Ball joints & control arms.

[Airplane Guy]

Hey all whats up. New member to explorations but been here a few times for advice. I own a '99 explorer sport 2-door 4X4 with the 4.0 SOHC..going to be keeping it for a while and just trying to make it better Here's the low down..i'm about to replace the lower ball joints and upper control arm assy's (apparently you can only replace the upper ball joints by installing the new upper control arm/ ball joint assy). I've ordered the parts from Napa and am going to install myself. Anybody know where I can get a step-by-step on replacing the uppers? I'm sure I can tackle it but saving some precious time would be nice. Is there a camber adjustment kit I can buy and does anyone know how to adjust the alignment without taking it to an "alignment shop"? Or would I be better off having a pro do it anyways? Already spent over 1400 doing body work and other misc things..so money is kinda tight. Thanks guys.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! I've moved your thread to the stock 95-01 section. Check MountaineerGreen's sticky threads on ball joints.

 

[pardiville]

Hey Airplane Guy, I was wondering how your ball joints & control arms replacement went? I,m looking at doing the same thing as my tires are leaning at the top. Also do you remember roughly how much it cost you to do this? Thanks for your time, Mike

 

[techieman33]

Hey Airplane Guy, I was wondering how your ball joints & control arms replacement went? I,m looking at doing the same thing as my tires are leaning at the top. Also do you remember roughly how much it cost you to do this? Thanks for your time, Mike

He just posted this early this morning, so I doubt he's done it yet. You'll find the write ups for both upper and lower in the link below at the top
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1784849

 

[Airplane Guy]

I will be doing it today, just got the parts in. Upper control arms ran $75 a piece and the lower ball joints were roughly $20 a piece. But, I also bought the adjustment cambers for $25 a piece and will be doing those too...adjusting them is going to be the kicker though. Ball joints are in the freezer. I'll let ya know how it goes..

 

[pardiville]

Sorry about that, I,m so use to seeing older listings I didn,t realize you had just posted this. Where did you order your parts from? Thanks, I,m looking forward to hearing how it goes, and the price was really reasonable for the parts.

 

[rizzjc]

I'm in the middle of this:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=245935
MoutaineerGreen's sticky at the top of this forum is great:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=194453

 

[Airplane Guy]

Well well..have I got a story for everybody. So, I decided to start on the passenger side by pressing the ball joint out of the lower control arm.. After about 6 hours of heartache and pain I finally got the SOB out. Then, I realized that I cannot put the new joints in due to the way the old ones come out. Looks like I either got the wrong ones or something else (a flange maybe) came out and it wasnt supposed to. I don't know. The new ball joint is splined and the old one is not, but the way the old one came out the way it did it seemed like it was supposed to come out that way. Needless to say I'm tired of f-ing with it and probably take it to a shop and have it finished. Upper control arms was the easy part. Got that done and also installed a cam adjustment kit. I'm at a loss on the lower ball joints..I guess i'm going to have to have the lower control arms replace. Unless anybody has a better idea?? I'm all ears..or eyes for that matter.

 

[rizzjc]

I knew it was be a real pain in the rear for me, so I opted to just replace everything. Nothing to press out, press in, or mess with. Others who have done the ball joints might be able to help you out on replacing it.

 

[Airplane Guy]

Yea..I think i'm going to just get the whole Lower assy and go that way. Good thing I already know how most of it comes apart Anything I should know about as I'm replacing the lowers? Any problems I may run into? I see the tie rod is going to have to come off and will I need a depressor of some sort for the shock and you think it can be pressed by hand?