Big Clock
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- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2001 Ford Explorer Sport
Lower Ball Joint Replacement How To (lots of Pictures) Now with Video! by MountaineerGreen
posted 06/03/2007 is a great how to for changing lower ball joints and the one that I followed. There are others on Youtube that show how to change the passenger side and driver side upper control arm/ball joint assembly. None deal with the 2001 Explorer SportTrac!
This thread deals specifically with one problem; removal of the alignment bolts
from the DRVERS SIDE UPPER CONTROL ARM/BALL JOINT ASSEMBLY.
First, the upper ball joints in the OEM upper control arm assemblies for both sides are designed to not be changed. The entire control arm needs to be changed. The new, aftermarket assemblies will allow for the exchange of new ball joints, if and when they are needed. Also, The OEM's are not fitted with grease zerks; the aftermarket ones are. Note: The new ball joints are not shipped greased up. You have to add grease after they are installed. Install the zerks last to avoid damage during installation of the ball joints.
Second, no video, photos or printed words, in all of my searches have shown or described how to change the DRIVER SIDE UPPER CONTROL ARM ASSEMBLY for a "2001" EXPLORER SPORT TRAC 4.0 SOHC 2wd SUV. I think it is because of all the cussin' goin' on.
What was Ford thinking? To my knowledge, all of the other model years of the Sport Trac were easy compared to the 2001 model (as evidenced by all of the videos that I trolled). I now have the knowledge that the 2001 model year was built with a fuel line installed in such a manner that you cannot remove the rear alignment bolt that holds the control arm in place because this fuel line is in the way. It took me 4-5 hours to figure out how to remove it, and it took two people to do it.
There are two ways of doing it, actually, and three possible outcomes. 1) When faced with this problem, bring your SUV to a mechanic to handle. Then go home, have a beer, and watch a game until he calls you that the job is done. OUTCOME: You are happy, and hopefully your team won. 2) Do it yourself and be successful. OUTCOME: You are happy, but you missed the game. 3) You attempt to change it yourself. OUTCOME: You find yourself curled up in a corner of the garage crying like a baby. No. 3 almost happened to me.
Now, the fuel line in question is bundled in a clip with some very thin brake lines, and you don't want to damage them. Right behind the rear alignment housing is a clamp that needs to be loosened. It takes an 8mm crescent wrench to do this as it is a tight spot. I didn't remove it because I figured it would be next to impossible to get back in. It needs to be loosened quite a bit.
Next, there is a plastic clip located directly behind the shock absorber housing/hood where all of these lines are clipped to. This clip is held in place with two barbed fittings that are inserted into the hood/housing. You will need to address this clip from above, through the engine compartment. I used two tools: First, I used a long, heavy duty, flathead screwdriver to start to pry out the barbed fittings from their holes. I had to twist the screwdriver back and forth to start "walking" it out.
The bade of the screwdriver was only wide enough to start the process. so I had to finish the removal using a wide chisel; its blade was wide enough to finish prying out the barbed clip.
Here comes the delicate part. Using a long crow bar, I went down through the engine compartment and "gently" fitted the end of it behind the fuel line and brake lines. The fuel line is at the bottom and thicker than the break lines, and very stout, and that was the fulcrum point. Here is where you will need a second pair of hands. (Again, the key word here is "gently". I don't know what the breaking point is for these lines and I am glad to say that I didn't find out.) With the crow bar in place, ease the line away from the shock absorber housing while your second set of hands begins to fiddle with the rear alignment bolt of the control arm. (It took us about 30 seconds to remove it.) Then release the pressure from the crow bar until the new control arm is in place, and then moved it again to install the bolt through the new arm. (This took us about 60 seconds. I made sure that both bolts were in and secure before I re-attached the clips for the fuel and brake lines.)
Like I said, the first three ball joints that I replaced went quite easily. It was the first time that I attempted anything like this, so it took me more time than it would have a mechanic to do. If I had the idea to move the fuel line earlier, I would have saved 4-5 hours of head scratching, cussin' and a crushing feeling of defeat. I hope this will save time and make it possible to do, for those of you who have to.
