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"...putting all back together and risk..."
if replace.....then....if....then....if.....then.... pretty standard new OR ol rig, eh? Such is da player's chores~
Old rig that has been wheeled hard and no easier since I got it....in my book its standard up keep/maintenance on a used rig. But it looks like the PO and PPO never did any. Good ball joints matter.....
This is why I needed the gas tank skid plate, when I came off the ledge, even going creepy slow, I smacked it good...real good.
No I did not make it all the way up and over...yes I tried. That picture does not do it justice on how step it is.
Well I am at work and have some free time , so I am web researching and looking for the best ball joints out there? Anyone have a lead on some HD race quality ones? It is a 71 Bronco (stock axle tubes, stock outer C's) Dana 44. Or just get OEM Spicers and have at it?
Oh no I am very serious about NOT having anything else break and cause damage to my new axles/u joints. Even though they are CTM life time u-joints, I am not going to risk it. Ah.... I am not as finically serious as I wanted to be after I seen the cost of the actual "Ball Joint Eliminators". WOW I like the Mevotech ones and they are well known in the EB community.
I want to go out and have fun not break down all the time, that is NO fun. I am about to get a handle on the p/s box issues. I am going hydraulic assist once I have all the pieces and parts collected up. The box is cap tapped on both ends, I have a "Kiser Riser" to go on the axle itself. Just need to get a few more things gathered up...as well as getting the time to do it.
I can't say for the actual strength of things these days, but I have had the same result with several ball joint installs recently. And not good ones...
I've used Moog, Spicer, AC Delco and one other I can't remember at the moment, and they all fit differently from the previous generations. They appear normal, press in nicely, clip on in the same way that the old ones did (when the ring groove was accessible), but each and every one would not torque down with the threaded collar for the top joint.
What would happen was that you could get close to about 15-20 lbs of torque and then it would just keep going. Threading in literally all the way through the hole.
So what I've taken to doing is just install the collar to the point that only one or two threads poke out the bottom of the steering yoke, then lock them down. That 1-2 threads showing has been the most I've ever seen out of old ball joints in the past. I've used Moog and TRW and OEM joints and never had a problem achieving proper adjustment. But anytime I did one in the last ten years or so I got the same shabby result. Almost like the new ones are imported and someone made the usual mistake in converting SAE to Metric. Again...
I'm using the old specifications in the Chilton's books of old, so you may find something different when using a particular year Ford Service Manual. Mine is 70-90lbs for the lower nut, 40lbs for the sleeve, 100lbs for the top nut, and the result should be a turning friction of 26lbs or less.
Even though I have not been able to achieve the 40lbs on the sleeve, my end results are still satisfactory at typically about 20lbs pull force to turn a knuckle.
I like to see more than 10lbs, but less than 25lbs on mine. Seems to work well for me so far.
Again, can't claim any one is stronger than another. Just that none of them I've tried so far in the recent past have seemingly had correct tolerances.
I have hammered D-44 ball joints with 429 and 35" BF's with no failures. Yes, they will loosen over time, needing replaement, but I haven't had any Moog joints fail or break yet.
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