How To: Upper Control Arm / Ball Joint Replacement (Lots of Pictures)

[nscarnati]

check the sway bar link on that side. you may have forgot to reconnect it, or it may have just broke. both sides have broken on my explorer a couple times, and they caused a rattle, because the parts of the broken links would clang off of the rest of the metal down there

 

[nealomatic]

check the sway bar link on that side. you may have forgot to reconnect it, or it may have just broke. both sides have broken on my explorer a couple times, and they caused a rattle, because the parts of the broken links would clang off of the rest of the metal down there

I just had the alignment done yesterday. Links are attached and tightened to correct torque settings. I have been reading about torsion bars. Do you think that it may be possible that with the changes that the wheel assembly is actually hitting the torsion bar on that side? Would adjusting the torsion bar to change the height of the vehicle fix that issue?

 

[strizzlow20]

I just had the alignment done yesterday. Links are attached and tightened to correct torque settings. I have been reading about torsion bars. Do you think that it may be possible that with the changes that the wheel assembly is actually hitting the torsion bar on that side? Would adjusting the torsion bar to change the height of the vehicle fix that issue?

I could be wrong but did you check your bearings? Thats usually pretty noticeable. I do know that when I changed my upper and lowers and the sway bar links I heard a grinding type noise like metal on metal and I just changed the the wheel hub assembly and it was gone. You may want to check to see if you have play because it could be the bearings on the front end. If you do one side, make sure you do the other side. Please let me know if you find out what the problem is.

 

[nealomatic]

I could be wrong but did you check your bearings? Thats usually pretty noticeable. I do know that when I changed my upper and lowers and the sway bar links I heard a grinding type noise like metal on metal and I just changed the the wheel hub assembly and it was gone. You may want to check to see if you have play because it could be the bearings on the front end. If you do one side, make sure you do the other side. Please let me know if you find out what the problem is.

Yeah we did check the bearings and they appear to be pretty tight (no play in the wheel). The rattle does not seem to correspond with RPM or wheel rotation but more related to the up and down movement of the wheel assembly. Even then it is not constant but rattles with the slight bumps in the road. We checked all the heat shields and they are all tight. This is truly a mystery. Maybe I have gremlins...lol.

 

[KJ2000XLS]

Having trouble getting the pin bolt out on the right side of the upper ball joint a frame. It is hitting against something behind the bracket for the shock.

 

[nealomatic]

Having trouble getting the pin bolt out on the right side of the upper ball joint a frame. It is hitting against something behind the bracket for the shock.

I have found that you need to rotate the bolt and you will find that there is an spot where the the bolt will come out. From the spot where it fits in the bracket you will need to rotate it counter clockwise or clockwise depending on the bolt (toward car) about 220 degrees. There is not much room for error or it will not come out. If both bolts are loose you can move the control arm to give you a better angle to get it out. If it is especially tight you can use a longer bolt inserted in the opposite end to tap it out. On the driver side front you will need to remove the nut that holds the two lines (gas and electric?) that are are in the way. This makes it a lot easier to get the socket in and get the nut out. Hope that helps.

 

[KJ2000XLS]

cam bolts

no luck had to get away from it, will try again later after lacrosse games

 

[KJ2000XLS]

cant believe it , after hours of messing with that stupid bolt ( not one of fords better ideas ) my neighbor sits down to look at it and it pops right out in 5 seconds. pay back for last week when he wore a blister in his finger trying to start the weedeater and i started it 2nd pull.

 

[Fox Fader]

It's all about getting that bolt clocked around those fuel lines. The first time I did one it was a pain.

 

[nealomatic]

ok found the rattle culprit. I had not completely tightened the two bolts that attach the brake caliper to the wheel assembly got in and tightened it and low and behold no rattle. lol. I guess I'm just a dumb ass. Thanks for all the input.

 

[Algar]

Thanks,

Ive been putting this off and off for want of finding something like your review. I'm Planning on doing both uppers and lowers this weekend now, The pics are really going to help.

