Checking balljoint not mounted to car

[Panici]

Discovered my passenger side control arm to strut housing ball joint is bad. (clunking+movement when wheel is moved by hand from side to side)

It was fine when I last checked less then 400km ago.
I'm guessing 27 years at stock ride height and then a sudden change ~1.3" lower accelerated the wear?

Pulled the LCA off my parts car, how do I determine if the joints are good? The standard "shake wheel back and forth, up and down" didn't reveal anything when it was on the car, but the parts may just be bound/seized from sitting.

How should the joints feel when sitting on the bench?

I want to make sure they're good before I go to the effort of mounting it to the car!

[Liquidity]

If the ball joint is extremely tight, it's a good joint, it's not bound/seized, that's how a ball joint is supposed to be. If it flops around, it's bad.

[LJ851]

Get a big pair of channellox/waterpump pliers (or whatever you want to call them) and attempt to compress the joint vertically. If you can compress it, it is worn out.

[Panici]

If the ball joint is extremely tight, it's a good joint, it's not bound/seized, that's how a ball joint is supposed to be. If it flops around, it's bad.

Define "flops about". Should I be able to move it by hand?
How many fingers? (that's what she said)

Get a big pair of channellox/waterpump pliers (or whatever you want to call them) and attempt to compress the joint vertically. If you can compress it, it is worn out.

Will attempt tomorrow. Thank you!

[Panici]

One joint is tight, needs pliars and some force to move.


The other can be moved with one finger.
I don't detect any movement up and down, or sliding left to right.
The boot appears to be split.

Think the second joint is bad?

[Panici]

Bump.
Does the joint need to be "stiff" to be good?

[Steve Corbett]

The one you can move with your finger is bad.