There are two checks that should be made for ball joints:
1) Lateral movement - push-pull on tire at the 6 and 12 positions
2) Vertical movement - use a prybar to see if the stud moves vertically inside the joint when upward pressure is applied.
You can have one or the other condition or both and it indicates a bad ball joint.
He has a 96 so he has 4-bolt LCAs. Cant use the BAT 2-bolt veersion. The 4-bolt LCAs are a Ford-only item are expensive, and a PITA to replace.
Steve
