Lets talk Ball Joints...

[EliteConcept]

Need some info on ball joints guys

Who can replace them? me? only a shop?

What are some symptoms of ball joint failure?

How long is it safe to drive with bad ball joints?

How much do they cost on average to get replaced?

Why, Why do explorers have some many problems!?!!?
thats some what retorical, no need to answer that one...

thanks
ryan

 

[taxx]

You can replace them

Symoptoms: jack truck up and pull on the top and bottom of the wheel see if you can get it to move (I have never been able to do this), or they could be clunking.

I wouldn't drive too long.

I don't know about yours but for a new X they are about $200 for all four if you do it yourself.

Becuase they are made by Ford and they charge you about 3 times more than they are worth cause they just throw stuff together. (i'll probably get flamed for that)

 

[aldive]

Just had mine replaced... $500. Thank God for aftermarket warranties.

 

[EliteConcept]

ok,
i can do them myself?

a family friend who is a county highway dept mechanic, he said that i'd need a press to fit the ball joints.
he said this had to be done on his f-150, and he was mad because he had to pay for someone to do work that he knows how to do.

are the ball joints possibly different?

 

[Doug]

I hammered a ball joint in then used a vise and a some big sockets to get the 2nd ball joint in. I highly recommend the latter.

 

[TDG]

One can rent the press from Autozone for about $100, might want to get a ball joint fork while you are at it as it makes getting everything apart a lot easier and cleaner than randomly pounding on things.

If it was an older 150 with I-beams then it will be exactley the same as the explorer, if you look at the two side by side most of the front suspension parts including the I-beams are the same.

And to answer your question.. yes you can do them yourself. But you will have to have it aligned when you are done.

 

[taxx]

One can rent the press from Autozone for about $100

You get the $100 back when you return it. SO the rental is free, just a deposit. I have used their's twice and it works very well.

 

[The Wedge]

heya ppl
i just replaced the Balljoints on my ranger last week, BOY WAS THAT A B***H!!!
i rented the pickle fork ,ball joint press, tie rod end seperator, and OMG I WANTED TO KILL MY TRUCK!!!

to get the old ball joints out of the spindle i just shoved the thing in a vise and wacked it with a hammer, and they popped out, then to get the new ones back in, i tryed usin the Loan-A-Tool from Auto zone, but that was going nowhere, unless you got access to a Impact drill, so me and my friend, shoved the thing in a vise with a socket on the ball joint side, and wacked the vise with a hammer, and slowly but surely i got them in, but i honestly wouldnt recoment other ppl doin this, also had to replace both Tie Rod Ends, cuz i like killed the boots, witht he fork/seperator,
but when i got the old ones off the things like were HELLA broken, you could hold them and shake and the lil thing would fly back and forth, so i knew it was bout time, and i still havent gotten an alingment
but i know i should, but the tires are a lil more straiter then they were when i started, HELLA CAMBER!

 

[410Fortune]

It depends on your mechanical ability and access to tools. I dont ant to do my balljoints by myself, but I have been shown how easily the job can be handled with the right tools, so I'm gonna. Why? Because $500+ is too much $$$$ for a job like that.

MOOG balljoints going in soon, I need them on my 92 D35 TTB front end, they are toasted.

 

[EliteConcept]

got it worked out!

i got my good friend talking to his brother, who works at a FORD dealership in the garage. My friend got his ball joints on his car fixed for i think he said 50 bucks.

see if i can't spend like 150 and get this done

 

[Doug]

Bah balljoints are easy. my biggest problem is i did them on a sunday and nothing was open to press in my ball joints. I really wanted to get it done so i rushed and did it myself. probably not the best idea.

 

[X24]

ALDIVE.......... you got yours replaced under an extended warranty???? They didn't question you about it being lowered? Mine are going and I am seriously considering taking out my blocks and tightening up my torsion bolts to have them done under warranty then I would just lower it again and pay for an alignment. Please tell me what warranty company you have and who did the replacement work. I dont remember what company I have but I will find out next week... or maybe tomorrow. How many miles are on your truck now and how many were on the stock joints while it was lowered? Thanks!

 

[aldive]

The handeling of the extended warranty is up to the shop doing the work.

 

[X24]

So did you take it to a private shop or the dealership or what? Some companies will actually do spot checks and look at the repairs. What company do you have?

 

[MyExpWork]

You dont need to rent the press or seprater thing. At least I didn't.

I just got a piece of pipe with a cap at Home Depot and a BFH. Worked fine. No scratches or gouges on the new joints. Been about 50k miles and all is good.

Brian

 

[taxx]

Originally posted by MyExpWork
You dont need to rent the press or seprater thing. At least I didn't.

I just got a piece of pipe with a cap at Home Depot and a BFH. Worked fine. No scratches or gouges on the new joints. Been about 50k miles and all is good.

Brian

From autozone it is only a deposit, which is fully refundable. I am not knocking how you got yours in, but the press is so easy to use (espesialy with an impact wrench) and you don't have to take teh control arm off or need to jack it up real high, like you would to use a hammer. The top is easy, you replace the whole control arm the first time, then the next time the joints press out, if you buy good aftermarket products like Moog.

 

[Savage Wolf]

you guys do relizise that your compareing 91-94 ball joints and 95+ ifs in this thread, the 95+ has control arms, the person who first posted about this has a gen 1 with TBB front end, the easyest way to get the ball joints done on this model is to do all the teardown work yourself and then take your spindles and new ball joints to a shop and have them pressed out/in, be sure to check around and find a shop that will do this ahead of time, or you can take the hammer/pipe route and hammer the old ones out and then just hammer the new ones back in

 

[taxx]

Originally posted by Savage Wolf
you guys do relizise that your compareing 91-94 ball joints and 95+ ifs in this thread, the 95+ has control arms, the person who first posted about this has a gen 1 with TBB front end, the easyest way to get the ball joints done on this model is to do all the teardown work yourself and then take your spindles and new ball joints to a shop and have them pressed out/in, be sure to check around and find a shop that will do this ahead of time, or you can take the hammer/pipe route and hammer the old ones out and then just hammer the new ones back in

You know, no I wasn't paying attention to the fact that we we're talking something different. Still though to hammer them in makes me nervous. I know if you do it right it is no different.

 

[Adam Berger]

While on the topic of ball joints, I was wondering on 95+ Explorers, can the ball joints be changed without changing the control arms? Does the lower one require removing the torsion bar? How long do they last cause I know they are ridicoulously expensive?

 

[taxx]

I got 100K out of my stock ball joints. The lower: no you do not need to remove the T-bars, and the lower control arm stays. The upper is different. You must replace the entire upper control arm the first time around, if you buy good aftermarket parts, the next time you just replace the ball joints. It is a big job, but not too bad.