does an unloaded balljoint need to be replaced?, want to disprove my friends pseudo logic Options

[enderswift]

hey everyone

heres the context,

I took apart my drivers side wheel to remove a dust ring that was making alot of noise. While i was taking things apart, i had to seperate the lower balljoint from the lower control arm in order to slide the cv from the hub. My buddy says that once a ball joint has been unloaded, like mine, it has to be replaced. I completely ignored this, put things together, and went about my life for a few weeks.... until my car started to make a sound every time i would accelerate a little more agressively. It almost sounds like somethings is loose... i cant explain it through a post so im not going to try. Has anyone ever heard of this whole balljoint thing??

[enderswift]

thanks for the breakdown yellowchinaman,

if i wasn't feeling so awful right now id already be poking around and taking pics. however i am 100% sure that my breaks are not the cause here, i checked them time and again looking for signs of uneven wear on my rotor and everything looks like it should. The brakeline is secured as well. This leaves the steering and the shocks/springs. If it was the steering, wouldn't I get the same side effects as i would with a worn tie rod? or do you mean the rack and pinion? im asking because my steering works perfectly.

if i wasn't feeling so awful right now id already be poking around and taking pics.