Tie rods, or ball joints or what?

[spotdog14]

So i have a 95 explorer limited, and now recently it has a nasty squeak when turning the wheel and going over bumpy roads and what not, and finally it to go the point where i decided to take a look at it. Its getting really bad, to where ever i turn the wheel it squeaks.

I had my girlfriend turn the wheel in the area where it squeaks while i was under the truck and found that it was coming from the passenger side tie rod area.

So how do i tell if it is bad, or is it the ball joint? And how much if it turns out that either one or both are bad should it cost me? The dealership said the worst situation would be having to replace both tie rods, and upper and lower ball joints would be around a grand, which i have heard before so i wasn't to surprised, but how much should each cost, and how to i tell if they are bad?

And since i have the limited that has air shocks, can i just replace the front shocks with regular shocks? Because the way i understand it is that the rear shocks are the air shocks and the third shock on the drivers side (i think) have to be replaced by ford specific air shocks. But from what i understand is that the front shocks are just regular shocks.

Alright thanks again guys!

 

[AMMO_HOOAH]

Ya they'll gouge you for the install labor. If it ends up being all four ball joints and tie rods I think the parts would run you about $300, and it's not a hard job to do either. If you want to try and narrow down what's bad: jack the tire off the ground use a "pry bar" of some sort to "lift" the tire while watching the lower ball joint. If the tire moves with out the A arm (very small movement), or you hear a "click" from it then the lower needs replaced. For the upper pull in and out on the top of the tire while watching the upper. If the tire moves at all in and out you need a new upper. For the inner tie rods grab the tire front and back and pull back and forth against the steering you'll need to listen for a very small metal on metal "click". For the outer I'm not sure but you probably can grab it by hand and attempt to move it vertically, and if it moves it's bad. Good luck with it, and unless you can't work on your vehicle I'd say to hell with the dealership.

 

[KPT]

Check the sway bar mounts too. You could take the sway bar links off and see if the noise goes away.

 

[spotdog14]

Ya they'll gouge you for the install labor. If it ends up being all four ball joints and tie rods I think the parts would run you about $300, and it's not a hard job to do either. If you want to try and narrow down what's bad: jack the tire off the ground use a "pry bar" of some sort to "lift" the tire while watching the lower ball joint. If the tire moves with out the A arm (very small movement), or you hear a "click" from it then the lower needs replaced. For the upper pull in and out on the top of the tire while watching the upper. If the tire moves at all in and out you need a new upper. For the inner tie rods grab the tire front and back and pull back and forth against the steering you'll need to listen for a very small metal on metal "click". For the outer I'm not sure but you probably can grab it by hand and attempt to move it vertically, and if it moves it's bad. Good luck with it, and unless you can't work on your vehicle I'd say to hell with the dealership.

Check the sway bar mounts too. You could take the sway bar links off and see if the noise goes away.

Awesome, this will help a lot! Thanks guys, i would try it today but it is raining cats and dogs out right now and i really dont feel like messing around in the rain (i hate rain).

So it looks like a project for tomorrow.

Thanks again guys. Im pretty sure it has something to do with the tie rods because when i was poking around with it yesterday with the tire still on the ground that was the only thing making any noise, and it was kind of a nasty grinding noise.

 

[AMMO_HOOAH]

BTW another way to check the tie rods is to leave the tires on the ground and have someone move the steering wheel back and forth a small amount. If you see/ hear the metal on metal sound that's your bad part. Also for what it's worth I'd replace both sides whatever is bad.

 

[spotdog14]

BTW another way to check the tie rods is to leave the tires on the ground and have someone move the steering wheel back and forth a small amount. If you see/ hear the metal on metal sound that's your bad part. Also for what it's worth I'd replace both sides whatever is bad.

YES!!! That is exactly what i had my girlfriend do, and that is exactly the sound i heard! lol. I am planning on replacing both sides if one side is bad, since it is a 95 and has 160,000 miles on it, the other side would go soon after i am guessing. I am also guessing all of the stuff under there is original, since we are not the original owners.

 

[Explorer914]

Mine just started doing the same thing the other day...metal on metal sound...when i turn and when i go over bumps....so its deff the tie rods??

 

[spotdog14]

Mine just started doing the same thing the other day...metal on metal sound...when i turn and when i go over bumps....so its deff the tie rods??

haha hopefully, we havent taken in the car yet, im still trying to decide if i should take it to the dealership or not...

 

[Explorer914]

haha hopefully, we havent taken in the car yet, im still trying to decide if i should take it to the dealership or not...

i sprayed wd-40 all around the area of where i heard squeak and 2 days later it stoped...even though im sure its gonna start again....i heard it could also be the sway bar bushings??