ball joints?

[wolf189]

How long shouhd the ball joints on an F last? My 93 F150 has 155,000 miles on it and recently started wearing the insides of the front tires rather excessively so i took it in to have the alignment checked, had the guys there tell me the truck was all messed up and needed new springs, shocks, ball joints, etc... (basically the whole front suspension to hear these guys trying to sell the repair job to me). So, rather than trust the first estimate i brought the truck up to a different shop (where i know they won't try to feed me a line...) and asked them take a look at it but, since they don't work on 4x4 trucks much they suggested that i should go to a place that specializes in brake and suspension work on these sort of trucks (the owner even called and made me an appointment at a place that he felt would be the best place in town to go to).

And to make a long story short this place got the truck in and took a look at it and came back with the diagnosis that all 4 ball joints were in need of replacement, estimated cost for the repairs is $490. I was told that since there are no grease fittings on these parts they basically are the sort of things that will wear out over time on full size 4x4 and need to be replaced when they do. What i'm wondering is... Is 155K miles about right for these ball joints to need replacing? Should they have lasted longer (or am i already on borrowed time with them)? And is $490 a reasonable price to pay to have this fixed? Could i save some money by going to the salvage yard and looking for the parts there (or would i just be asking for trouble with that solution)? What happens if i keep driving the truck the way it is now (will the wheels fall off one day? or will it just keep chewing up the front tires till they are gone)?So whadya think folks? I eagerly await your analysis of my situation.

thanks.


wolf189
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'93 F150 4x4 Regular Cab, Long Bed - 4.9L I6 w/5spd Manual
no mods... yet...

[mattb]

basically, if you keep driving it it is possible for a wheel to fall off, well not quite most likely what will happen is either a lower or upper will blow out, either way you are towing it to a repair shop, unless you can do it yourself.you are looking at probably $100 worth of parts, the rest is labor, it is a pain in the a** to change ball joints espacially on a 4wd.if a lower blows out the top of your tire will fall in, if the upper goes, that could happen or the top of the tire could fall out, both are bad and require you to be towed, i would just bite the bullet and have them replaced, and be safely down the road.oh yeah and get a front end alignment after they are replaced.
mattb

[whomrig]

Hi wolf189, i would strongly recommend buying new parts as junkyard parts are old already and probably bad as well.

Wayne

[wolf189]

...and making an appointment for later this week (going camping in southern IN this weekend and would rather have this fixed before the trip). Thanks for the input folks!

wolf189
************************************************** ***********************
'93 F150 4x4 Regular Cab, Long Bed - 4.9L I6 w/5spd Manual
no mods... yet...

[norulz]