Lower Ball Joint Replacement How To (lots of Pictures)

[CBLAMBERT]

Yes...you're this far do it!

 

[OutofDate1980]

I was looking at Rockauto for parts, anybody have any other recommendations be they part source or brands/model ?

Replace both sides:
UBJ
LBJ
Tie Rod Ends
Hub bearings

 

[GRNMACHINE]

Believe it or not, Amazon had some great prices on Moog. Moog was the Brand I went with for lowers, upper UCA's, tie rods, camber bolts, etc etc... Then I read about the Chuck Norris Extreme Parts and thought wow did I make a mistake.... Too late now, but the Norris parts have been getting stellar reviews. Just an FYI

 

[gavin]

gmanpaint listed "heavy duty" parts, along with some comparison pics, here
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=297369

imho, Moog doesn't seem to be what they used to be. This is also mentioned alot on this forum; that Moog aren't the "go to" brand anymore.

 

[GRNMACHINE]

Exactly! In my case I had already purchased the Moog awhile back (as Gavin said-they WERE the go-to Brand!). Still havent installed the Uppers or Tie Rod Ends. Read about the more recent negative reviews about Moog since then, too late to return. Replacing these parts isnt something I can easily knock out or knock out quickly. So considering the time involved, alignment for uppers etc, if I could return the parts I would have went with the Norris.

 

[OutofDate1980]

As I haven't used as an off-road vehicle, would service grade be OK ?

For the PS UCA what are the pros/cons for 2 piece or 1 piece.

 

[GRNMACHINE]

I believe the pro's of the 2 piece are more adjustment for alignment? I went with the 1 piece, dont remember why... The answer is definitely in one the 25 pages here though.

 

[OutofDate1980]

It appears to be some divergent views regarding the 1-piece/2-piece UCA for the passenger side. Will discuss this in the sticky thread for UCA.

 

[CDW6212R]

The one piece UCA is great for 99% of all 95-01 Explorers. Ford decided on the two piece arm for a greater adjustment possibility.

Nobody has come back and said they couldn't get a good alignment with the one piece UCA.

I've got two trucks with the Moog one piece UCA, both were no problem to have aligned.

Buy the one piece UCA.

 

[OutofDate1980]

CDW6212R; I'm leaning towards the 1-piece UCA. I'll need the Camber/Castor kit for both DS & PS, i.e. 2 kits.

 

[CDW6212R]

The camber washers(or kits) are to gain camber due to lowering or raising the truck a lot. The UCA being two piece was more about caster, like Ford figured some trucks might be out of square and need help. If they were thinking about vehicles built with poor quality control(an unsquare frame or suspension), then Ford should have been dealing with that instead of a crutch part like the two piece UCA.

Just my two cents, Ford does a lot of dumb things over the years. I guess that was about planning ahead on their part. They need more common sense car enthusiasts on the design teams, and less non car people.

 

[OutofDate1980]

Mountaineergreen; great write up, but you failed to take in account of rookie screw-ups, an impossible task. Vehicle: '97 AWD 5.0L Explorer.

My example involves removing OE lower BJ. The OE LBJ has about a 2 1/2 in outer flange, which replacement LBJ don't have. This outer flange appears to be part of LCA while still on vehicle, it is not.

After several efforts trying to press out LBJ to no avail, I hammered on LBJ and it moved. Upon inspection, I discovered by error and used the large collar shown in your 1st pic of this thread to complete removal. The collar is a tight fit between the OE LBJ 2-1/2 flange and LCA edge, but will fit with a few taps of a hammer.

I didn't damage the LCA, but bent the heck out of the old BJ flange. Greased up LBJ and LCA mounting surfaces and pressed in new LBJ without a hitch.

 

[GRNMACHINE]

The one piece UCA is great for 99% of all 95-01 Explorers. Ford decided on the two piece arm for a greater adjustment possibility.

Nobody has come back and said they couldn't get a good alignment with the one piece UCA.

