I recently had the front of my truck in for a brake job and the other night I thought I heard something clunking so I jacked up the front end and looked around.

What really bothered me was the fact that I had a hard time spinning the front tires. Could this mean my wheel bearing are bad? or maybe they didnt lube the slide pins on the calipers and the brakes were dragging a bit? Both sides were the same. any ideas?

Also how do I check the ball joints. Should there be any play at all??? thanks guys

 

When you tried to turn the tires by hand did you hear a scraping or dragging sound? How hard was it to turn the tires by hand, 315's aren't small.

Also the ball joints should really be check by a qualified person.

 

Jack up one of the front wheels, leaving the other side on the ground. Grab the tireand try to move it. If you can feel it move (i.e. feel some slop/looseness/movement) then it's the ball joints. If you want to see, then get a buddy to try to move the tire around while you are looking at the ball joint. If you see any movement in the ball joint (i.e. beween the suspension arm & the spindle) then the ball joint is worn.

 

These are a little harder to check than a cars suspension in that it can require more force trying to wiggle the joints. Note ( unsafe ) be sure you use proper jack stands and rest your truck on one, then to check your joints grab your tire at the top and bottom push and pull trying to move it; it takes more to move these joints just due to the weight of the wheel and components. The bearing if there is no noise will proble be good. If you feel movment in the top bottom check then try the right left sides of the tire to be sure its not the bearing. Now if you find any play have a friend help while you look for the loose component. Also my saying is if you cant see the movment when looking at it you cant fix it. You can put your hand on the ball joint and knucke while there being wiggled to feel for it.

 

These are big trucks & youo definately have to grab the wheel & muscle it to see if you can get it to move. If somone is trying to move the wheel for you while you look at the joint, if you cannot see any movement w/ the naked eye, then teh joint is good. Putting your hand on the ball joint & knucke is also a good way to 'feel' if there is any movement between the two parts - there shouldn't be