By the way, my explorer has 213,000 miles on it. It had 206,000 miles when I bought it. When I removed the old ball joints, they crumpled in my hand, and where easier to move than an X-Box joy stick. When all was put back together, the car ran great.
posted 06/03/2007 is a great how to for changing lower ball joints and the one that I followed. There are others on Youtube that show how to change the passenger side and driver side upper control arm/ball joint assembly. None deal with the 2001 Explorer SportTrac!
This thread deals specifically with one problem; removal of the alignment bolts
from the DRVERS SIDE UPPER CONTROL ARM/BALL JOINT ASSEMBLY.
First, the upper ball joints in the OEM upper control arm assemblies for both sides are designed to not be changed. The entire control arm needs to be changed. The new, aftermarket assemblies will allow for the exchange of new ball joints, if and when they are needed. Also, The OEM's are not fitted with grease zerks; the aftermarket ones are. Note: The new ball joints are not shipped greased up. You have to add grease after they are installed. Install the zerks last to avoid damage during installation of the ball joints.
Second, no video, photos or printed words, in all of my searches have shown or described how to change the DRIVER SIDE UPPER CONTROL ARM ASSEMBLY for a "2001" EXPLORER SPORT TRAC 4.0 SOHC 2wd SUV. I think it is because of all the cussin' goin' on.
What was Ford thinking? To my knowledge, all of the other model years of the Sport Trac were easy compared to the 2001 model (as evidenced by all of the videos that I trolled). I now have the knowledge that the 2001 model year was built with a fuel line installed in such a manner that you cannot remove the rear alignment bolt that holds the control arm in place because this fuel line is in the way. It took me 4-5 hours to figure out how to remove it, and it took two people to do it.
There are two ways of doing it, actually, and three possible outcomes. 1) When faced with this problem, bring your SUV to a mechanic to handle. Then go home, have a beer, and watch a game until he calls you that the job is done. OUTCOME: You are happy, and hopefully your team won. 2) Do it yourself and be successful. OUTCOME: You are happy, but you missed the game. 3) You attempt to change it yourself. OUTCOME: You find yourself curled up in a corner of the garage crying like a baby. No. 3 almost happened to me.
Now, the fuel line in question is bundled in a clip with some very thin brake lines, and you don't want to damage them. Right behind the rear alignment housing is a clamp that needs to be loosened. It takes an 8mm crescent wrench to do this as it is a tight spot. I didn't remove it because I figured it would be next to impossible to get back in. It needs to be loosened quite a bit.
Next, there is a plastic clip located directly behind the shock absorber housing/hood where all of these lines are clipped to. This clip is held in place with two barbed fittings that are inserted into the hood/housing. You will need to address this clip from above, through the engine compartment. I used two tools: First, I used a long, heavy duty, flathead screwdriver to start to pry out the barbed fittings from their holes. I had to twist the screwdriver back and forth to start "walking" it out.
The bade of the screwdriver was only wide enough to start the process. so I had to finish the removal using a wide chisel; its blade was wide enough to finish prying out the barbed clip.
Here comes the delicate part. Using a long crow bar, I went down through the engine compartment and "gently" fitted the end of it behind the fuel line and brake lines. The fuel line is at the bottom and thicker than the break lines, and very stout, and that was the fulcrum point. Here is where you will need a second pair of hands. (Again, the key word here is "gently". I don't know what the breaking point is for these lines and I am glad to say that I didn't find out.) With the crow bar in place, ease the line away from the shock absorber housing while your second set of hands begins to fiddle with the rear alignment bolt of the control arm. (It took us about 30 seconds to remove it.) Then release the pressure from the crow bar until the new control arm is in place, and then moved it again to install the bolt through the new arm. (This took us about 60 seconds. I made sure that both bolts were in and secure before I re-attached the clips for the fuel and brake lines.)
Like I said, the first three ball joints that I replaced went quite easily. It was the first time that I attempted anything like this, so it took me more time than it would have a mechanic to do. If I had the idea to move the fuel line earlier, I would have saved 4-5 hours of head scratching, cussin' and a crushing feeling of defeat. I hope this will save time and make it possible to do, for those of you who have to.
By the way, my explorer has 213,000 miles on it. It had 206,000 miles when I bought it. When I removed the old ball joints, they crumpled in my hand, and where easier to move than an X-Box joy stick. When all was put back together, the car ran great.
