My ball Joints

[Alexdeluca]

i know i just posted a thread about ball joints, but i need somebody to weigh in. I am pretty sure my uppers are shot because the boot is missing but i dont know about my lowers. Can somebody let me know which ones are bad and which are not thank you. Pictures below.

 

[swshawaii]

Lift tires off the ground by the LCA's and inspect. Search.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=239089&highlight=checking+ball+joints

 

[koda2000]

if the boots are torn or missing your ball joints are shot (or will be shortly). the lower ball joints usually wear before the uppers. if you're going to replace your uppers you might as well replace the lowers too. the lowers only cost about $25 a piece. about half the price if the uppers, assuming the uppers are the OE's and can't be replaced without replacing the control arms.

 

[dhvaughan]

i replaced my uppers and lowers about a month ago. the boots were all torn or missing, and with tires jacked up off the ground and a pry bar beneath the tires, there was a lot of movement. 215k miles on a 98. Any movement is bad.

i read a lot of threads on here, and watched several youtube videos to learn how to do it. I got Moog parts from Amazon with free shipping for far less money than at local parts stores.

The uppers are integrated with the control arm. the passenger side is easy. the drivers side was tedious due to the gas lines in the way, but do-able. i marked the position of the alignment cams before removal of the drivers side, and it remained in alignment.

The lowers are a good bit of work. With snap ring out and control arm supported by a jack, I knocked them out with a 3# sledge. About 5 good whacks and they were out. To reassemble, I could not get the autozone rental press to setup right, maybe I'm an idiot. I used the medium cup on top of the jack to support the control arm and used a 2x2 and hammer to hammer the control arm down around the ball joint protected inside the cup. Doing it myself saved several hundred dollars which I immediately spent on more tools. lol.

 

[koda2000]

i replaced my uppers and lowers about a month ago. the boots were all torn or missing, and with tires jacked up off the ground and a pry bar beneath the tires, there was a lot of movement. 215k miles on a 98. Any movement is bad.

i read a lot of threads on here, and watched several youtube videos to learn how to do it. I got Moog parts from Amazon with free shipping for far less money than at local parts stores.

The uppers are integrated with the control arm. the passenger side is easy. the drivers side was tedious due to the gas lines in the way, but do-able. i marked the position of the alignment cams before removal of the drivers side, and it remained in alignment.

The lowers are a good bit of work. With snap ring out and control arm supported by a jack, I knocked them out with a 3# sledge. About 5 good whacks and they were out. To reassemble, I could not get the autozone rental press to setup right, maybe I'm an idiot. I used the medium cup on top of the jack to support the control arm and used a 2x2 and hammer to hammer the control arm down around the ball joint protected inside the cup. Doing it myself saved several hundred dollars which I immediately spent on more tools. lol.

you're not an idiot. the AZ tool doesn't work. however, the pieces of the tool were helpful. did mine in Oct same way as you except for the use of the 2x2. i just hit the control arm with the hammer to install the lower bj (no damage done).

 

[bobflood]

A tip re the lower ball joints: It helps to put the new ones in the freezer overnight before you are going to do the job. Then take them out shortly before you are ready to install them. Freezing them shrinks the diameter just a hair and they slide in much easier. Good luck.