Front suspension parts - ball joints, bearings, tie rods, etc.

[Paraphoe]

Alright, I took my truck in for a squeak yesterday and turns out I need new upper and lower ball joints, bearings, and possibly tie rods. He told me $1,300-$1,400 for all the work. Luckily there's some really good people on this site, and a few, led by sk1er17, have volunteered their time next Sunday to help me repair everything. Considering I know jack schitt about the front suspension, this is huge.

sk1er sent me a list of the parts I will probably need from AdvanceAutoParts.com, and I want to list them here to make sure everything checks out before I buy them. I've gone through them all, and they all look good to me, but as I said, I'm not knowledgeable on this stuff, and it would help to have some confirmation.

If you guys could check the part numbers for me and let me know if these are all good and what I'm going to need, that would be excellent.

www.AdvanceAutoParts.com

Bearings: 515003 x2
Spindle Nuts: 664253 x2
Tie rod ends: ES3302 x2
Lower ball joints: 104222 x2
Upper ball joints: FA4054E x2 (this seems to include the entire control arm - is that necessary?)


Thanks in advance...

 

[carlover]

Why not do the inner tie rods while you have everything apart?

And yes the whole upper control arm has to be replaced. Buy Moog balljoints, and id buy from rockauto.com if i were you. Killer prices on the moog stuff.

 

[Paraphoe]

I forgot to mention that I'm broke. I'm a college senior in the process of looking for a job, but I have $100 to my name, and this is all going on the credit card. I'm trying to keep costs as low as possible, and that's why I didn't have Moog parts. I didn't think the inner tie rods needed to be touched.

 

[Paraphoe]

I'm on RockAuto right now. Are Spicer parts decent? They're extremely cheap..

 

[techieman33]

check ebay, there are some kits available at pretty low prices. I know dan whitiaker and a couple others have used them.

 

[carlover]

check ebay, there are some kits available at pretty low prices. I know dan whitiaker and a couple others have used them.

Yeah i second this if your on a budget. There as a link posted a few weeks ago let me see if i can find it.

Here it is..
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ball...015QQitemZ250213985750QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

 

[Paraphoe]

Wow, awesome. So then I would just need one of those kits, and then the bearing hubs?

 

[IZwack]

Unless your bearings are grinding (which feels like a jackhammer coming through the bottom of the floor), I wouldnt replace them. They're like $180 each so two of those are going to burn quite a hole in your wallet.

Oh and by the way, dont go through the wet/mud next time -- it kills wheel bearings

 

[Paraphoe]

Shuttup IZ, you're gonna make me mud-shy! Hahahahaha

The passenger side bearings sound like a death grind. Drivers side not so much, but I figure it would be best to do them both if the passenger one went that bad that fast.

 

[Paraphoe]

These are the ones from the item number above that I was going to get:

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?MfrCode=BCA&MfrPartNumber=515003

 

[IZwack]

Yeah that should work

 

[sk1er17]

looks like a good kit you're ordering. guess i'll have to find an inner tie-rod tool to borrow also (lol i set my limit at the balljoint press)

 

[GeorgeR]

I just got my kit yesterday from Can-Am (ebay) and it looks great. The whole deal including shipping was less than 200 bucks. Mine is a '96 2wd but still should be about the same. Hopefully I will get to install the stuff next week.

 

[Paraphoe]

looks like a good kit you're ordering. guess i'll have to find an inner tie-rod tool to borrow also (lol i set my limit at the balljoint press)

Could I rent one from Autozone for you or something?

 

[carlover]

A large pipe wrench works just fine.

 

[MountaineerGreen]

I'd only recommend Moog parts. Off brand ball joints are crap, I have had so much trouble out of them. Do it right the first time and be done with it. Plan on an alignment immediately afterward.

I did a whole series on 1995-2001 IFS rehab when I worked on mine:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1784849

 

[spabula]

Jason, I need to change my driverside steering knuckle so I bought one from the yard. Came with the hub/bearing assembly ( with ABS ) out of a 2000. I'm pretty sure it is the same part. I can send you a pic if you'd like. I know its from a yard but you just cant beat free!!!! So if you want it let me know. I'm gonna put this knuckle on this weekend so after that, the hub is yours if you'd like.

 

[Paraphoe]

Branden, that would be excellent. Would save me $150.

 

[Paraphoe]

I'd only recommend Moog parts. Off brand ball joints are crap, I have had so much trouble out of them. Do it right the first time and be done with it. Plan on an alignment immediately afterward.

I did a whole series on 1995-2001 IFS rehab when I worked on mine:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1784849

If Dan Whitaker and others have used the eBay kit with no issues, I'm going to go that route. Should I encounter issues in the future, I'll have a job and the money worry about it then. Right now, money is the #1 concern.

 

[sk1er17]

Could I rent one from Autozone for you or something?

Na we'll be OK.