Ford Excursion :: 2001 - Constant Steering Corrections After Ball Joint Replacement?
Jan 2, 2008
I have a 2001 Ford Excursion. I had all 4 ball joints replaced and now I am experiencing poor steering and drivability. While driving in town and on the freeway I am constantly having to correct the steering. The car wants to dart to the right and then dart to the left. It will not drive straight for very long. Constant steering correction is very tiring, especially on long trips. Need to understand what is happening to my vehicle. What can I do to remedy the problem? The steering was not near as bad before the ball joint replacement.
View 14 Replies
Advertisement
Did ball joints this weekend and now have little axle fluid leaking out passenger side. was going to change axle fluid when i saw this so continued and when pulled the fill plug i would say 8oz or more came draining out. Did I mess up the seal inside the tube?
View 5 Replies
I had the ball joints and u joints swapped out in my Ex a week ago and something's been bothering me. I get a vibration when cresting 65mph that I can't pinpoint. It's not violent and it doesn't appear to be in the steering wheels as it's straight and not jerking at all. It doesn't really affect anything that I can tell either... it's not the vibration from out of balance tires or cupped tires, it's just enough to be annoying... and a concern.
I can't tell if it's coming from the front or the rear either... just seems to be a hum that I can feel that wasn't there before the repairs where done. Where to start?
View 14 Replies
My 2004 f250 ball and u joint replacement job is at a bit of a stand still. Tore it down, brought the knuckle and axle shafts to an ex mechanic I know, because he has a 20 ton Harbor freight shop press. He mostly used a hammer, bashed out the old ball joints (I already had removed the u joints). U joint turned out fine.
I did notice the upper ball joint protruded a very slight bit on one side in the knuckle, meaning you could feel with your finger on the underside of the joint and on the one side it is not exactly flush with the interior of the knuckle. I would say it protrudes no more than a thirty second or so.
I brought it home, installed the boots on the moog joints, (the bottom was unusually difficult to put on), greased the joints and hung the knuckle on the axle tube, by a few turns on the lower joints nut. I then inserted the camber sleeve on the top stud, torqued the bottom to 49 fp then the top to 67 and finally the bottom to 150. End result, very stiff movement on the knuckle. No tie rod attached, and it takes to hands to move it from the "stopped" position,(turned all the way). I am sure it is stiffer than when I did the other side.
I tried loosening the nuts completely, same stiffness. I redid the torque sequence, no change. Tried hammering the ears around where the joints seat no improvement. The fellow who installed into the knuckle came and took a look. He agreed the knuckle was stiffer than you would hope, but, he suggested Putting it all together, as he believed they would loosen up before too long. I am not sure whether to try that, or remove the knuckle now, and redo with new joints. Pros and cons to either approach.
My question is : Does a knuckle become more sketchy by the time it is dealing with the pressing of a third set of ball joints? If I finish the install now, will a stiff knuckle action lead to other mechanical wear within a thousand miles or so, while I wait to see if they loosen up?
View 3 Replies
I have recently replaced both tie rod ends and found out when I took my truck for an alignment the mechanic stated that I had bad driver side ball joints (upper & lower) I confirmed this with SEARS and they stated that it was all the ball joints upper & lowers! the Haynes repair manual (1999-2010) states "ball joints on 1999 through 2013 2WD models were not replaceable".
View 4 Replies
I have an 06 F150 2wd that needs both lower ball joints. I've done searches and everyone keeps talking about a big freaking hammer. Can't you just use a ball joint press kit to remove and reinstall these? If no I'm gonna find someone to put them in for me because Im scared of breaking the aluminum control arm. There was also some talk of using some sorta glue on the joints as well.
View 8 Replies
I'm halfway through replacing the ball joints on my '03 F-150 4WD. When I pressed the new lower ball joint in, it's snap ring groove is ~1/8" above the top of the lower control arm surface. These are Moog 8695T joints. I've taken them in and compared with another new joint at the parts store and they seem to be correct. This implies that the control arms are not correct- they're too thin where the joint presses in. The old joints sat the way they should, with the snap ring flat against the arm. The old joints are definitely different than the 8695T's- they are shorter from the shoulder of the joint to the snap ring groove. I'm guessing that now I'll have to replace the lower control arms, as well.
