3000 - Where are you hitting the ball joints at? I absolutely cannot get the driverside lower ball joint loose to get my knuckle off. I'm starting to freak out and need the truck on the road tomorrow morning.
3000 - Where are you hitting the ball joints at? I absolutely cannot get the driverside lower ball joint loose to get my knuckle off. I'm starting to freak out and need the truck on the road tomorrow morning.
Here's a trick-drive your pickle fork (I assume you have one, right?) as far as you can into the upper ball joint. Now take your hammer and tap on the part of the axle that the lower ball joint comes through- it will pop out, I just did ball joints on mine and tried this trick and it worked flawlessly.
__________________
Chase
1999 F250 XLT C/C Shorty 4x4 PSD
2000 Explorer XLT 4x4 (wife's)
1992 Tempo GL- deer basher. Score: Tempo-2, Deer-0
PAA Member #2!
I just did this job today (finished it anyway) and referred to mostly this thread and guzzle's page, as well as this link at The Diesel Stop which is very helpful. HOWEVER, beware on the part numbers listed on that page- that was apparently written for an 05+ truck and the part number for the yellow O-ring on the hub is different. That site lists the part number as 5C3Z-4A322-AA , the part for a 99-04 truck is F81Z-4A322-AA. This oversight cost me an extra trip to my dealer today to get the correct part.
Also a little trick I came up with for getting the 4x4 hub out- mine was being stubborn and I couldn't get it to come out simply by pulling on it. I simply placed 2 large screw drivers opposite eachother and gently pried against the hub assembly to pop the 4x4 hub right out.
__________________
Chase
1999 F250 XLT C/C Shorty 4x4 PSD
2000 Explorer XLT 4x4 (wife's)
1992 Tempo GL- deer basher. Score: Tempo-2, Deer-0
PAA Member #2!
3000 - Where are you hitting the ball joints at? I absolutely cannot get the driverside lower ball joint loose to get my knuckle off. I'm starting to freak out and need the truck on the road tomorrow morning.
I just hammered it on the part of the ball joint where the nut threads on to.
I used a pretty big hammer and alternated between the lower and upper ball joint. Another methode is if you force a ball joint fork into the lower ball joint and then hit the end of the knuckle with a hammer it will distort the metal just enouph that it will cause the ball joint to come loose.
Sure wish I had seen rm01 kit message before I ordered my ball joints from
autopartsgiant.com. If you're in a hurry don't order from them. It's been a week now and still no confirmation of shipment. If you call all they tell you is that your order is on schedule but they won't tell you what that schedule is. They ship by UPS but don't send tracking info until 5 days after shipment. By that time UPS can deliver from one coast to the other by ground.
Hi guys its finally time for me to replace my Ball joints. i Have an 03' 5.4, manual hubs, I'm going to order moog ball joints. Are the ford seals just as good as any others to use? Also the Universal joint replacement should i go with ford or an aftermarket brand? Thanks in advance.
I had my ball joints replaced at a local shop(Moog). My left hub was pretty rusty and was replaced along with the u joint on that side. I had swaybar bushings done front and rear, new shocks(Monroe reflex), new tires, and an alignment. The right hub had been done on warranty just near the end of the extended warranty program (160000 kms). The truck now has 190000 kms. All other front end parts checked out okay.
Since the work was done it feels funny. The truck goes very nice and straight down the road and the combination of new shocks, tires, and swaybar bushings got rid of any clunking that was starting to show up. However, when a steering correction is required, it feels like I must push the wheel a bit then when it corrects it darts off and requires similar input again to counter the over correction. Its actually very unpredictable now. The shop said to bring it back but have not had time yet. I have made about 3000 kms since the work was done.
Any suggestions??
Just finished replacing ball joints, axle seals, front and rear swaybar and end link bushings, all of the tie rods and drag links also. Had to do it in the driveway because the garage is a disaster!! The truck handles and drives like new again. What a difference! Thanks for all of the threads and postings on this site, especially you Racerguy! It made the job very easy. Could'nt have done it without you. Thanks again.
i have all the parts needed to do the job in stock(ball joints) (orings) (hubs) for those for you who haven't done thier truck yet. order away and save a few bucks on upgraded OEM parts.
Just finished replacing ball joints, axle seals, front and rear swaybar and end link bushings, all of the tie rods and drag links also. Had to do it in the driveway because the garage is a disaster!! The truck handles and drives like new again. What a difference! Thanks for all of the threads and postings on this site, especially you Racerguy! It made the job very easy. Could'nt have done it without you. Thanks again.
Glad we could help
__________________ Dave - FTE moderator Forum Guidelines
To all you guys that drive Civics.....you go girl!
I got all the parts needed for this job this week, and plan to tackle it on the weekend. I was quite surprised how much the parts were costing me, compared to what i've read on US prices.
Napa dust seal $17 each, Napa wheel bearing $14 each, and Napa U-joints $70 each.
Do these prices sound in line with other guys buying parts in Canada? the parts guy told me those were the best prices he could offer me.
On another note, the parts guy was able to track down the axle shaft main seal that I thought could only be purchased through ford. The napa P/N is 3-0332. Might be able to save some money by not purchasing this through ford. He couldn't cross reference the yellow hub O-ring though.
Thanks for all the good info in this thread, I've learned alot and can hopefully fly through it on the weekend.
About part number 3-0332 seal ..... are you sure that number is right. I was just searching around, and it seems that is the Spicer part number for the axle's universal joint.
I went to NAPA's web site, and I think I found the correct seal ..... NAPAONLINE®
By memory, that seal sure looks right.
The brand of the seal is SKF, it looks like the proper one but I haven't pulled the old one to compare yet. They were sure priced like they were the ford equivalant.
My Napa guy had a parts book that cross-referenced other companies part numbers with Napa ones.
I'll let you know if it is in fact the right seal.
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