. It's the front lowers that get all the abuse from potholes, RR tracks, etc. I did replace my lowers some time ago and they weren't even that bad.