View 11 Replies
OK, I've done a lot of things over the years on cars and trucks but never messed with ball joints on a F250SD 4x4 with 160k miles. Found out today when getting new tires that the ball joints are shot. I trust the shop but know I can do this my self. So if I'm going to do this what should I replace? Since I'll be doing this I want to know from those with more time under the truck than me what else should I be replacing at the same time. I have done the front wheel bearings and of course shocks. Just what am I in for and what other parts and brands should I be using? Bushing kits for stabilizer bar? Replace stabilizer bar with heavier after market?
View 12 Replies
I am looking for info on how to replace the lower ball joint on my 2013 Sonata. I am not getting the common telltales of a failed ball joint that I would expect.
View 7 Replies
Took my truck in to get the wheel bearings replaced (driver's side was singing pretty loud). Decided to have the ball joints replaced at the same time since they were still original at 133,000. Got the truck back and the steering is just not right. At high speeds it acts like an old F100 wandering back and forth and the steering is pretty tight when you try to correct the wandering. I have taken it back to Ford and had the alignment checked twice.
They adjusted it slightly and "loosened" the stearing gear box. Truck is better at low speeds but still not right at highway speeds. Ford is telling me there is a "break-in" period for the ball-joints. I don't remember my friends F350 having a break-in period when he replaced his ball joints. Truck tracked fine before the work was done. Tie-rod ends also checked out. Truck is a 99 350 CC SRW 8ft bed.
View 14 Replies
Our 2000 Subaru Outback has just over 200k. We want a vehicle that is safe, but do not want to put a lot of money into this. At the last service the dealership said the left ball joint boot and power steering rack boots need to be replaced and the rear differential bushings are broken or loose. All of this would be > $1000 to repair. They said that the ball joint could get dirty and fail catastrophically and be a safety issue. Is that right or will the steering start to feel rough beforehand? Can we drive it safely?
View 11 Replies
I have a right front lower ball joint very loose and wonder if that ball joint press fits into the lower "A frame". And how is it removed ? What size fork tool needed?
View 8 Replies
At about 160k I noticed that the driver side upper ball joint was worn out and had a lot of play on it , so i replaced the upper control arm including ball joint(can't just replace the stock ball joint). I bought an aftermarket one with grease nipple...
Now about 2 years and 50k later, whenever I drive through a bumpy field, it sounds like something is lose and rattling right by that front wheel ,so i took off the wheel and checked the ball joint but it still seems tight..
Although I put in too much grease and that cracked the rubber boot, just leave it or should i replace the ball joint because of that rubber boot that is ripped open?
2009 f150, XLT 4x4, 6.5 ft box ....
View 8 Replies
I have a 1997 F150 4x4 4.6 liter 140,000 miles. I want to replace just the lower ball joints but my service manual says you can't, that you have to replace the lower control arms. Is there any way around this?
View 5 Replies
I need to do both lower ball joints. is there a write up or process to do it? do I have to remove the whole hub assembly/knuckle thing or can I do it with all that stuff in place?
View 4 Replies
We have a 2001 passat wagon, V6 and we are told we need to replace right ball joints ...
View 5 Replies
I can't afford to replace it now and want to quiet the squealing that occurs only when I turn right. A mechanic sprayed something on there about a month ago that caused the squealing to stop for about a week, but don't remember what it was. It's a 2002 S.D....
View 14 Replies
I have replaced my ball joints and now putting everything back together. I am having trouble tightening the nut on the lower ball joint, the joint turns with the nut as soon as it starts to get tight.
View 2 Replies
I just noticed that the upper ball joint boots for both uppers are dry rotted and torn! Only 40k miles and the boot falls apart when I touch any portion of it. Is this normal, so much for quality?
Anyway my question is how hard is it to R&R them and do I have time? IOW will the ball joint wear out really fast?
Rust bubbles front of hood both corners, the tranny thing, now the ball joints all within 40k miles. rear glass trim breaks and falls off.
View 4 Replies
I'm looking to add a ball joint press/remover to my toolbox. Which one? Do I need adapters?
[URL]
Although I usually make my own tools, it is getting cold here quickly and LOTS to do before winter. I have the front drivers side parts ready to go on, but a tool like this could be very useful ..
Would this work on our Excursions/Superduty? Do I need any other adapters? Is it heavy enough for a couple of vehicles? Not running a shop, but have E350, my Excursion, and now F550 to do. Hence the tool "need" ...
View 14 Replies
1999 Lumina / I need to replace the lower ball joint. The original one is installed by 4 rivets.
According to the factory service manual, you need to use 1/8 drill bit to open a pilot hole, then use a 1/2 bit to finish it.
View 10 Replies
