Typically there quite a few signs that your ball joint in your vehicle might need to be replaced. Usually, the most obvious sign will be felt in someone's steering wheel. When the joint wears out it can cause play between Ones tire and the suspension system. This play in the suspension system can cause Ones steering wheel to vibrate and if the joint is really worn, the whole front end of a person's vehicle can shake very badly. And it very well could be an intermittent problem.
When I first noticed it in my vehicle, it would only happen at certain speeds. I also noticed that bumps in the road seem to trigger the shaking. The bump would throw the whole tire out of balance and the front end would shake very badly until I slowed down. Slowing down allowed the tire to regain its balance. I wanted to check a few other things in order to determine what the problem was.
If Ones vehicle is parked. We All should be able to grab the front tire and try to move it back and forth. If there is any play in the tire than a person's ball joint needs to be removed. On my vehicle there were a few other signs that led me to believe a faulty joint was to blame. There was an uneven wear pattern on the tire. When the tire would become unbalanced, it would cause this abnormal pattern.
Replacing the joint is straight forward as long as All Of Us have the right tool and that tool is a ball joint tool.