Jeeps&Fords
Active Member
- Joined
- August 30, 2004
- Messages
- 58
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- San Diego, CA
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- '97 XLT 5.0 AWD
Did my lowers over the weekend. To those of you who are thinking about doing it, just remove the entire steering knuckle and get it out of your way. First side took over 2 hours, fighting everything because I was trying to disassemble as little as possible. Second side took less than an hour.
4x4
Put vehicle on jack stands (under the frame)
Put floor jack under lower arm (make sure you can get the press on the ball)
Remove wheel
Remove brake caliper, mounting bracket and rotor
Remove axle retaining nut
Remove bolt on upper BJ and split joint from knuckle
Remove nut on lower BJ and remove knuckle
-note - you may have to smack the end of the axle to get it to slip through the bearing - you do not have to pull the bearing assembly off the knuckle! You also do not have to remove the tie rod from the knuckle.
You now have un-impeded access to the ball joint. Mine were in VERY tight - the press would not move them, even with a couple days soak with PB Blaster and some heat applied to the arm. I had to put tension on it with the press, then smack it with a BFH, more tension, smack, more tension, smack, etc... Clean the hole, then install new joint. Mine were also very tight going in, so I had to repeat the tension-smack routine.
Put everything back together. Make sure to torque everything to proper specs! Also, use some locktite on the caliper bracket bolts and the caliper mounting bolts. Go get an alignment, and you are done!
Also, my replacements came with zerk fittings, but they were straight. After everything was back together, I found that I could not get a grease gun on them. Do youself a favor and get some angled fittings - they are much easier to install before you press the joints into the arm.
Oh, it handles and rides so much better! No more clunks. No more wandering.
4x4
Put vehicle on jack stands (under the frame)
Put floor jack under lower arm (make sure you can get the press on the ball)
Remove wheel
Remove brake caliper, mounting bracket and rotor
Remove axle retaining nut
Remove bolt on upper BJ and split joint from knuckle
Remove nut on lower BJ and remove knuckle
-note - you may have to smack the end of the axle to get it to slip through the bearing - you do not have to pull the bearing assembly off the knuckle! You also do not have to remove the tie rod from the knuckle.
You now have un-impeded access to the ball joint. Mine were in VERY tight - the press would not move them, even with a couple days soak with PB Blaster and some heat applied to the arm. I had to put tension on it with the press, then smack it with a BFH, more tension, smack, more tension, smack, etc... Clean the hole, then install new joint. Mine were also very tight going in, so I had to repeat the tension-smack routine.
Put everything back together. Make sure to torque everything to proper specs! Also, use some locktite on the caliper bracket bolts and the caliper mounting bolts. Go get an alignment, and you are done!
Also, my replacements came with zerk fittings, but they were straight. After everything was back together, I found that I could not get a grease gun on them. Do youself a favor and get some angled fittings - they are much easier to install before you press the joints into the arm.
Oh, it handles and rides so much better! No more clunks. No more wandering.
