Oops, yeah I did post the wrong part number for the knuckle seals. The Napa part # I got was #28600. They came to $49 each Canadian and were the proper seals.
I have a question. On my 2002 super duty 4x4, the dealer replaced the ball joints at 20,000 miles trying to correct a wandering problem. It did nothing and I got tired of taking it in for this. Now the truck has 50,000 miles on it and has had a rattle in the front end for awhile. I was replacing the sway bar bushings and links today and to my surprise, I found that the nut on the passengers side lower ball joint had about an 1/8 inch gap under it! Should I go to Ford about this or to an attorney. Looks like it could cause a catastrophic failure. I need help here before I do something stupid.
Extremely unlikely to be catastrophic. You're a long way off from the knuckle falling off. In fact, if you drove very sensibly, you could drive around without either balljoint nuts on at all. They don't carry any weight. By good design they have held together and not fallen apart causing a major accident. You have Dana and Ford to be grateful for that. (Here we have Holdens from the '70's that have ball joints carrying weight under tension rather than compression, so when they have worn enough they simply pull out and collapse the suspension. Chev's of the same era may be the same?)
Take responsibility for your own actions and possessions. Then there would be no need to make any attorneys wealthier.
This thread is largely about doing your own servicing. Learning how to do it (of which there is a number of unique tips and techniques), what parts to order, tools to use, etc. There is great satisfaction in doing this and having the confidence in knowing everything has been done properly, often better than what a dealer does. Providing you have some mechanical aptitude, common sense and learn how to do it properly. Qualities sadly lacking in the majority of the population.
Don't get me wrong. There is a time and place for attorneys and the legal system to provide consumer protection from businesses that have done blatantly shonky work and won't resolve an issue with the customer themselves. Needless to say, you wouldn't want to go there in the first place.
Sorry about the rant, and I don't mean this to be a personal attack or anything. But yes, I think running off to an attorney for such trivial action is pathetic and a huge waste of resources. Was any harm done? No. Wise up.
by the way i was reading some more from this thread - no need to bust off the knuckle seal if it is still ok, I was able to replace mine using 3 C clamps, its trickey but works.
I do not like the idea of banging it into the diff housing (some people actually do that)
Also for pulling the axle shafts I use a pry bar on the U joint
This is in response to Dave's reply to my question about the ball joint nut never being tightened. The dealer I bought the truck from is 1700 miles away and my question is that Ford (the company) should be responsible for correcting the issue even if I need to take it to another dealer and this includes any damage to other components caused by the shoddy workmanship. Kindly don't tell me about responsibility when the intended dealer I have to take the truck to didn't discover it with their "mulit point inspection which included the front end. I was a mechanic for many years so I have a reasonable expectation of what type of workmanship is to be expected by supposedly a professional mechanic in a trade. This is unexcusable and your idea that it is MY responsibility to not have discovered this is totally unfounded. People get killed when things like this happen and it is someone else's responsibility to correct it, not mine. And as I said above, the dealer I have to take it to here has a less than satisfactory reputation.
I don't need a lecture, I only asked for help regarding this. You would feel the same if it happened to you. An attorney is the last result if I don't get satisfaction from Ford.
This is in response to Dave's reply to my question about the ball joint nut never being tightened. The dealer I bought the truck from is 1700 miles away and my question is that Ford (the company) should be responsible for correcting the issue even if I need to take it to another dealer and this includes any damage to other components caused by the shoddy workmanship. Kindly don't tell me about responsibility when the intended dealer I have to take the truck to didn't discover it with their "mulit point inspection which included the front end. I was a mechanic for many years so I have a reasonable expectation of what type of workmanship is to be expected by supposedly a professional mechanic in a trade. This is unexcusable and your idea that it is MY responsibility to not have discovered this is totally unfounded. People get killed when things like this happen and it is someone else's responsibility to correct it, not mine. And as I said above, the dealer I have to take it to here has a less than satisfactory reputation.
I don't need a lecture, I only asked for help regarding this. You would feel the same if it happened to you. An attorney is the last result if I don't get satisfaction from Ford.
Terry
I did not see the original argument, but if anybody is driving around with loose ball joints (not tightened) there is something wrong with them... think about it, you are risking your life and the lives of others to prove a point to ford, thats just plan asinine
Haoleman. Hey, I'm not saying it was your fault at all. But I am criticizing your initial response to consider an attorney so easily.
Of coarse it should never have occurred in the first place. No argument there. But it has, and how is anyone meant to know about it? The dealer doesn't put a camera under your rig to check for loose nuts while you're driving anywhere and everywhere. Anyone else would be pleased to have found the problem before something bad did happen.
