To check the amount of play or wear in the ball joints of my '99 Legacy GT----is that procedure the same as other cars where you put the car up in the air and just pry between the lower control arm and the joint to see if it "clunks" ? I want to check the ball joints because the car pulls to the left and to the right over any road imperfections but steers nice and straight if the road is perfectly smooth. Michelin Pilot tires have 15K miles on them, pressures are to spec, and they've been rotated 3 times in 15000 miles.

you can do both, but the easiest way is to have two people, with it jacked up. one person yanking and pushing on the wheel, like you were trying to change the camber, and one down on the ground up close and personal with the ball joint. ANY play in it will be a significant amount while driving at higher speeds. and not to mention un safe:headbang:

You check it the same way you check any macpherson strut setup. Jack the car, not the control arm, and do as Ninjaben said. A prybar helps with this.

my car does the same thing exact ..97 legacy ..so far I have changed ball joints ,inter and outer tie rods ,struts .and it still does it alittle I was reading threw here and it might be the top hat on the strut .thats the only thing I havent changed .besides that cvjoing axel witch is comeing up soon one has a tear and I am going to wait a bit to change that ,then I will do both .the top hat what does it do it turns when you turn the wheel .if you hit bumps it cant move around to mess up .just the beering could be bad witch would make it hard stering and .it might make it pull hmmm going to have to look more into it and make some calls ..thanks for letting me brain storm alittle ..ttfn

you could also jack the car up..and grab the tire and 12 and 6 and rock it in and out to see if you notice any play...