'81 F100 300-6 under 300,000mi

Wheel ball-joints: how can I test them? More work than I intend to do myself, but I'd like to at least determine what condition they are in. OE parts Mr. Ford installed back in '81.
Tie-rods are good, but ball-joints would be tad too much for me these days.
During the past 18mths I've replace tires, complete steering system, wheel bearings, alignment and shocks, but the truck still doesn't 'feel' right
Thanks

 

Put the front end on jack stands; use a large pry bar to lift upwards on the tires and look at them as you do this. Front-suspension springs are putting a significant downward force on them, you need to overcome this.

 

keep in mind some 81's still had king pins in them, my 81 still does...

 

From what I've been able to find out, '81 trucks built in Aug was when ball-joints became standard issue. My truck came off the line 8-81 (#79000+)
Thanks for the reply.

 

you aren't fighting springs to check ours, though on some other vehicles you are.
lift the wheel off the ground, and watch the upper ball joint for movement while forcibly rocking the top of the wheel in and out, and likewise watch the lower joint while moving the bottom of the wheel. any measureable play means they're getting worn out.
you may also want to check for vertical play as ctubutis described.

also, if you haven't already looked at the axle pivot bushings and the radius arm bushings, you might want to.
to check the axle pivot bushings, raise the vehicle and support the frame on tall jackstands or other suitable supports, so the suspension is fully extended. then forcibly move the front and rear of the wheel in and out, like the wheels move when steering. a bad bushing will allow the whole axle beam to move in and out. when i did mine, the bad side had over 2 inches of free movement measured at the tire tread. the bushings looked like this http://dl.dropbox.com/u/39418460/Pic...811_175257.jpg

 

Put your hands at 12' o clock and 6 ' o clock on the tire and wiggle it for checking balljoints. Like was said, it's better to have someone do this while you are watching underneath what is going on.

Your wheel bearings can also fool you when doing this if they are a little loose, so that's another reason to be looking underneath.

 

So My '80 has king pins instead of ball joints?

 

I believe so. What I've found out: 1 Aug 1981 was a Saturday. The line started on the 4th so all assemblies prior to 4 Aug were using forged axles and king-pins.
Beginning 4 Aug the stamped axle/ball-joint was standard with the F100s made in Louisville

 

Thanks Josh, good advice! I bet my bushings will match those pictures.

 

Thanks for the info, Mine was made in Canada

 

For the Twin-I-Beam front axle, attached is what the 1980/89 FoMoCo Light Truck Master Parts Catalog shows for changes and associated dates for the 2WD variants.

There are several pages about the 4WD variants.

I would need to go look up specific information about king pins and ball joints to get more specific, and that'd be a lot of work.

 

stick your head under the bumper and look around. you'll find out real quick!!

as good as the guys with the parts manuals are, the books like sometimes, but what you see under the truck is what you have

 

This is the best way to check them. You need to pull out firmly on the bottom while pushing in on the top, and vice versa.

 

If you do replace them, keep this in mind.

-There are two options for balljoints, depending on your GVWR. 4700lb GVWR and less uses smaller balljoints (also more expensive) and the GVWR's over 4700 use larger balljoints.

-Don't read how to do the balljoints by reading a 4x4 tutorial. It's practically backwards for a 2wd. For 4x4 they will say one balljoint goes in first then the other.. I don't remember which, but it's the other way around for 2wd... and the balljoints point down for 2wd.. up on 4x4. You have a hammer in your hand, the balljoints are hit DOWN to be removed.. I broke my press trying to get them out the WRONG way. Once I realized my problem a couple hits with a hammer knocked them out.

-I replaced the balljoints on my F100 (passenger side only) last year (I think, maybe it was this spring) everyone says to go with the quality balljoints such as Moog and comparible brands. I didn't because the Moog parts weren't in stock, and they would have been about $100 for one side (upper and lower). I went with the cheap MasterPro brand from OReillys instead for about $35 for the side. Surprisingly the upper balljoint had a MOOG part in the box! The lower one was in-fact the MasterPro. The result? The lower balljoint already has play in it.. and I haven't even gone 10k miles.. maybe 6-7k at the most. They have a warranty.. but it isn't worth my time to install cheap balljoints again.

-When pressing the new ones in, you need to hit around the area in which you are pressing the balljoint in with a sledge. You see the most progress by doing this.

 

the sledgehammer is a tolerable method, but a special c-frame press made for the purpose is the best, especially for installing them. the one i have is similar to this http://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=C...ll+joint+press though i'm not sure what brand it is. it works great. you can probably borrow one from oreillys or autozone.

and masterpro parts - don't get me started on their quality... well ok, just one quick story... was working on a 96 camry, the job included a new balljoint, which the customer bought masterpro. instead of a press fit, the car uses 2 studs and a bolt to mount it to the control arm. well those 2 studs are pressed into the joint and resemble a wheel stud, but at 10mm diameter. well i started installing it, and felt like the nuts weren't getting any tighter, just taking about 15 ft-lbs and spinning. then the heads flew off the studs and the studs pulled right through. that was the last time i ever willingly accepted anything that had the name masters**t on it.