Ball joints

[Nancymarie]

I had my lower ball joints replaced 02/20 on my 02 explorer. I got 25,000 miles out of them. I don't off road drive and have the front end greased every 3,000 miles. Can someone tell me why they wore out so fast when the original ones lasted 245,000 miles?

 

[410Fortune]

yes
They did not install new OEM/Ford quality ball joints
Most shops will use Moog or Precision or other aftermarket brand joints, but not spicer/motorcraft in an effort to save money

Or the other suspension components are worn and putting additional strain on the ball joints, which is why the original ones also failed
upper ball joints, tie rod ends, wheel bearings, cv axles, oversize tires, underinflated tires, worn control arm bushings, poor alignment, can all lead to premature wear of suspension parts

My guess is inferior ball joints were installed.

 

[SyberTiger]

Your originals may have not lasted that long. Perhaps it didn't become obvious until 245k miles. I just changed mine out at 180k and it was only obvious after I removed the knuckle. Then you could see how sloppy they were.

Not sure what was getting greased on your front suspension as there are no grease zerks. Everything is sealed. Unless your after market ball joint came with a grease zerk. What brand part did they ?