Clunking in front end, ball joints? | Page 3 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Clunking in front end, ball joints?

WELL THEN guess what! my beloved gf gave me a dremel for Christmas, is that strong enough to do this job? what kind of extension/bit should I get. Its a good quality one too, its an actual "Dremel"

but i don't think it comes with the bit to do a heavy grind job..

I have 2 jackstands, so will i hoist of the front completely and take both front tires off? Where should I place the jackstands since the crossmember is close to where i normally put them, and I don't want them in the way...

thanks,

leo
 



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how convienient!!!....i would get the stone grinder for ferrous metals that is sort of like a disk bit....dont get the barral shaped bits cause you want as much speed as possible. now the dremel will take longer than a grinder for the ones that face the ground.....what i may suggest is to rent a grinder to get those and as much of the side ones as possible and then finnish up w/ the dremel.

as for jack stand location....go ahead and jack up the axel, after you have loosend the lugs, until the tire is about 1' off the ground....then place a jack stand just infront of the sway bar mount on the frame where a small crossmember is ( be sure your under the FRAME....that crossmember cant support the weight of the vehicle!!!) the shape of the crossmember should hold the jack stand well depening on which kind you have....(also you will prolly need fairly tall stands to do this)..then remove the tire and ease the axel down untill you have a space that suites you for grinding

i used this method so that you can use the jack to move the axel up and down to line up the radius arm for an easier installation.
 






hrmm, maybe I'll buy a grinder as well, it never hurts to have one ;)

I'm not quite ceratin on the jackstand points you are talking about, and I know the jackstands I got are not the very big ones.

I'll just find a solid spot on the chassis thats towards the front i guess. maybe somewhere just behind the front axle.
 






you need to be infront of the axel......you know how the sway bar goes from each axel and is mounted to the frame? the spot im talkin about is right infront of those mounting points.
 






oh you mean that flat peice that goes from one side to the other? or the actual frame rail....
 






the accual sway bar is round and is mounted in rubber bushings on the frame....the part im saying that you should put the stand on is just infront of that mount. The crossmember sort of looks like angle iron.

It is accually right under the radiator.....i dont want to sound like a S.A. but its kinda hard to miss as this is the only stuff mounted to the frame infront of the front axel.
 






ok :) i know just ahead of the swaybar bushings... i'm sur ei'll know the spot... :)
 






just bought a 4 inch angle grinder and some metal cut-off disks. those rivets will be history now. :)

i never got boplts yet cuz i never really got a clear indication on what to buy. i'm sure i can re-use the bolts that come off, but what about replacing the rivets.

someone mentioned grade 8 or 10 bolts or something....
 






There shouldnt be any bolts. It should be All Rivits. And you Replace the Rivits with bolts.

Ryan
 






nope.....there are 2 bolts that are located just as the frame bends upward and then 2 rivits on the side of the frame......this may vary from manufactureing plant and year made but for the vast majority there are 2 bolts and 2 rivits on each side...( i misspoke eariler when i said there were 4 rivits on each side....sorry for any confusion but i just looked at mine to double check).....i used 1/2"x1 1/2" (i think) grade 8 nuts and bolts w/ a spacer washer on each side and a lock washer on the nut side. also when you go to assemble it....put the bolts through from the inside so you can perodically check them to make sure they are tight.
 






what size F*ing bolt is on the back of those radius arm bushings?!?!? I haven't got anything big enough to take it off.

The largest I got is a 22mm ...
 






Well I'm now at a complete and utter stand still. I don't have a big enough wrench to go over the bolt that holds the bushing on, and I thought i read in the archives that it was a 28 mm....

neither canadian tire OR NAPA has a 28mm wrench.

can someone please help to clarify the size of the bolt, its the one that holds the bushing on...the first thing i have to take off! :(
 






got a socket that fits but, it certainly doesn't look worn in there at all. I've taken off the bolt, and took off all the pieces of the bushing that i was able to do, and it looks fine.

Theres plenty of bushing around the end of the radius arm and its not touching the crossmember.

Its not gouged, torn, or destroyed. The bushing has a very slight squished look on the side closest to the ground, which appears its because of the weight of the vehicle. I'm going to take a digital picture and post it, you guys tell me if its worn or not...
 












Saw your pics, not sure of the other side. My question is were they still plyable, or are they hard like a rock? On my passenger side there was a rub mark in the arm after removing the bushings, and the bolt on my 93 was a 1-1/8th inch, same as the coil retainer bolt.
 






I gave up for this weekend. I bought a deep socket 1 1/8 inch and it got the dricer side off perfect.

couldnt get the passenger side cuz the c*ck suckin f#$king socket was too long to fit cuz the exhaust bolts/cat were too close.

so maybe next weekend now. i'm too pissed to look at it now. shiat like this angers me ;) i went bought a grinder, all the bolts, a $20 socket....for this to happen.

so it can wait for a few more days. but from those pics, does it not look ok? cuz it doesn't look like a worn bearing to me. but i know the heat from the exhaust eats up the passenger side.....
 






Yeah, I know they are aggrevating, I used a box wrench, only cause I borrowed it, I saw them at advanced auto for like 12 bucks. They are probably hard like a hockey puck, there is enough pressure at that spot to make them knock around alittle when they are like that, here's a trick that may help, I would replace the pivot arm bushings while you are under there, then you can save the grinding, just unbolt the front of radius arm, and wiggle it out, the pivot bushings are cheaper than the grinder. Either way replacing them should help. Not trying to push the poly's on you, but I bought mine from Hank right here on this site, and almost a year later mine is still as tight as when I installed them, ex handles a little better than with rubber bushings.
 






I'll be buying a wrench/smaller socket this week and this will be attempted this friday more than likely.

I'll keep you guys posted, one other thing, I looked at the route of not grinding the rivets, but releasing the shock n such, that looks to be much quicker and easier....
 






Its kind of a PITA to get that spring bolt out. I used a 1-1/8 wrench got get mine out. Make sure you start spraying it with liquid wrench ASAP.

Ryan
 



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it is prolly the pass. side one that is making the clunkin sound.......if your going to go through all the trouble of takin off the arm you might as well replace the springs....the ride improvement is amazing!! i noticed that you are in canada and i saw some pics of your X on your site.....your going to have a hell of a time gettting the springs out because of rust. I would try pullin the axels forward to get at the bushings....(be sure to have the sway bar disconnected) you will have to pull hard and you will prolly need a friend to help (the resistance is from the springs cause when the springs are off the axel will move freely about 1.5' front to back)

Oh and if you decide to do the springs, go to the dealer and get the plastic spring seats....the original ones will be toast. but be prepared to spend afternoons on it (1.5 for figureing out the best way to do it for one side and .5 for doing the other)
 






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