Lower Ball Joint Replacement How To (lots of Pictures)

[MountaineerGreen]

I really like hearing this feedback on this! I like knowing that people are able to use this and save themselves money.

[daboss351]

yep i had to use a BFH but I got everything in, and this definaty helped me out!!

[GRNMACHINE]

Fantastic Writeup!!! Getting ready to do this next weekend. I am already sold on the Moog parts from Rock Auto, the question I have is which ones do I buy? They show 3 different part no's:

MOOG Part # K8708T {Control Arm w/Ball Joint}
Front Suspension; Upper; LH; 2WD; Problem Solver; Incl. bushings
Front Suspension; Upper; LH; 4WD; Problem Solver; Incl. bushings

$98.89 $0.00 $98.89
MOOG Part # K8710T {w/Ball Joint}
Front Suspension; Upper; RH; 4WD; Problem Solver; 2 piece design
Front Suspension; Upper; RH; 2WD; Problem Solver; 2 piece design

$98.89 $0.00 $98.89
MOOG Part # K80068 {Control Arm w/Ball Joint}
Front Suspension; Upper; RH; 2WD; 1 piece design; Incl. bushings
Front Suspension; Upper; RH; 4WD; 1 piece design; Incl. bushings

[GRNMACHINE]

Called CarQuest-they claim they sell a Moog Upper Control Arm "economy line" but it is manufactured by Moog?

CCA CA034B $96.59
CCA CA035B $96.59

Balljoints:

[GRNMACHINE]

Part No's Direct from Federal-Mogul-Moog website:

********************************************************

Upper Control Arm RIGHT 1 PC DESIGN K80068 95-01 1

Upper Control Arm LEFT ENHANCED DESIGN - w/BALL JOINT & BUSHING
K8708T 95-01 1

Upper Control Arm RIGHT w/BALL JOINT - ENHANCED DESIGN
K8710T 95-01 1

Upper Control Arm Bushing Or Kit FRONT SUSPENSION K8704 95-01 2

Lower Control Arm Bushing Or Kit FRONT SUSPENSION K8705 95-01 2

Upper Ball Joint REPL BALL JOINT FOR SOME MOOG CONTROL ARM - WILL NOT FIT OE CONTROL ARM K80012 95-99 2

Lower Ball Joint FRONT SUSPENSION ENHANCED DESIGN K8695T 95-05 2

**********************************************************

[clocker122004]

Hello folks... new here... Are the lower ball joints replaceable on the 99 Mountie? I have a Haynes manual for the car & it says they cannot be replaced on the '96 & newer Mountaineers; the entire lower control arm has to be replaced. From the looks of them on the car, & from the pictures in Mountaineergreen's posting they seem to be replaceable. I have replaced ball joints on a '97 F150 & the Mountie seems to be the same as the F150. I used the AutoZone ball joint press on the F150 and had no problem whatsoever. I did have to replace the upper control arms on the F150. But, again it was not difficult. I think I need to replace the ball joints on my wife's Mountie. It creaks & groans when turning left. That's the same symtoms my stepdaughter's F150 had that required replacing her ball joints. I am somewhat reluctant to mess with replacing lower control arms with torsion bar suspension because of a lack of tools and confidence. I have no problem with replacing just the ball joints though.

Thanks for your help & input.

Paul

[Nick26]

Does it specifically say 96 and newer mountaineers? Because I do remember it saying I couldn't replace mine(99 explorer) but it was wrong, because I did and it was easy thanks to this thread. I'm almost positive you can replace yours.

[clocker122004]

went back and looked at the Haynes again... it says "1995 and later models; the balljoints on upper and lower control arms are not removable or serviceable. If balljoint is damaged or worn, replace the control arm."

This is NOT the 1st time I have found misleading errors in Haynes or Chilton manuals. I got a face full of gasoline while trying to replace a fuel filter because I let down the rail pressure according to Haynes by removing the fuel pump relay and running the engine until it quit. Well guess what... the rail was still pressurized and I was in serious trouble for a while.

Thanks...

Paul

[96eb96]

Originally Posted by clocker122004

went back and looked at the Haynes again... it says "1995 and later models; the balljoints on upper and lower control arms are not removable or serviceable. If balljoint is damaged or worn, replace the control arm."

This is NOT the 1st time I have found misleading errors in Haynes or Chilton manuals. I got a face full of gasoline while trying to replace a fuel filter because I let down the rail pressure according to Haynes by removing the fuel pump relay and running the engine until it quit. Well guess what... the rail was still pressurized and I was in serious trouble for a while.

Thanks...

Paul

Yes you can replace lower ball joints, look at the first page of this thread! I think its the exact same part as the F150 too, I saw an interchange listing.
Off topic:
Also, the only way to be sure fuel pressure is gone is to depress the schrader valve with a fuel gauge tool on the fuel manifold near the injectors. The redneck way (works as well) is with a small screwdriver and a rag. Leaving it sit overnight helps to.

