How to: Ball joints on 3 gen 1 of 2 [Pictures]

[Hitchhikingmike]

The best brands are:

Ball joints and suspension components: MOOG is the best brand.

For wheel bearings: Timken is the best brand.

No you do not have to buy an entire upper A-arm assembly. The ball joints is pressable.

 

[JLindley]

The best brands are:

Ball joints and suspension components: MOOG is the best brand.

For wheel bearings: Timken is the best brand.

No you do not have to buy an entire upper A-arm assembly. The ball joints is pressable.

Where did you the Front Timken Wheel Bearings at? Are there inner and outer bearings or just one whole bearing?

 

[Ronin8002]

The MOOG brand upper ball joints i bought came with a grease fitting. screws in right in the middle of the flat part.

Avoid the temptation to overfill them with grease...I did that with one and it leaked and made a bit of a mess haha.

 

[JLindley]

The MOOG brand upper ball joints i bought came with a grease fitting. screws in right in the middle of the flat part.

Avoid the temptation to overfill them with grease...I did that with one and it leaked and made a bit of a mess haha.

So your MOOG Front Upper and Lower ball joints came with grease fittings.
Everyone has told me only the lower ball joint comes with a grease fitting. Could you post some pics of them

 

[JLindley]

So your MOOG Front Upper and Lower ball joints came with grease fittings.
Everyone has told me only the lower ball joint comes with a grease fitting. Could you post some pics of them

 

[Ronin8002]

Out of town right now. Will post them when I get back.

If you look in thepotroast's thread on balljoints (stickied at the top of the 2002-2005 forum) you can see where he compares the two moog balljoint types. The one with the grease fitting has ridges on it and a hole in the top that you screw a grease fitting into (supplied with the balljoint).

He decided not to use that kind for some reason, but they fit fine in my control arms.

I believe the two joints are the same part number for some reason.

If you go to autozone or advanced auto they stock it so you can look at it yourself if you have one nearby. Just tell them you need upper balljoints for a 2002-2005 explorer and you prefer Moog brand.

 

[JLindley]

Out of town right now. Will post them when I get back.

If you look in thepotroast's thread on balljoints (stickied at the top of the 2002-2005 forum) you can see where he compares the two moog balljoint types. The one with the grease fitting has ridges on it and a hole in the top that you screw a grease fitting into (supplied with the balljoint).

He decided not to use that kind for some reason, but they fit fine in my control arms.

I believe the two joints are the same part number for some reason.

If you go to autozone or advanced auto they stock it so you can look at it yourself if you have one nearby. Just tell them you need upper balljoints for a 2002-2005 explorer and you prefer Moog brand.

Oh ok, Thanks for the info

 

[rrack]

In a 4wd, you don't pull the knuckle off as you have CV axles connected to the hub assembly. You disconnect the upper arm from the knuckle and then unbolt the upper arm from the frame mounts.

In a 4wd, you have a axle nut inside the hub assemble that holds the CV axle.

Also, the upper control arm is completely different on the 4wd XLT models than the 2wd Sport models. However the same premise applies to pressing the ball joint out.

It's also worth mentioning that the 2wd sport ball joints are not the same part # as the 4wd XLT models use, and they look different as well.

Just some notes that I believe that need to be added, as someone with a 4x4 XLT may see this writeup, and get into the disassembly and notice that they have a CV axle sticking out the end of their knuckle....and that they need to be cogniscent to not remove the knuckle as it is not necessary, and that if you do....you need to tie back the CV axle so that it doesn't overextend.

Getting ready to throw both uppers and lowers in an '05 Mountaineer V6 AWD and want to get as much info as possible before I start. The tops appear simple enough since I've already been in there to install quick struts. However, I'm confused with the lowers. Everywhere I've seen shows completely removing the CV and swinging the knuckle forward still attached to the tie rod. Is it possible to get the lowers in with the knuckle in place? Won't the press hit the axle? Or will the lower arm flex down enough to press it out/in?

Thanks in advance.
Robert

 

[bizzs]

Today, I replaced the upper and lower ball joints, the inner and outer tie rod ends, and both wheel bearings on my 03. I assure that you will run into some obstacles. Mine was rusted bolts.

The (old) driver side control arm bolts were frozen and I had to buy a ratchet breaker bar to help out. (Time consuming, minimal room to work and impact wrench would not break the lug nut because of rust.)

The passenger side went quickly. I found it easier to remove the entire spindle to replace the lower ball joints. I knocked the old lower ball joint out with a mallet hammer and compressed the new one in with a ball joint compressor that I rented from Advanced auto.

I found it difficult to see if the new ball joint completely compressed in the lower control arm because the boot was blocking my vision. I compressed the ball joint to the point where I could see the circle for the lock ring and snapped the lock ring back into place.

I replaced the wheel bearings when the spindle was off instead of fighting the tightening of the bolts.

All in all, I spent the entire day doing this job, and it was not that difficult if you have the proper tools.

Tomorrow, I will finish up and install new rotors and brakes, and off for State inspection on Monday.

Good luck with your project and give my a shout if you need any tips.

Peace,
bizzs

 

[roush9799]

I can't quite remember how I did mine. I removed the center nut that holds the CV to teh hub and I may have had the spindle nuts off already, I was able to get the cv shaft out of the hub and let the hub swing out of the way with the tie rod and I could hold the cv out of my way as I worked. I ended up removing the upper control arms to press in and out the upper ball joints. I couldn't get the tool up in there to do anything with them. The lowers I did in place. There's a sticky up top of the main page on how to do this also with lots more info.

 

[rhartmaier]

Upper control arm removal

I am of the opinion that if you are going to go to the trouble, you should just replace the upper control arms as an assembly with a new ball joint. I am not sure how much the ball joints are by themselves, but on eBay you can find a set of two upper control arm assemblies and two new lower ball joints for $99.50 shipped. Parts were identical to original. Only downside is that the two nuts holding the control arm on are difficult to get off due to rust and tight space. You can only move the ratchet wrench about two or three "clicks" at a time and you will probably need a pipe "extension" for leverage against the rust. Mine is an early '02 that was built in July 2001, so it has had 14 years of New Jersey road salt exposure and all the nuts were difficult. Top tip: dremel off the exposed ends of the three bolts holding the top of the strut if it is being replaced. Makes removal of the nuts easier. Putting things back together was a snap compared to the disassembly. Thanks to all for the good write ups and photos; made things much easier for me! Jersey Bob