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. They want $1100 ! Yikes! 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? I figure $1100 buys a lot of much better parts with lots of cash left over. Bushing kits for stabilizer bar? Replace stabilizer bar with heavier after market?

Give me your honest thoughts. Not looking for a super build but for the time and effort figured replacement heavier may be a good thing.

Thanks

APEXDUCK

 

I changed the ball joints on my 04' last weekend.(just under 67k miles) I did not replace the u joints (they were good), wheel bearings or wheel unit bearings but I replaced all the seals and O-rings. Greased the unit bearings with an adaptor I made which fits in the abs holes and lubed the needle bearings. Parts with upper/lower balljoints, o-rings and seals were $300 shipped from Rockauto. I used Motorcraft upper ball joints and Raybestos lower ball joints. Both are greaseable. Rockauto did not have the greaseable Motorcraft lowers so I bought the Raybestos. No issues with memory steer or binding. Steering is smooth. I used all Timken seals. I used the ball joint torque sequence and values in the bottom link below.

I bought the ball joint press the other years and bought the Ford adaptor kit in the link below. I made/machined my own seal driver. About $130 for the press, $75 for the adaptor kit and $16 in fittings for the seal driver. Worse part was getting the old stuff off.(rust)

2004 F250 Ball Joint Replacement
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/3...ll-joints.html

This weekend I get to tear the rear end apart and replace the backing plates and all parking brake parts. My backing plates rust through and let shrapnel float around in the rotor hat.

 

might look into going to auto zone and renting a ball joint press. makes life easier. also if you have vacuum seals on your front end you might look into installing new ones. if you do do yourself a favor and find a spicer dist in town and get the parts from them along with the ball joints. they will have the factor ball joints.

part number should 2001257 and 2001258

 

Take note of how they get torqued. I think the bottom one gets torqued half way, then the top one gets torqued, then finish the bottom.

You can get all the parts and tools for less then half the cost of having it done.

It's really not that hard, but will take some time.

.

 

Bottom to 35 ft lbs, then top to 69ft lbs then bottom to 150 ft lbs.

 

If you haven't already seen this (I think it's in buried somewhere in Racerguy's ball joint replacement thread dkf posted above) give it a watch.

 

Thank you all for the tips and especially the video. This helps a bunch.

If there is anything else I should replace while doing this do let me know. I know I will need to replace the seal on the hub assembly because they are cheap and easy to bugger up. Any other things on the front end like bushings while I'm at it? Just what as much new as I can before taking it back to have the front end aligned.

Jeff

 

if your truck does have the vacuum seals on the hubs there is a tool to install them. you can do it without the seal but its a real pain in the butt..

 

Thanks, I'm also ordering new bushings for the front stabilizer bar and replacement braided ESOD lines for this truck and my wife's Excursion.

Thanks again for the video link and tips. This site is great !

APEXDUCK

 

Ok, Some I'm up to my ... bumper... into this project. The first big pain is removing the steering linkage from each side on 15 year old truck. Sure they move side to side easy but upward with using pickle forks and destroying the rubber seal was not an option. Dead blow hammer would not budge it, 7 lbs sledge hammer did the trick with about 15 mins of upside down hammering popped them out. FYI, do ball joints on one side then the other not both at the same time like I'm doing. The steering stuff weighs a lot and requires strapping it up on one side once loose to the the other side.

Problem number two is the the outer seal on the drive shaft and would not want to release from the hub. Lots of real hard hitting and using a socket extension as a punch to push it out (at little at a time alternating front and rear sides) finally got them out. One trashed the other OK but will replace. This leads to my next issue. HOW IN THE HECK TO YOU PUT NEW ONES ON??? These are very very very tight. Is there a tool to rent? I have an idea how I can try but a tool for the purpose is better. everyone wanted $60 each but I found a place in MN who sold them for $20 each. Inner seals one was toasted, the other OK, but replacements slid right on with a little coaxing. New on both sides. Same place sells the hub assembly seal (skinny but large dia yellow one) for under $3 each. I paid about 1/3 the going rate for the 3 seals for each side.

I rented the Ball joint press but need to get a larger socket to remove the lower nut that is bigger then all my sockets and wrenches (looks to be 1 1/4 but my 1 1/4 socket would not fit???) Taking the new nut with me to get a socket that fits tomorrow AM.

What have I learned ?
$1200 is fair price for this job but extra parts can add $200+ if the shop is doing this for you.
The drive shafts both short and long are HEAVY.
15 years of use is great but stuff does not like to move.
If your doing ball joints do the hubs, if your doing hubs do the ball joints. If your brakes are almost there, do them as well. Your this deep just do it.

If anyone can offer me a hint on how to seat the big outer seal on the drive shaft (tool or trick) I would be ever so grateful.
Thanks for the help

APEXDUCK

 

When I did my ball joints the one thing I didn't think of was the vacuum nipples for the automatic hubs. They were really rusted and broke when I was pulling the lines off.

 

I used a 33mm socket on the lower ball joint nuts.(also listed in the link below)

I made a tool to install the big seal out of a pipe nipple, a cap and a flange. Then I machined the flange to fit the seal. Picture of the driver in the homemade seal driver is in the link below about 2/3 of the way down.
2004 F250 Ball Joint Replacement

Yes the big seal fits on very tight. To remove it I used a brass hammer. For install of the seal I held the axle shaft in soft jaws on my bench vise and used the tool I made along with a big hammer to drive the seal home.

The worst part for me was removing everything. The road salt up here makes rust and removal a lot harder.

 

Thanks all for the help. Project went without too much problems. Reading the tips and advise posted here and reading some of the other threads on ball joints, hubs and drive shaft seals, the job went without a problem. The loaner ball joint press from Autozone worked but really could have had an extra adapter or two to make the job easier but did work well enough. I Purchased much of the parts from Rock Auto but found the drive shaft seals and the hub seal much cheaper from a Northern Drivetrain way cheaper than any place else and arrived fast. Also replaced the ESOF hoses with ones from Dieselsite. Even with extra parts (new ESOF hoses and replacement swaybar bushing set) I still saved an easy $1000 over having a shop do the job.

Thank you all !!

APEXDUCK