trentonm

I had gotten a flat on the highway at night a while back and obviously wanting to get off as soon as possible I replaced the front driver side wheel with the spare. I know not the smartest move but in terms of my safety I did what needed to be done. Drove to the nearest exit and switched the wheel back so that I had two full size up front, and a spare and a full size in the back.

Recently when I am coming to a stop I keep hearing a soft pop in the same wheel well that the spare was put on for the few miles.

The first thing that comes to mind is a ball joint issue, which is only 50 or so bucks. What scares me is that it could be axle issues which is a heck of a bit more in terms of replacement.

So my question is, what is the likelihood of it actually being the axle...

Any help would be great. Thanks guys.

1SL0WTC

take it to the dealership.

trentonm

thats the only response I can get? I know i need to get in, but would like to head in with knowledge and be prepared for a possible hefty bill compared to a manageable bill.

sciontc_mich

You got a flat and replaced it with the spare? What does this have to do with a ball joint? Replacing a flat with the spare has nothing to do with the ball joint.

Only way that the ball joint was damaged was because whatever gave you the flat came up and smashed the ball joint area. Which if it did that you would've heard it slam into the lower control arm.

if you're worried about the ball joint, raise the car, pull on the lower part of the tire to see if the ball joint is loose. that's the test to see, plus examine the ball joint. if it's loose it's damaged. also look for damage on the lower control arm.