Sorry about this question, but I am not sure. I am about to order the ball joints for my truck, 97 F350, CC, 4X4. I have heard good and bad about specific manufacturers. I guess I will do whatever is better recommended. Also, what other parts should I replace, and what maintenance should I do while I have the front axle torn apart? I know this is second nature for some of you, but I have never done it before. I know, I know, Let someone else do it, right? Ever since I bought this truck in '03, I have done almost all of the repairs. I have learned alot about my truck just by fixing and repairing on my own. I really hate to pay some one to fix something that I could fix myself. Granted it may take me longer, but in the long run, more beneficial to me. the way I look at it, the more I save on labor, the more I can do.

Hopefully it works out. If not, I'll do it agian.

thanks in advance

 

Man, that's a nice truck. Nobody's going to tell you to take it somewhere else, not when you're willing to learn and fix it yourself. That's what this is about. As far as the work, I've never done it on these trucks either. I don't have any good advice but others will. Good luck

 

oem, moog or raybestos ball joints. check your I beam pivot bushings, your spring bushings and shackle bushings.

 

good to see your gonna tackle the job yourself!! its not all that hard of a job and the outcome is very rewarding when you do it yourself.. as the old saying goes "a penny saved is a penny earned"...........

 

I use Moog ball joints and Raybestos brakes on mine.

Does it have automatic front hubs?

May want to check them out, one of mine just ate itself last week.
That was fun chisiling out what was left of the spindle nuts to change to working manual hubs.

At least I have working 4x4 now.

One thing I have found that needs to be checked is the front spring shackles.
The upper bushing, the one up in the frame, wears out and there is no way to see it without taking the bolt out and dropping it out of the frame.

 

I have used a lot of Moog products and been very pleased!!

 

moog is good. When you pull the spindle use a slide hammer with the right puller attachment on it. I can get you the part number off mine if you need it. Replace the spindle inner seal if it's torn and clean and grease those bearings inside it good.
Just don't do the hammer and chisel method of removing it. PLEASE!

 

Check the U-Joints in your axles also. Excellent time to replace these, while you have the axles out anyway. Rent or borrow a ball joint press. It makes the process much easier.

 

Amen brother! You are very like-minded with most of the people here! I just did my BJ's a few months ago. The biggest issue I have run into was finding a tool to remove the inner locknut. I eneded up finding it at Autozone. Your truck should have come with the heavier front axel since its a diesel (4800 lb axl) and that uses a different locknut too. I believe this is the Dana 50 front end. The tool was like $20? maybe $25 but worth it since I didn't have to pay high labor for a mechanic to do what I could do. I also put in Moog ball joints. With a commercial discount, they ened up around $70 each... Then the alignment cost around $150 and that was with my friend doing the work (who gave me a pretty big discount. He needed two $50 alignment bushing so $100 was for that). If you are doing ball joints for the sake of maintenance that's one thing but I did mine for the sake of having tire wear issues. If you're like me, I would also suggest replacing the tie rods and making sure your steering box is tight. I have a sloppy box and original tie rods... Although I have new ball joints and a good alignment done, my $350 tires are feathering... :::insert curse words here:::: SO if you can afford it, do all the front end stuff together and have it aligned ONCE.

Just my .02. I took quite a bit of reference pics regarding the ball joints if you are interested. I still haven't figured how to post pictures to this site or I would. I can email them. PM me or email me direct at lifestooshort81 @ gmail dot com

best of luck!

EDIT: p.s. love your truck! it looks GORGEOUS!!!

 

I got one of these and it works very well for removing the spindle nut on the Dana 60.

Amazon.com: Powerbuilt 648477 Spindle Nut Socket 1 Ton, Four Inner: Industrial & Scientific

Also for front end parts (ball joints, tie rods, rod ends, etc.) you may want to check out XRF Chassis Parts. You can't order directly off the website (you need to call), but they are excellent quality and much less expensive than some of the others.