[cassadilla]

Hey all! I have owned my mazda3 since it was a baby. It's a 2007 mazda3i with almost 140,000 miles on it. I have driven cross country, literally, and it's held its own. Recently I have been experiencing a "jumping" sensation when I go over bumps with some clunking sounds; no play happens in the steering wheel. The front struts were replaced last year, I replaced the rear struts 3 months ago with 4 new tires and had an alignment done then. I drove a little over 2,000 miles since then, again, this baby goes cross country! After researching the internet, I suspected the ball joint. With the tire lifted I pushed on the tire at 12 and 6, no play; at 3 and 9 however, there is an audible click/clunk and some play when I do this on both front wheels. I also brought my car in for an oil change and the mechanic was the one who told me is was a bad ball joint. Assuming this is still a worn ball joint, does anyone recommend replacing just the ball joint, or should I do the whole control arm? Thanks for any insight and help!

 

[Shinjammin]

Did you take care of this issue already?
If not, did you visually inspect the ball joint to see if there is sign of wear (Cracking,etc) and/or grease seepage?
I have a clunk as well that I'm in the middle of diagnosing but I'm suspecting mine to be the endlinks