Gopher625
New Member
- Joined
- January 4, 2008
- Messages
- 1
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Texas
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 99 Ranger
If you don`t have the money to replace your ball joints on your Ranger you can try this. I`m not a pro just a shade tree mechanic who doesn`t have a lot of money or time to replace things just because they don`t have the brand new properties of replacement parts.
My ball joints were squeaking like a cat with its tail under a rocker. I lifted the front and could detect no noticeable shake when trying to jiggle the wheels from top to bottom which meant the ball joints were not worn out. (Slight bearing slack however). I bought the smallest grease zerk fittings at the hardware store I could find, bought a tap to tap holes for the zerks (10 x 24 I think) and bought a drill bit to drill holes in the tops of the ball joints.
The business part of the ball joint is covered by a metal cap on top that is about 1/16 inch thick. I drilled a hole in each cap (4, 2 each side) then tapped the hole, installed the zerks and greased the heck out of the ball joint until there was new grease coming out the boots which have rotted in two. If your boots are good on a Ford greaseless ball joint it is very possible your ball joint isn`t the squeaker. Make sure before you go after this solution that it is needed.
Anyway, I spent about 20 bucks and two hours. You can do it faster if you try but be careful when tapping the hole as taps being of tool steel will break if too much torque is applied to them, then you have to dig that out etc., etc. Now I`m on the lookout for new boots but feel confident the greased ball joints will perform well for some time to come.
Some rust dust came out of each hole and I had to magnetize an ice pick to stick in the hole to get out the rust and shavings but since this isn`t a high speed assembly, you don`t need to get **** about getting out everything. Also some of the nylon cap that resides above the ball joint and socket will come out when you drill. You need this out to make sure your grease gets everywhere it can possibly reach.
Gopher625
My ball joints were squeaking like a cat with its tail under a rocker. I lifted the front and could detect no noticeable shake when trying to jiggle the wheels from top to bottom which meant the ball joints were not worn out. (Slight bearing slack however). I bought the smallest grease zerk fittings at the hardware store I could find, bought a tap to tap holes for the zerks (10 x 24 I think) and bought a drill bit to drill holes in the tops of the ball joints.
The business part of the ball joint is covered by a metal cap on top that is about 1/16 inch thick. I drilled a hole in each cap (4, 2 each side) then tapped the hole, installed the zerks and greased the heck out of the ball joint until there was new grease coming out the boots which have rotted in two. If your boots are good on a Ford greaseless ball joint it is very possible your ball joint isn`t the squeaker. Make sure before you go after this solution that it is needed.
Anyway, I spent about 20 bucks and two hours. You can do it faster if you try but be careful when tapping the hole as taps being of tool steel will break if too much torque is applied to them, then you have to dig that out etc., etc. Now I`m on the lookout for new boots but feel confident the greased ball joints will perform well for some time to come.
Some rust dust came out of each hole and I had to magnetize an ice pick to stick in the hole to get out the rust and shavings but since this isn`t a high speed assembly, you don`t need to get **** about getting out everything. Also some of the nylon cap that resides above the ball joint and socket will come out when you drill. You need this out to make sure your grease gets everywhere it can possibly reach.
Gopher625
