I just swapped out ball joints upper lower both sides moog problem solver and they are tight as heck. I've replaced ball joints before been a mechanic for over 20 yrs never seen an issue like this i got alignment done and steering wheel does not return to center it is getting a little better as I drive more, anyone ever seen anything like this? The spindle was really hard to move after replacement but before had clunking that's why I replaced then, can you install ball joints to tightly it's just the nut on bottom and top slides in did I miss something? Sorry guys and gals 2000 v10 2wd 207,000miles.
The other is 03 7.3 125,233 miles I got 2 exes but live in louisiana hehe.

 

It's a pretty common issue with aftermarket ball joints for the F250/Excursions. Return them if possible and get either OEM/Motorcraft (non-greaseable), XRF, or Spicer ball joints.

 

My moogs were not tight like that. I believe you can tighten them too much though.

 

That's a good point 05MilMachine.

If OP followed the manufacturer's torque sequence and specifications and also made sure the caster/camber sleeve slides in freely but the knuckles are still difficult to move by hand, then ditch the Moogs and go with one of the manufacturers listed earlier. Or you could wait for them to "break-in" but you'll be hating life for the next 15k+ miles.

 

I've installed moogs on lots of other trucks and cars and never seen anything like this is what surprises me but when you tighten bottom nut on ball joint the movement is in the joint not the tapered end on the knuckle but will look into it though looks like I'll be returning those to rock auto for another set I believe and they did slide in fairly easy I cleaned out the tapered areas and greased before I installed then pumped grease into joints. Thank you for assisting me I appreciate it

 

I do agree with the above statement.....

I went through this and it took some time for them to break in and it may have been close to 10K miles to break-in. I almost replaced them but just could not find the time.

Here is what I went through...I talked about this in another thread.


I am currently dealing with a similar situation with my steering not returning to center.
Prior to my new ball joints (moog), the X seemed to drive pretty good on the fwy. I had recently added V/B mod springs new shocks and tires. Since I did so much work I took it to an alignment shop and they said I need new everything in my front end.
So I added ....
New ball joints upper and lower
New front end links left and right
New steering link
and one more link I can't remember what its called.

After I added the ball joints the steering was not good on the fwy and it was all over the road it did not and does not return to center. This was causing me to steer the X to keep it centered.

The alignment shop told me the ball joints are tight and need to break in.
Prior to the ball joints it seem good and I can see that the ball joints are somewhat breaking in....

I lowered the air in my tires and I removed the steering dampener. These have helped the drive but not fully. I feel that my steering box is too tight from the previous owner and is not returning to center because of this.

My theory...Since my old ball joints were no good the tight steering box compensated for this which made the drive ok. But with good and tight ball joints the steering box may now be too tight and causing it to not return to center. I am going to back it off a bit and hope that it has not been overtightened and now no good which may have me purchasing a redhead steering box.

and then ....

I just backed off the steering box by about a 1/4 turn (loosened it) and it has helped the constant steer I had to do while I was on the fwy.
It didn't completely remove the issue with it not returning to center but it drives much better.

Last.....I added a RedHead steering box and it made it drive even better.



Tim M

 

Question on the upper ball joints where it slides into the castor it was more like an easy press on fit not drop on if that makes sense and bottom ball joints torqued to 110 ft lbs and a touch more for cotter pin installed into castle nut. If all that sounds correct I believe I'm gonna have to replace them with another set and get another alignment please correct me if I'm wrong or if there is a way to relieve tension on them if that's the case.

 

As long as you didn't have to tap in the caster/camber sleeve with a hammer, you should be fine. If you need to pull the sleeve out just to make sure, you can use a 1-5/16" crowfoot wrench to remove the lower ball joint nut so you don't have to pull everything apart again.

 

What did you torque the upper ball joints to? You should torque the ball joints in 3 steps - Hand tighten Lower; install caster/camber sleeve; torque Lower to 35 ft/lbs; torque Upper to 69 ft/lbs and then the Lower to 150 lbs.

These are Ford's installation instructions but always follow the ball joint manufacturer's torque specs. 110 ft/lbs sounds about right for the Moogs.

 

The uppers have no nut just slide into the sleeve it is a 2wd no hammer to install just tightened nut on bottom ball joints to to slide into place

 

Mine were snug when first installed but broke in in about 600 miles. I was worried but everything is fine now.

 

Ah, I forgot you have a 2WD. Lower - 99 ft/lbs, Upper pinch bolt - 60 ft/lbs.

 

Just redone ball joints not replaced just loosened bottom nut use pickle fork to loosen top left tight in castor then loosened up and redid torque sequence and road test feels great now like it should have been from the get. really weird ever had this happen before but thank you guys for assisting me in finding a solution. that's why I like this forum ,people assist not act like fools.

 

When I had my issue I did similar steps and made 100% sure I did the correct re-torque sequence but I did not have the results you did - bummer for me. Mine still did not return to center like I would have expected it to do.

Tim M

 

I just did exactly what I did when I installed them same torque and all,the package was open but didn't think anything of it at the time. yeah I lucked out that's for sure.