Alignment after ball joint?

[lairdwd]

Hey guys - I replaced my 20 year old OEM driver side ball joint and wheel bearing this weekend on my 93. I'm very proud of that accomplishment, as I've never done anything even remotely as difficult as that before.

Question: Is it your experience that an alignment is needed after changing a ball joint? I didn't get an alignment done when the other side went bad and it was fine. Thoughts?

[StanzaDescendant]

Technically speaking any time you change part of the suspension or steering system you should get an alignment or at least have it checked.

[lairdwd]

Originally Posted by StanzaDescendant

Technically speaking any time you change part of the suspension or steering system you should get an alignment or at least have it checked.

Thanks for your input. How about practically speaking? These altimas do not have an upper ball joint. How much does changing a lower ball joint really effect camber, caster, and toe? All things being equal - the ball joint is attached to the knuckle the exact same way the old one was, and I used the same control arm. The old one was very shot (20 years old) and was flopping in the breeze. Interestingly, it was still functional though.

[the.wong.kid]

anytime the camber changes the toe changes. your worn out ball joint was at a different camber degree compared to your new ball joint. i would get it checked


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[MontanaAltima]

I just replaced both of mine and my alignment was quite a ways off.

[lairdwd]

Thanks for your feedback guys. My approach is to wait and see if the tires show any uneven wear. If it looks like I'm going to need an alignment I want to replace the 20 year old tie rods (inner and outer) too, as well as other suspension work.