that's depends on the degree of damage.

unless you hit something really hard(dead hooker, curb, etc), most of the time the ball joint goes bad because the rubber cover/boot is cracked or tear.

the grease from the inside escaped and little sand and dirt are introduced into the ball joint. without lube and prolong metal and metal contract will grind down the ball and socket and it will starting to make noise.

if you discover the tear before the metal griding process then you could just replace the boot and fill it up with grease.(cheaper)

or else you have to replace the balljoint(upper, lower, tie rod ends, multilink,etc)

 

Thanks Iam7head,
and Thank you guys all.

 

Don't forget, right next to the tranny tunnel, on the passenger side (the area that spreads out into the floorboard more than the driver side) is there to make room for the catalytic converter. Even if the tranny stayed cold as ice, the tunnel would get hot from the exhaust components running through there.