Now at 108K miles, it is finally ball joint time and I plan on springing for a ball joint press. Do you have any brand/model# suggestions or preferences?
Now at 108K miles, it is finally ball joint time and I plan on springing for a ball joint press. Do you have any brand/model# suggestions or preferences?
I rented a ball joint press set ($106) and a pickle fork ($11) from Auto Zone, and when you return them you get all your dollars refunded. I installed Moog ball joints which have grease fittings. Autozone has a lifetime ball joint for a lot less money; I have no idea who makes them. There are reports that the press that Harbor Freight sell bends, and I can believe it. It takes enormous force to remove and install the ball joints; DO NOT TRY TO POUND THEM IN AND OUT! Good luck.
When I did my ball joints it took the day to break everything down and put it all back together, that included replacing all the seals on the front axle. IMHO I would give yourself the day to get it done, in case you run into a gremlin.
Kev
__________________ 99 F250 SUPER DUTY 4X4, S/C, V-10
With everything lined up and all the tools required to make the job easier I would guess 8 to 12 hours. Here are some of the difficult things I ran into: 1:The pickle fork that AutoZone rents is too small to fit the lower ball joint so I enlarged the inside of it some. And I also use a large bolt and nut as a jack screw inside of the knuckle to put pressure to aid in breaking it loose (do this before removing the upper ball joint). 2: Buy yourself a large three jaw gear puller to remove the hub assembly from the knuckle, this may save you more time than anything else. I used a two jaw with some hassle. 3: The ball joint press kit that AutoZone rents works, but requires some different sized rings. You will see what I mean when you begin to remove and install the joints. 4: The large axle seal requires a tool that keeps the seal square. It can be assembled from a piece of water pipe that is a fairly close fit on the axle, a threaded expender (reducer), and a piece of pipe or fitting the rests on the seal. When you press or pound the seal on be sure to NOT support the axle through the u-joints, it will damage them and they will soon fail.
Racerguy: Thanks for the post on replacing the balljoints everything is just as you said it is: I have a 2003 F250 S/D everything has gone good so far now I have the new balljoints in and I'm trying to tighten the lower balljoint nut to 150 ft. lb., but the shaft turns, the new joint came with a lock nut. What am I missing here is there a trick to this?? Any help would be appreciated. Anyone with any input..
Thanks Jay
Last edited by mrjay62; 06-29-2006 at 09:47 PM.
Reason: Wrong name: Raceguy to Racerguy.
mrjay62- I found that applying a little pressure to the bottom of the lower balljoint/knucle assembly with my balljoint/C-press allowed me to tighten the nut without a problem. You could probably do the same with a strategically placed floor jack.
tried that around 5 this morning just about lifted the truck still turned
I used the floor jack method and it still gave me fits. Took a hour or so to get it to catch. Keep at it, you'll get it...don't cheat and run a tap through the nut. Make sure the jack is pushing on the bj, not the knuckle.
Racerguy--thanks for the write-up--you should publish a book! I used the knowledge gained through this awsome site to complete rt side ball joint job--complete with new knuckle seal. Now I'm getting around to the lt side. I have two questions:
1. While apart, is there any way to visually tell if my bearing/hub assembly is bad or near going bad?
2. Can the knuckle seal be reused, or is it a must to replace? I slipped the axle out and the seal seems to be in good shape. After going through the procedure on the right side, this corner cut would save me some hassle on the left. Does anyone have any war stories to share on success/failure of trying to reuse this seal?
As for writing a book....I don't think so. I have a hard enough time replying to posts here sometimes. lol
To tell whether the bearing/hub is good or not you need to check it for play. There should be no up or down or in and out movement of the flange where the wheel bolts to. While it's apart you can also spin it and listen closely for any noise or roughness feeling. There shouldn't be any.
I've never reused a knuckle seal. I work in a dealership and want a comeback in case the seal fails.
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this space for rent
Racerguy--I understand where you are coming from not wanting to chance it on the seal. I did end up reusing the seal on the left side--time will tell if that was a mistake.
One more thing about this job--I replaced the ball joints with new ones w/grease fittings--problem is, after everything was installed, I couldn't grease the upper ball joint cause of the axle u-joint. What I ended up having to do is unscrew the standard grease fitting and screw a 45 degree grease fitting in to do the grease, then I had to take out the 45 and replace with the regular to give clearance for the u-joint. I guess I'll be doing that every time I grease from now on--but at least it can be greased now!
I guess I'll be doing that every time I grease from now on--but at least it can be greased now!
ditto here...until i got tired of that and milled off the top of the grease fitting to get clearance. i went too far on the first one and milled into the inside. easiest way ultimately was to use a pair of pliers and a bench grinder to round it off. fittings are cheap if you go too far. some fittings are bulkier than others so shop around.
Last edited by mostoyzwinz; 07-21-2006 at 08:39 AM.
You stated that you should have, outer hub O rings, bearing hub O rings, Knuckle seals , and axle dust seals before you start the job. Are these required because you damage them during disassembly or are you stongly suggesting, you have these items to replace or if you need them?
Oh yes! great instructions.
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99 F250 SUPER DUTY 4X4, S/C, V-10
