Need advice on ball joints & lift spindles for a sport trac

[shabbadoobie]

I took my sport trac in for a new alignment & was told that I needed to replace 3 of the ball joints (both lower & Left side upper) They showed me the "play" they had in them etc. So I do believe that they are bad. They want 200 dollars labor to replace the Joints (plus 220 parts) My question is this: I have a 2WD ST and would like to know if the parts are the same as on some of the Explorers? If so, do they make a heavy duty after market Ball joint(s)? Are they really hard to self-install? Also I had read about "spindles" to lift the front 3" ---Would this be the oppurtune time to install them? How hard? Which ones would work? How much? Do they affect the ride/handling too much to be worth it? Thanks for any info & sorry for so many questions, But I gotta get this stuff done soon before vacation (being a safety issue & all with the front steering etc.) I figured I would ask the "X" perts

 

[Jason_25]

1.95+ 2WD explorer should use the same ball joints.
2.I beleive MOOG makes heavy duty greaseable ball joints.
3.You need a press to install them
4.Yes this would be a good time to install them, not sure hard it is
5.As far as I know the effect on the ride would be negligible but of course they would affect the handling because your COG would be higher.