The last time I took my car to a dealer, they didn't put a plug lead back on properly so it had a bad miss. Did I bother whinging? No, I just put the lead on properly and moved on. And I haven't been back there since.
Correcting the issue. Yeah, just take the few minutes to tighten the friggin nut yourself and move on. It's simply not worth wasting your time and money beyond that.
Haoleman. Hey, I'm not saying it was your fault at all. But I am criticizing your initial response to consider an attorney so easily.
Of coarse it should never have occurred in the first place. No argument there. But it has, and how is anyone meant to know about it? The dealer doesn't put a camera under your rig to check for loose nuts while you're driving anywhere and everywhere. Anyone else would be pleased to have found the problem before something bad did happen.
The last time I took my car to a dealer, they didn't put a plug lead back on properly so it had a bad miss. Did I bother whinging? No, I just put the lead on properly and moved on. And I haven't been back there since.
Correcting the issue. Yeah, just take the few minutes to tighten the friggin nut yourself and move on. It's simply not worth wasting your time and money beyond that.
well thats the way I think as well.... but i would call ford and let them know they fed up
racerguy, i surely do not want to steal your thunder, but I have done this and have been posting it on "other" ford sites for over a year now
Racerguy posted this on March 11 2005.
Quote:
by the way i was reading some more from this thread - no need to bust off the knuckle seal if it is still ok, I was able to replace mine using 3 C clamps, its trickey but works.
When I go to all the trouble of removing the knuckle, I change all seals, orings, etc. while I'm in there.
Well, I called the local Ford dealership and their response was to call Ford Corporate and their response was "We are not responsible for a dealer's action or screw up". Nice how they let themselves off the hook. I called the selling dealer and they conveniently said "we no longer have any service records on your truck as you have not been in within 3 years. As the truck is way out of warranty, we don't feel we have any obligation to fix it for free" ( UCK Them!!! ) I explained that I don't live there anymore and now reside 1700 miles away. The service manager told me to take it to my local dealer and have them fax what they found and a repair estimate. They didn't say anything about paying to set it right though. And yes, now that I know about it, I am driving my Jeep. To respond to the other questions, nobody discovered this in 3 years including me. It was only by accident that I found that the nut which is now frozen with rust was never tightened down. The ball joints themselves seem to be tight and I didn't notice any play. It might not be a safety issue but it still is not right and the dealer responsible should be willing to do whatever is necessary to correct the problem. There is no term on liability for something like this.And for those of you who are mechanics, I'm sure you will agree with me. If you do something through neglect that causes injury or loss of property even years down the road, you are liable. That's why insurance is so high. Now enough of this!
I will post what results I get in the next few weeks when I can take the truck inn to the dealer.
I will post what results I get in the next few weeks when I can take the truck inn to the dealer.
Good luck buddy. Don't waste your breath. I was asked to look at a friends vehicle some years ago. It hadjust had a head gasket replaced and was now overheating. Dealer who replaced head gasket looked at overheating problem and diagnosed a failed computer and gave my frien a thousand dollar quote to replaced computer. Ihad the same late modeled vehicle and at the time restored classic cars. He asked me to look at overheating problem and quickly found that the dealer had reversed two sensor wires. The dealer had reversed the intake manifold and the engine coolant sensor wires causing the engine coolant fan to never come on since the outside temperature was cool. I fixed it within 5 minutes and called and visited the dealer and bascially got thrown to the curb even though I started out very calm and polite. Everybody makes mistake and I just wanted to inform the dealership of the mistake. I think they intentionally mis-wired it to generate more business and were mad I found them out.
So once again save your breath and tighten it yourself and move on.
__________________
2001 F350 Lariat CC 2WD SRW SB V10 Two-Tone Green & Gold
2001 Newmar 34BLDS Kountry Star
Here's the latest. The local dealer will inspect it next week. I would tighten it myself but do not have a metric wrench that large plus the nut is frozen due to the road salt we had in New England and now in Minnesota so it might call for more coaxing than I personally have the ability to deal with. My other reason to have Ford inspect and correct the problem is to see if the nut , having not been tightened, might have damaged the yoke. For those of you who are more familiar with this, it might not be a problem at all if it did cause damage, I will expect them to somehow make good on it. The big problem is that today, nobody wants to be responsible for their screw ups. If I had run my business like that, I would have failed. It should be a simple matter of customer service and admitting you screwed up and offer to correct it and being thankful that your screw up didn't cause someone injury or worse. We tow a 16,000 lb fifth wheel with the truck and the last thing I need is that trailer pushing me off the road when the ball joint fails. Aside from that, I love this truck and I consistantly get 17.5MPG with it on the highway and 12 to 13 towing the trailer.
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Chev's of the same era may be the same?)
RCV Supertourer 6.0 V8 TDi.
