Yes the F250 light duty is the same.
If you tighten the control arm bolts with the truck in the air the bushings will be twisted and not in their normal ride height position.
You can clean up the inside of the ball joint hole just with a wire brush. Just make sure there isn't a bunch of rust and junk in the hole and it will be ok.

 

I replaced the upper control arm and tourqued the control arm bolts in the air. I've driven about 150k since, have I done any damage?

 

Probably not.
It's one of those things that's supposed to be done a certain way but may be ok if you do it differently. It might wear out the control arm bushings quicker eventually though.

 

Racerguy

I replaced the lower ball joints on the 98 F250 4x4 Friday night. Thanks to your detailed photos and procedure it took me about 3 hours to do both sides. I used a hammer to smack the old ones loose as well as a puller to add some tension.

Auto value will loan a press for free (75$ deposit) and it worked great. I needed a short snipe on a 1/2" L handle to make the final turns on the press but it let go without trouble. Pressing the new ones in was also no trouble.

I bought a 36mm socket for the axle but didn't have a torque wrench that went to proper spec range. I'll get one, for now I set it at 150 ft/lbs and then tightened past that.

Thanks again for the detail in the procedures I probably saved about $700. Next I'll tackle the loose steering wheel

Shenner

 

You're welcome
Good to hear that you got it done.

 

rchick0
I replaced the lower passenger side front ball joint this Saturday everything went smoothly thanks to the thread posted by Racerguy, ball joint came right out with the loner ball joint press from Auto Zone and the new went in smoothly with the press also. I started on the driver side and after taking off the 36mm axle nut I noticed I was not able to push the half shaft in like it did on the passenger side. It appears to be siezed in in the hub? After soaking it overnight in PB Blaster and than trying a 4lb sledge and wood still no movement, Also tryed a 16lb sledge with no wood and still no movement. I do not want to damage the half shaft end any more than I have already. Does anyone know if there is a press to push the half shaft out of the hub?? I was also thinking of unbolting the half shaft from the diff and removing the whole thing as a unit. With the rotor siezed on the hub and now the half shaft also I will need a crane to remove and reinstall. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

rchick0
I forgot to mention it's a 2001 F-150 4x4 with 60,000 miles.

 

Hi and welcome to the forum

Sorry that no one replied til now.
You might be able to use a 3 jaw puller to push the axle in or removing it all in 1 piece should work too.

 

I put a lower joint in on the driver's side on my '99 150 4WD V6 at 175K. I put the frame on jack stands and used a piece of round steel about 1-1/2" dia as a punch to knock the old one out. The trick I used to put the new one in was to fit a piece of thick wall steel tubing to the new ball joint such that it would drive it in via the shoulder but won't damage the swedged area where the joint was assembled. I started the new ball joint by hand with some light taps with a hammer. Then I rolled the floor jack underneath and put some pressure on it using the coil spring (be careful not to to use too much pressure such that you could cause the vehicle to fall from the floor jacks). Then some decent blows from a cross peen hammer to the lower control arm and it slid right it. Periodically I had to raise the jack up a little to maintain pressure, but otherwise it was relatively trouble free. The passenger side needs to be done because I can hear it squeek and, well, it's now 180K and climbing. I also replaced the missing sway bar link and shock. Man, didn't realize exactly how much body roll I was experiencing. Must be "the lean" (you know the one you do in the cab when taking a corner a bit fast) really does help. ;-) Just working on one corner of the truck made a huge handling difference. If only loopty loop races made right turns instead of left. Can't wait to get the other three corners done. It'll be like a new truck. Well, almost....

On a side note, I highly recommend the use of anti-seze upon reassembly. The aluminum rims stuck on this truck at 75K and needed to be beat off with a sledge. Also, I helped a friend with a wheel bearing once and had to pull the whole half shaft assembly out, take it to work, and throw it in the press because it was so rusted together. Grease your brake caliper slide pins while you're at it. I've had to beat the lower ones out on both sides of the truck. Salt is not kind.

 

Aaron the way you did it is pretty much the way I do it at work. We had drivers built for all the different ball joints that we replace rather than using a piece of pipe but it's pretty much the same thing.
Good tip about the anti-seize. It really does help a lot.

 

Racerguy, I took my 99 F-150 4x4 to an alignmlent shop recently and they told me the lower ball joints were shot. The tech put a pry bar under the front tire while it was in the air and was able to morve the whole wheel/tire assembly up and down about 1/4" to 1/2". The truck drives great, I can't really notice anything wrong with the steering or ride. Do you think they were telling me the truth, or just trying to get some work? And if you think they were right, how soon should these be replaced? What kind of damage can be done by letting them be for a while? Thanks

 

I think that Ford says .060 up and down is allowed so if you have more than that then it's time to replace them.
I've seen ones fall apart when they got bad enough and you don't want that.
How much longer they will last is anyone's guess though.

 

truckalpers, sounds like the guy was telling you right. It's not hard to really put on the miles these days, so with a 5+ year old vehicle, a joint that can't be re-greased and any salt conditions that you may drive through will make her show the signs of wear. What he showed you is the standard test and for the most part it tells the story. When the vehicle is supported on the jack stands under the frame the spring pushes down on the lower control arm with a pretty good amount a force and fully extends the suspension. If he can freely wiggle the knuckle assembly up and down then the lower ball joint is likely the culprit. Go to your local automotive parts store and ask for a new one to take a look at. They're very tight when new and almost impossible to move by hand. As for what can be damaged, well your tires for starters. You'll get bad wear patterns which will amount to poor mileage on your tires. Also, it can be harder on other joints like the tie rod ends, pitman arm and idler arm. Mostly importantly, it can be dangerous. As that joint wears it will become weaker, thus prone to breaking. Hit a good pothole and you could be missing a front wheel (and as a result, part of a fender, or worse). Or if you happen to hit a good bump at a higher speed and fully extend the suspension it could just plain seperate (see above wheel loss and fender damage). The long and short is it should be replaced as soon as you can get it done. It will likely last a while under light to moderate driving, but no one can predict how long and you sure don't want to find out the hard way. I replaced the inner and outer tie rod ends on both sides of my '99 and I started getting horrible tire wear that I didn't have before. Turns out the drivers lower joint was beyond bad. When the tie rods were bad along with the lower ball everything just kinda found it's favorite spot, but once I tightened up one joint the other loose one became very very angry. My point is, if you haven't replaced tie rods, idler arm, sway bar links and shocks in it's life you better plan on it. Cause if one part has a billion miles they all do. Once you get it done tho you'll be surpirsed at how much better it holds the road. No more swaying around in the lane, no more rumble strips.

HTH,
Aaron

 

I have a 2003 F-150 w/#7700 pkg. This is a great site and great thread. I purchased a plow for the truck this year and plan on trying to perform most of my maintenance needed for the truck myself. I have a couple of questions. I bought a tech manual from Helm Inc and in the manual it says that both the upper and lower control arms have to be replaced if you need to replace ball joints. They don't even give a part# for the ball joints. I looked at it and everything looks the same as in the previous instructions. Can anyone give me a part number for the lower joint? Also when replacing the upper control arm does the ball joint come with a grease fitting or can one be placed after?

 

Welcome to FTE!
I don't know the part #'s but MOOG brand ball joints are pretty good and have gease fittings.