Should I be worried?

[Abrams]

Hello, I was looking at my wheels and this caught my eye,I dont know what the part is called...both front wheels are like this, should I be worried? I dont experience any weird noises or anything but they do look awfully worn, thanks for the help.


This picture was taken from outside of the wheel well

http://s1358.beta.photobucket.com/u...875461163286_685818312_n_zps5ef98d95.jpg.html

 

[Ronin8002]

It's your upper ball joint. Not uncommon for them to wear out after a while...especially if those are the originals (which I am willing to bet they are). There's a stickied thread on how to replace them at the top of this forum.

Hello, I was looking at my wheels and this caught my eye,I dont know what the part is called...both front wheels are like this, should I be worried? I dont experience any weird noises or anything but they do look awfully worn, thanks for the help.


This picture was taken from outside of the wheel well

http://s1358.beta.photobucket.com/u...875461163286_685818312_n_zps5ef98d95.jpg.html

 

[colintrax]

That's your upper ball joint. If it aint shot already, it will be soon.
I wouldn't be worried, if its extremely worn then it could break but I doubt their that bad.
You should replace it though, unless you like buying tires

 

[thepotroast]

Hello, I was looking at my wheels and this caught my eye,I dont know what the part is called...both front wheels are like this, should I be worried? I dont experience any weird noises or anything but they do look awfully worn, thanks for the help.


This picture was taken from outside of the wheel well

http://s1358.beta.photobucket.com/u...875461163286_685818312_n_zps5ef98d95.jpg.html

Hi!

No need to sweat too much here. The part that has deteriorated is the dust boot on your "upper ball joints" on the front end. I actually did a write-up which is stickied at the top of this forum which explains how to replace those pressed-in upper ball joints. If you take the truck to a repair shop or the dealership, they will likely tell you that you have to buy the entire upper control arm assembly which includes the pressed in ball joint.

Find my sticky here: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=249135

It explains how to press them out yourself with FREE rental tools. The total job costs less than $50 for both wheels (maybe a little more depending on your source for the parts....I suggest RockAuto.com for the MOOG ball joints that I referenced with the part #'s in my post) if you can afford to wait for the shipping time.

You're in good hands here, and the post I referenced above has helped many others in there. Do some reading, see if you think you can do this yourself. If you're not mechanically inclined to do so, you can always do a quick print out of my post and bring it to a shop with the parts and ask for them to press them out for you. Really simple to do with a couple of hours of time, free rental tools and just a couple of wrenches, a mallet and some other basic tools

 

[thepotroast]

It's your upper ball joint. Not uncommon for them to wear out after a while...especially if those are the originals (which I am willing to bet they are). There's a stickied thread on how to replace them at the top of this forum.

 

[Abrams]

Alright thanks guys, looks like I have a project this weekend!

 

[thepotroast]

Alright thanks guys, looks like I have a project this weekend!

Great! We'll be here if you run into any snags!

 

[Huskerbob]

I just went to O'Reilly Auto parts and picked up a pair of upper control arms when mine upper ball joints joints failed. It's a real easy deal to replace them and then you have all new stuff on the top. They have Dormans for $50 or so.

I used the sticky posted by thepotroast and it works whether you do the just the joints or the whole arm.

Good luck.

 

[thepotroast]

I just went to O'Reilly Auto parts and picked up a pair of upper control arms when mine upper ball joints joints failed. It's a real easy deal to replace them and then you have all new stuff on the top. They have Dormans for $50 or so.

I used the sticky posted by thepotroast and it works whether you do the just the joints or the whole arm.

Good luck.

That's a great price! Nice