That haynes technique is not listed in the Ford Service manual, it may work but the valve is the only way to be 100% sure the pressure is gone.

[clocker122004]

My local autozone said the lower joints are not replaceable and they have no part number for them. They also do not stock control arms. So how do you buy the new replacements?
Thanks...
Paul

[GRNMACHINE]

try rockauto.com. the lower ball joints are replaceable without the lower control arms being replaced. The part no.'s are listed. Carquest can also order them although their prices are higher than rockauto.
Rick

[ExplorerXLT95]

Excellent write-up. Will be attempting this within the next month.

Is there a definitive part number for the lower ball joints though?

[boatingdobbins]

Looking to replace the upper and lower ball joints on my '96 XLT 4WD Explorer. Read this post and feeling confident enough to give it a try. After reading the post visited RockAuto to price the Moog parts. The upper needs to be replaced with the control arm. Can purchase the upper in either one or two piece. Is the recommendation to purchase the one piece or two piece? Below are the parts? The lowers seem to be pretty straight forward when deciding what to purchase. Below is what I plan on purchasing. Any advice?


MOOG Part # K8708T {Control Arm w/Ball Joint}
Front Suspension; Upper; LH; 4WD; Problem Solver; Incl. bushings

MOOG Part # K80068 {Control Arm w/Ball Joint}
Front Suspension; Upper; RH; 4WD; 1 piece design; Incl. bushings

MOOG Part # K8695T
Front Suspension; Lower; 4WD; Problem Solver

[Blacksheep Josh]

Originally Posted by boatingdobbins

Looking to replace the upper and lower ball joints on my '96 XLT 4WD Explorer. Read this post and feeling confident enough to give it a try. After reading the post visited RockAuto to price the Moog parts. The upper needs to be replaced with the control arm. Can purchase the upper in either one or two piece. Is the recommendation to purchase the one piece or two piece? Below are the parts? The lowers seem to be pretty straight forward when deciding what to purchase. Below is what I plan on purchasing. Any advice?


MOOG Part # K8708T {Control Arm w/Ball Joint}
Front Suspension; Upper; LH; 4WD; Problem Solver; Incl. bushings

MOOG Part # K80068 {Control Arm w/Ball Joint}
Front Suspension; Upper; RH; 4WD; 1 piece design; Incl. bushings

MOOG Part # K8695T
Front Suspension; Lower; 4WD; Problem Solver

From what I've personally read about second generation, the entire Upper Ball Joint and Control Arm is one piece. Also, if you can buy it all in one piece all ready assembled, then it's less work for you to do. Good luck.

[1998explodersprt]

boating dobbins: usually the left side control arm is a one piece design. the right side is usually the two piece design. if in doubt, look behind your tire on the right side and see if its the two piece...you'll know it when you see it.

secondly, i can verify that you CAN use the ball joint press to both extract AND install the ball joint. no need for a jack or any of that stuff i saw in this thread (not thats its a bad idea, just that some people get scared away from stuff like that).

the lower ball joint just needs to be hammered out. i didnt even have to use the press. i smacked it 3-4 times with a hammer and out it came. now to install it, use the press as you normally would, except use one of the round pieces that lets the joint slide through on top instead of the circular spacers, and then use a circular spacer and the other round piece on the bottom. proceed to press. max out the press in that fashion, then remove the press and finally insert a usable circular spacer on top to press the joint in the rest of the way. no jack needed here, just that lame autozone press

[ExplorerXLT95]

Excellent write-up, MountaineerGreen!! Very thorough and lots of pictures.

I have a squeak coming from the driver's side front end and I believe it to be a bad ball-joint. What I don't know is whether it would be the UCA or LCA ball joint.

How can one determine if it is the UCA or LCA ball-joint that is the culprit? I don't want to order the wrong parts or replace what isn't broken.

Also, assuming it is the LCA ball joint that has failed, will I require an alignment afterwards?

squeaking is usually lower IMO

[ExplorerXLT95]

Originally Posted by ThePhoenix

squeaking is usually lower IMO

And I think that's what they said the last time I had the vehicle in for a diagnostic. Just trying to be sure to fix/replace the target problem.

LCA ball-joints it is.

EDIT: Still want to make sure though: Will I need an alignment after replacing the LCA ball-joints?

[kert0307]

Thanks for the writeup Mountaineergreen, I just finished doing upper and lower ball joints and outer tie rod ends. A BFH is definitely a necessary tool to do this.

[ExplorerXLT95]

kert0307 - Did you require an alignment to be performed on the front-end when you were done replacing the LCA ball-joints?