On my 2004 s-cab the steering is starting go 'notchy'?
I have considered, tight upper or lower ball joints, pump, rack or even a sticking rear diff, but not carried out any checks yet except oil level
I have a 2007 f-150 4X4 with bad upper ball joints, should I replace the lowers also or just the uppers and how do I check lowers?
View 3 RepliesAfter 240,000 miles I had to get the ball joints on my 02 f250 2 wheel drive replaced and the alignment set. I notice that the steering is really tight. In fact that it will not attempt to return to center on the highway. The guy that did the work has 30 years experience doing this sort of thing and he says I just need to drive it and it will loosen up. Interested in hearing from others that have replaced ball joints; Is this normal? How long do they take to loosen up?
View 7 RepliesI put new upper and lower ball joints on a few weeks ago. The front end is really tight after getting done. the steering wheel will not return to center. I feel like I am constantly on the wheel correcting. I had the alignment checked and they said it was good. I also put new 17" wheels and bigger tires on it at the same time.
We just towed our camper this past weekend and the truck and camper was all over the road. Is all of the above caused by new ball joints?
Have some clunking I can feel through the steering wheel. Starting with checking ball joints.
1999 explorer Eddie Bauer.
Would I jack it up on the control arm to release any tensions? Any tips or tricks after doing a visual to find my clunking?
Truck is 1997 ford f150 2wd. Needs an upper ball joint. they all look the same on parts sites. I think there is a recall on the parking pawl adjustment. I lubed up the linkage and sometimes my truck will not engage its parking pawl...
View 14 RepliesWould bad lower front ball joints freeze and creak when turning. I have noticed that my car(2010GLS) with 108k miles has a creaking sound when turning the wheels left to right. I poked a hole in the rubber boot covering the joint and sprayed WD 40 in there and now it seem to creak even more. Guess I am going to replace the l and r lower ball joints.
View 9 RepliesOK, I haven't done a Ranger w/ torsion bars in the front , only coils. What is the best/safest way to do this?
View 1 RepliesOn a level-of-difficulty-scale from 1 to 10. 10 being the most difficult. How difficult is it to change the upper control arm and the lower ball joint?
View 3 RepliesI 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 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 Replies99 F250 super duty 7.3
Had new ball joints installed and alignment. Steering does not return to center. Returns a little on a tight turn like in town but difficult when just changing lanes in town or not. Took it to another shop and they said the ball joints were too tight. right side pretty tight and left side really tight. Moog ball joints. First mechanic says they will get better with a few miles on them. Second mechanic says not so.
Also, have new shocks but get a bouncing in the front when at 45 mph and goes away at almost 50 mph.
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?
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.
I've got an 08 F150 and the steering has gotten tight when at low rpms or when not moving. The pump's whining and laboring. Fluid is clean and full.
View 3 RepliesSo our 2006 f150 fx4 has been having an issue with stiff steering... at times like it doesn't have power steering at all.
We recently had the lower ball joints on both sides replaced. Before that the upper control arm on the drivers side was also replaced.
There are days that it is better... other times not so much.
I've got an 04 f250 4x4 crew cab. I just replaced the upper and lower ball joints on both sides and also the drag link. My alignment was off from the bad ball joints so I had it aligned after I did all of this. Now the steering is really weird. Its like something is to tight. I can barely keep the truck straight because every time I barely move the wheel I seem to be going one way or another and getting it straight is nearly impossible to the point I look like a drunk driver. I can turn the wheel to go around a curve and let go of it and it will stay that way until I turn it back. It won't return itself. I'm kind of lost.
View 3 RepliesI 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.
Bought the EX from my sister 2 years ago, I know that she's had the ball joints replaced several times and have read on here how some people have only gotten 20K miles out of a set. Anyway, I have the same clunk and I spent one Saturday changing them out ( as well as new brakes and rotors ) I still have the same cluck sound. I've just read a thread on the hubs rattling and its related to the needle bearings wearing out. I'll lock it in 4WD to see if the clunk goes away but I don't think that's going to work.
Would bad / incorrectly adjusted wheel bearings make this same sound? When doing the ball joints, I saw one set must have been rebuilt since the locknut looked brand new and the other side showed its been there a while.
My friend is changing out the ball joints, upper and lower, both sides. I have seen that the upper is typically done by replacing the whole arm, I don't plan on doing this. So, with a press and new ball joints, are there any nice tips from you all? Looking for useful info before I get into it. I did a search and have not found a thread like "ball joints-how to".
View 7 RepliesMy brother crashed his 2000 Ford Ranger Pick up and did some front end damage. The spindle,( steering knuckle) and upper control arm need to be replaced. I told him, WHILE YOU ARE AT IT AND THE TRUCK IS ALL APART, you should replace the ball joints and tie rod ends.AND>>>if you replace one side you should do the other side too. Front end and steering parts should ALWAYS be replaced in pairs. Also get a wheel alignment! My other brother said, don't do that if they are still ok. why pay the extra money for parts you don't need. I said, you can do it cheap, OR,you can do it right. Who is right?
View 12 Replies