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 RepliesI 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?
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 RepliesIts been awhile since I have been on. Everything has been running great for me until I found my passenger side front axle leaking fluid. I'm sure something has been posted on here but I have limited access to internet right now and need to know what I am getting into to change the seals. From what I have found there is an inner seal in the pumpkin and then an outer seal and dust cover. Are both of these easy to change? Are there any special tools needed? Do I need to remove the gears in the pumpkin? If so, is this difficult and any special tools required for this?
Mine is a 2001 V10-6.8, 4x4 no mods at this point.
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 RepliesI'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 RepliesOK, 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 RepliesI 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 RepliesMy 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?
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 RepliesI have 2015 Rc350 F, with 13k miles on it and my right Front Camber Ball Joint is leaking greasy oil. Do I need to replace this or can this be covered under warranty? I have lowered springs on which I don't think has affected the camber ball.
View 4 RepliesSo I had a stuck caliper on the driver rear side. I pushed the piston back and checked everything to make sure all was in working order. After some though and reading about the calipers getting stuck which old brake lines, I decided to upgrade the line with the Russell stainless steal lines.
I got all the lines put in but I seem to have fluid leaking on the passenger side fitting which I can't seem to get to stop. I put the old line back in but it is still leaking. I am not sure what I need to do or check to get it to stop. It seems to be leaking from the thread area. I checked the fittings and they don't look cross threaded so I don't understand why it may be happening.
I unstuck my front axles yesterday and while under the car spinning the front axles freely and enjoying my easy fix, I noticed a rubber seal (a thick squared edge round rubber seal) sitting loose and spinning freely. Its next to the axle joint, right before it disappears into the housing.
I'm guessing this is a dust seal of some kind. There is no fluid leaking out...
I'm wondering if I can just press fit this thing back into place or do I have to take the whole front wheel assembly (hub, bearing, axle, etc) to get the seal back into place.
I'm wondering if it broke off from a larger seal or if this is the whole thing? You can see how the seal isn't sitting quite straight. It actually just spins around.
I noticed on my 03 excursion on both sides of the front axle there is a circle plastic o ring behind the u joint that is lose? Nothing is leaking and no signs of leak marks ever. Kind of looks lik a spacer ring of some sort because its at least 1/8th inch thick plastic. Also some time ago I posted about a whistling noise but never got a answer but its only there when im in 4wd there is a whistling noise from my right side and my locking hub when I turn it the hub seems lose and has a crunchy feeling to it. I just bought it a few weeks ago and now I am running into a whistling noise and noticed theres a piece of plastic that looks like a spacer....
View 14 RepliesPicture if you will...Removed tire, caliper and rotor. Removed hub, and knuckle containing the stub shaft/spindle with it's yoke for the U joint. You are now looking at the end of the axle tube, with the axle shaft in it, one end connected to the differential carrier, the other end has the yoke for the U joint on it. Just inboard of the yoke, is a seal. Apparently it's called a "dust seal" is there a bearing behind this, or is the first bearing all the way in at the differential? When I was doing my brakes, I noticed the passenger side u-joint is shot, and the axle wiggles around in the dust seal. Figured I'd replace the seal while I was doing the U joint. Also, how do I get the axle shaft out? Just pull, or do I have to remove a C clip from the inboard end? What is the right National part number for the seal? I have a 6/2000 Excursion.
View 2 RepliesMy 89 Astro van is leaking red fluid when parked uphill (slightly) that drips from the u-joint closest to the transmission and only from the part that is in the yoke that goes into the transmission. I dropped the drive shaft thinking wrongly that there would be a bad seal where i thought the yoke went into i thought a second piece, but it is all one piece with a collar. When parked in the garage nice and level it did not seem to leak.
View 1 RepliesNoticed some spotting in front of the house, and saw some leaking coming from the driver side near the axle. I'm guessing it's the axle seal leaking. I recently switched in to 4x4 about a week ago, shortly after that I noticed the leak. I have a trip to San Antonio coming up in the middle of Feb, about a 650 mile round trip. Can I continue with the plans and get it fixed afterwards?
View 2 RepliesAt 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 ....
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 RepliesI get my oil change at the Toyota dealership instead of Lexus and save quite a bit of money for my 2013 ES350. At the 30k service, Toyota technician said he noticed transmission fluid leaking at the axle seal." I was gonna show Lexus this at some point, or maybe get an oil change there at the 40k service.
View 3 RepliesI have an 04 Limited, 6.0 PSD, 4x4 which I need to replace the front inner axle seals, the right side is leaking out the shaft. I have watched a couple of YouTube videos on how it is done but would like to get some first hand knowledge and recommendations.
First, how important is it to check the backlash before beginning the removal of the gear assembly? Do I need to remove the pinion gear as well or just the gear assembly?
How difficult is it to get everything back on place once the seals are replaced? I have not done this type of repair before and am concerned I might miss something.
I am planning to replace all the ball joints at this time also, this was the primary reason for this maintenance in the first place.