 

[meex]

cant believe it , after hours of messing with that stupid bolt ( not one of fords better ideas ) my neighbor sits down to look at it and it pops right out in 5 seconds. pay back for last week when he wore a blister in his finger trying to start the weedeater and i started it 2nd pull.

Yeah, I've had this bolt half-way removed since Tuesday. Got so PO'd I just left the car on jackstands. Today I messed around with it some more, sitting on the side of the car with my head in the wheel well. It wasn't budging. Finally, I popped hood and had a work light under the car. Working from the engine bay, I was finally able to SEE how to work the bolt out. Had it off in less than a minute. I will be ordering the Moog cam kit, without the washer attached to the bolt it will be easier to install.

 

[tsuyoshi077]

Help. I have changed out both passenger and driver UCA with Moog parts. My problem is that the grease leaks out the bottom of the boot after driving just one day. If I don't re-lube the ball joints, it starts to squeak. As soon as I re-lube it, the squeaks go away, but only for that day, the grease leaks out. I end up wiping up all the grease from the knuckle and pinch bolt everytime from both sides. I pump new grease until I can see a faint movement in the boot, so I'm guessing I'm not putting too much grease in. Usually 2-4 pumps. After searching all posts on this thread, I couldn't find someone who has the same problems as me. Did I just do something wrong during the installation?

 

[cruz38]

Moog Ball joints-

Tsuy,
Funny that you mention this. I replaced my front end last year with Moog and was feeling good about everything till this past weekend. I took it to a shop for an oil change and the mech comes in and says "hey you need to replace all your ball Joints" I said your ****tin me?! He shows me where all the grease is coming out of the bottom of the Joints.. I dont know what the answer is but its pretty damn hard to imagine that they have gone bad in a little over a year... I dont drive that much...

Cruz38

 

[CJExplorer]

Thanks for the great writeup. Helped Alot

 

[meex]

I finally put everything back together, and when I greased the driver's side uppper BJ, grease was oozing out of the top of the BJ, not around the fitting, but along the outside edge. Do I have a bad BJ? My guess is yes, but would like some feedback anyway.

 

[tsuyoshi077]

Make sure the boot is seated properly at the top. I remember the same thing on my other explorer, just had to push it up to the recessed ring to make it seat right. Hope this helps.

-Patrick

 

[95ExpLim]

Grease Leaking

I just changed my UCAs and LBJs using all Moog parts.

I almost missed the note about prior to snapping the boot in place on the ball to make sure that the little notch in the upper part of the boot was towards the engine side...IIRC.

Could be they leak otherwise?

 

[Ilikemice]

A big thank you to MountaineerGreen for the how-to. I probably wouldn't have attempted this without it!



I wanted to add a little bit of info for the guys in the UK:


I finally attempted it today, replacing both sides with Moog single piece uppers and Ingalls camber adjusters. A couple of surprises were had after trying this on my 1997 RHD UK spec Explorer. I'll try my best to explain them!


First up there's a bunch of wiring in the way on the passenger side rearmost bolt. They're held down with a 10mm bolt. I loosened it and moved the wires out of the way.

I then undid the 8mm bolt for the clip on the back of the front arm "tower" which gives some play in the big pipe that gets in the way of removing the rear bolt. I also had to remove the white plastic clip for the fuel lines. Simply unclipping them didn't give me much room to move.

This should be enough to remove the rear bolt/cam. The front needed a bit more persuasion too but I think I angled it down which helped get it out.

The driver's side was much easier but I still had a problem. The steering linkage made removing the front bolt impossible (Well I couldn't figure it out!). What I did was go from the top and take out the 13mm bolt from the linkage near the firewall (The nut underneath I think is welded) and slide the linkage away towards the front until it slips off then move it vertically out of the way of the bolt/cam.

Simples.

 

[turbo940v]

help

i never did this before but i do know about cars. i need to replace 2001 explorer sport 4wd tie rod upper and lower ball joint with the upper should i just replace the uca so i dont have to mess with ball joint and just get that out of the way and does anyone know part numbers because i see with the balljoints there is threaded and unthreaded which one is recommended. and the garage said i need to replace tie rod but i see there is tie rod end inner and outer to i need both thanks