I did my ball joints this week ('04 F350 4x4), this is the second time I have done this in same number of trucks. This one tested my vocabulary skills and patience to the extent!
Has any one had issus getting the inner ESOF seal to seat properly on the drive shaft?
I made up the driver per the write up and ended up ruining one seal with it. I ended up having to make another driver that bottomed out on the axle shoulder and stayed within the outer portion of the seal so as not the bend the seal when driving it onto the shoulder of the axle. Even with this new driver, I was uable to get the seal flush with the top of the axle shoulder without a very large amount of persuassion. Even then I was defroming the inner area of seal to get it flush. I dont know how the factory driver differs, but I don't know of any other way the seal could have been installed.
I was not able to get the snap ring on the axle unless this seal was flush to the shoulder on the axle. We finally ended up assmebling the axle to the hub and installing it into the truck. Of course it had to be the passenger side that is the heaviest. I believe that I do not have any interferences within the hub but that seal just didnt install right.
Is there variation in the width of the bearing assembly that could be causing this tight of a fit? With the other seals I installed this was not an issue.
I did notice upon the original disassembly that there were signs of prior metal to metal contact on the bearing hub to something. The axle and seal had no visible signs of wear though.
Since the rebuild, I now have a small vibration that that is constant so I am concerned that I have bearing issues on the drivers side, go figure.
Any helpful comments would be appreciated, thanks.
Thanks again Racerguy. I did this about a month ago. Your instructions are great.
I also would not recommend the Autozone tools. I was able to make them work by making my own spacers, but if I was in my driveway without a machine shop it would have been a differant story.
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2004 F350 Lariat CC 6.0 w/ 8" Donahoe lift.
Has any one had issus getting the inner ESOF seal to seat properly on the drive shaft?
I made up the driver per the write up and ended up ruining one seal with it. I ended up having to make another driver that bottomed out on the axle shoulder and stayed within the outer portion of the seal so as not the bend the seal when driving it onto the shoulder of the axle. Even with this new driver, I was uable to get the seal flush with the top of the axle shoulder without a very large amount of persuassion. Even then I was defroming the inner area of seal to get it flush. I dont know how the factory driver differs, but I don't know of any other way the seal could have been installed.
I was surprised at the amount of persuasion it took to get that seal on there. I didn't have any trouble seating them though with the trimmed up homemade driver. I greased the outer rubber surface of the seal before installing it in the knuckle and it went in pretty easy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 77f250sc
I was not able to get the snap ring on the axle unless this seal was flush to the shoulder on the axle. We finally ended up assmebling the axle to the hub and installing it into the truck. Of course it had to be the passenger side that is the heaviest. I believe that I do not have any interferences within the hub but that seal just didnt install right.
LOL no doubt it was the pass side. The only thing I noticed related to that snap ring was that I had to reach behind and push the axle out a tick to fully expose the snap ring groove.
Thanks again Racerguy. I did this about a month ago. Your instructions are great.
I also would not recommend the Autozone tools. I was able to make them work by making my own spacers, but if I was in my driveway without a machine shop it would have been a differant story.
Both of my local AdvanceAuto's now loan the correct, expanded balljoint press kit (they used to have the same kit as AutoZone) .. which worked well for me.
I never buy parts at Advance or AutoZone, but they still let me use their tools. So, I buy fluids and filters from them.
First off Thanks to Racerguy and all others that posted there tricks on how to go about this job! Idid my bj's about a month ago on my 03 135K and all in all it went fairly well with the usual stuck this or that. One problem i am left with is an ABS lite on the dash its been on since the repair, i cleaned the sensors off and reinstalled no problem has anybody else ran across this? I hate annoying dash lites! and the ABS seems to be working fine(tested in wet rush hour traffic) i also still have a bumping noise coming from the front end i was thinking sway bar bushings? Thank's again for the insight and any comments.
Another thing i wanted to share. My ball joints were replaced once by the dealer before. On the first side I had a hell of a time getting the knuckle to drop out of the lower ball joint. I figured it was due to the too small pickle fork from Autozone, which I am sure it partially was. Once I got it out the ball joint shaft was all dinged up. i figured it was from the pickle fork. Upon further inspection it looks like the guy who did them before me had staked the inside of the C's and the ball joints to keep them from spinning. Sure enough the other side was the same way. Needless to say I had to sand down all the divots the knucklehead put in there. Mine did want to spin when tightening but I just used the floor jack trick and it worked like a charm.
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2004 F350 Lariat CC 6.0 w/ 8" Donahoe lift.
The mechanic shop told me I need new ball joints, but on this 6cylinder, F-150, they said I need to buy the whole upper and lower suspension arms since the ball joints don't come out.
Autozone only sells them that way, but throughout this discussion, I've never seen any one say that the replaced the whole arm.
Also, is there a special clamp to hold the spring so it doesn't come out?
Finished doing my ball joints today on my 02 f350 with 80000 miles... Great write up, helped alot..I put in napa premium greasables and ford seals. This was a hell of a job to do. Im sure everyone has different experiences doing this but it was tough. I dont know how I would have ever gotten the hub assembly off without a 3 jaw puller.Everything fought me tooth and nail. I had a cotter pin that rusted and broke inside the old ball joint,had to hack saw the nut off.5 lb sledge came in handy.I can see why the dealers charge so much. Took me about 20 hours over 3 days to finish.Also just installed a redhead gear box ,the truck drives incredible now. Both my upper ball joints were shot.
I also could not get the knuckle seal on. I finally just tried to draw the hub down on the knuckle to push it on, I torqued it to 133 ftlbs and then removed it to check it. the seal was not on all the way. Why not?
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2003 F 350 XLT Sport 4x4 6.0L Diesel
Bank's Big Hoss with PDA
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