I've got two trucks with the Moog one piece UCA, both were no problem to have aligned.

Buy the one piece UCA.

BINGO! That is why I went with the 1 piece! CDW knows his stuff.

 

[FordFan1]

Been reading this site on lower ball joints to learn more about the subject, dug around, and found this post and forum; wow is it full of useful info! a big thanks and hello!

 

[stimpy66]

excellent write up , I have the OTC press and putting them in was easier as I had the proper cups to press it back in , its a 2 step method as you start it with one set cups then change it out to get the clearance you need with the other so it goes in straight , using a floor jack is a great way to bell mouth the lower control arm recieving hole which will cause you to either have to replace the control arm or get the oversized ball joints so they will not flop around inthe hole . . and nothing but Moog for parts and when you install the joint make sure the joint is in its proper position , theres a grease port on the boot to expell the old grease out when you regrease them .

 

[valarie]

ball joint

I just changed my ball joints in my truck, I didn'nt have the tool so I used a large socket and a floor jack, with a hammer, worked great. thanks for the tips.

 

[mcnulty6807]

I never would have tried this in the past, your post saved me lots of $, THANKS!

 

[OutofDate1980]

Just a note on the zerk (grease) fitting, suggest you pre-install and make a mark on BJ in order to insure you have access with a grease gun. My zerks were 45 degree fittings, so you don't want to have the nipple pointing to the knuckle/spindle.

I installed my zerk prior to installing BJ as I used a BJ press with Ford adapters, which the upper cap had plenty on room for the zerk.

You can also use copper or stainless steel washers to adjust the direction of the zerk.

 

[qxx]

I just did my lower and upper driver's side ball joints this weekend on my 1998 Explorer Sport. This walkthrough was great and I'd like to add a few things from my experience (since this is the #1 Googled search result on the topic of replacing a 98 Explorer's LBJ):

:exp: When I took the ABS Wheel Speed Sensor wire off my wheel hub, it broke. It was pretty well 'frozen' in it's home and a light pry with a flat-head screwdriver was enough to break the magnet/coil inside. When the ball joints were done, I now had an ABS light on So, here's my helpful tip(s):

Remove the entire wheel hub, do not disconnect the ABS sensor (new wheel hub assemblies have a note in the box saying it is not a good idea to disconnect this, as it is calibrated in a certain way, I guess). The wheel hub is 3 15mm bolts, same as the caliper; easy peasy.

IF you remove the ABS sensor and break it, like I did, Autozone wants ~$150 for a new one (the whole ABS wire). However, if you buy an entirely new wheel hub assembly, it also comes with that very wire for ~$115. Go that route! It's like save ~$30 and get a free wheel hub assembly too! My passenger's side wheel hub went about a year ago (wheel broke off on the highway, fun) so I was happy enough to replace the driver's side one as well.

:exp: I had to do my upper ball joint while I was doing the lower and getting it back in the steering knuckle was a pain in the ass. After much trial and error, I was successful by placing a large clamp stretched from the upper control arm to the sway bar to apply down downward pressure, holding the ball joint over the steering knuckle collar and then using a heavy ball-peen hammer to knock it down into the knuckle. Without the clamp applying slight downward pressure, the BJ would just bounce out of the collar on the knuckle after every hit from the hammer. A small amount of all purpose grease helped it go in as well.

Other than that, the upper ball joint was just as easy as the lower (though 3 times the price since it comes attached to the control arm, sad times) and in the end, it was the upper that was totally blown out and needed replacing, but the lower was in pretty good shape.

Good luck!

 

[wffcatron]

Just checking to see if I understand this correctly

Hey everybody. I'm just checking to make sure I understand this correctly. I have a stock 1998 Ranger 4x4. Can I go ahead and replace the upper and lower ball joints alone or do I have to get whole new aftermarket control arms to do so? I've ready (very quickly) in some places that you can't replace factory ones but after reading part of this post I think I can just replace the BJs.