Front End Help?
New User
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Front End Help?
OK so I have a 94 F150 w/302 and auto. The steering is very loose and the truck needs an alignment. I wanted to check the front end parts as my experience is that almost all front end shops automatically tell you the tie rod ends and ball joints need replacing and they are running a "special" so I am so "lucky". ha ha. I jacked up the front end and tried to move the top and bottom of the tires in and out. I get about 1/8" of movement with a solid stop so it seems my bearings and ball joints would be OK. Now, left and right sides of the tire move at least an inch or so easily and another inch w/a little more pressure. The inside tie rod ends where they connect to each other and to the pittman arm seem to be where the movement comes from. I plan to replace them myself but have a few questions.
1) How hard is this to do?
2) Where can I get a good manual w/some details on this? Chiltons and Hayes are both very vague.
3) O'reilly and Autozone carry "regular" parts and "enhanced design" parts. Any idea what the difference is? They don't know.
4) Are there any other parts I should replace while I'm down there?
Sorry for the length of this post but I would appreciate any help you can give.
Tom
1) How hard is this to do?
2) Where can I get a good manual w/some details on this? Chiltons and Hayes are both very vague.
3) O'reilly and Autozone carry "regular" parts and "enhanced design" parts. Any idea what the difference is? They don't know.
4) Are there any other parts I should replace while I'm down there?
Sorry for the length of this post but I would appreciate any help you can give.
Tom
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 1,019
Likes: 3
From: Bismarck, ND
Front End Help?
>OK so I have a 94 F150 w/302 and auto. The steering is very
>loose and the truck needs an alignment. I wanted to check
>the front end parts as my experience is that almost all
>front end shops automatically tell you the tie rod ends and
>ball joints need replacing and they are running a "special"
>so I am so "lucky". ha ha. I jacked up the front end and
>tried to move the top and bottom of the tires in and out. I
>get about 1/8" of movement with a solid stop so it seems my
>bearings and ball joints would be OK. Now, left and right
>sides of the tire move at least an inch or so easily and
>another inch w/a little more pressure. The inside tie rod
>ends where they connect to each other and to the pittman arm
>seem to be where the movement comes from. I plan to replace
>them myself but have a few questions.
>1) How hard is this to do?
* Not hard. Give it a shot. Get their "Loaner Tools" if they offer them, including the pullers used for popping the tie rod ends loose from the spindles. Using the correct specialty tools makes the job go much smoother.
>2) Where can I get a good manual w/some details on this?
>Chiltons and Hayes are both very vague.
* Don't have an answer. Changing these isn't exactly rocket science, so they probably don't see the need to go into too much detail. Just resist the temptation to separate the parts by removing the cotter pin and nut, and then beating on the tie rod end studs with a hammer. Even if you're planning to discard the old parts, it's a bad practice that will deform the ends and studs, and may make them harder to remove. Use the proper puller! Installing the new parts will be easy, just fit the studs into the holes and torque the nuts to spec, being sure to fit them with new cotter pins. One more hint: before loosening the adjusting sleeves (which thread the tie rod ends onto the main drag link) and unscrewing the tie rod ends, use a stitch of masking tape to mark their positions (exactly how far the ends are threaded in). Match these markings to the new parts, so you'll know how far to thread the new ends into the sleeves. This will get you close to where they should be, for a smoother trip to the alignment shop.
>3) O'reilly and Autozone carry "regular" parts and "enhanced
>design" parts. Any idea what the difference is? They don't
>know.
* At least with ball joints, I'm pretty certain that "enhanced design" means that they incorporate grease fittings and possibly heavier duty joints and internals than the OEM parts. I'd spend the extra $$$ for them.
>4) Are there any other parts I should replace while I'm down
>there?
Not unless you really want to spend some time down there! Look around and check the condition of your axle pivot bushing, your radius arm bushings, and your sway bar bushings. If they may need replacement at a later date, at least you can keep them in mind and will have the time to shop around for parts (polyurethane replacement bushings are HIGHLY recommended). Oh, you'll want to grease the front end after installing your new parts. Good Luck!
>
>Sorry for the length of this post but I would appreciate any
>help you can give.
>Tom
>loose and the truck needs an alignment. I wanted to check
>the front end parts as my experience is that almost all
>front end shops automatically tell you the tie rod ends and
>ball joints need replacing and they are running a "special"
>so I am so "lucky". ha ha. I jacked up the front end and
>tried to move the top and bottom of the tires in and out. I
>get about 1/8" of movement with a solid stop so it seems my
>bearings and ball joints would be OK. Now, left and right
>sides of the tire move at least an inch or so easily and
>another inch w/a little more pressure. The inside tie rod
>ends where they connect to each other and to the pittman arm
>seem to be where the movement comes from. I plan to replace
>them myself but have a few questions.
>1) How hard is this to do?
* Not hard. Give it a shot. Get their "Loaner Tools" if they offer them, including the pullers used for popping the tie rod ends loose from the spindles. Using the correct specialty tools makes the job go much smoother.
>2) Where can I get a good manual w/some details on this?
>Chiltons and Hayes are both very vague.
* Don't have an answer. Changing these isn't exactly rocket science, so they probably don't see the need to go into too much detail. Just resist the temptation to separate the parts by removing the cotter pin and nut, and then beating on the tie rod end studs with a hammer. Even if you're planning to discard the old parts, it's a bad practice that will deform the ends and studs, and may make them harder to remove. Use the proper puller! Installing the new parts will be easy, just fit the studs into the holes and torque the nuts to spec, being sure to fit them with new cotter pins. One more hint: before loosening the adjusting sleeves (which thread the tie rod ends onto the main drag link) and unscrewing the tie rod ends, use a stitch of masking tape to mark their positions (exactly how far the ends are threaded in). Match these markings to the new parts, so you'll know how far to thread the new ends into the sleeves. This will get you close to where they should be, for a smoother trip to the alignment shop.
>3) O'reilly and Autozone carry "regular" parts and "enhanced
>design" parts. Any idea what the difference is? They don't
>know.
* At least with ball joints, I'm pretty certain that "enhanced design" means that they incorporate grease fittings and possibly heavier duty joints and internals than the OEM parts. I'd spend the extra $$$ for them.
>4) Are there any other parts I should replace while I'm down
>there?
Not unless you really want to spend some time down there! Look around and check the condition of your axle pivot bushing, your radius arm bushings, and your sway bar bushings. If they may need replacement at a later date, at least you can keep them in mind and will have the time to shop around for parts (polyurethane replacement bushings are HIGHLY recommended). Oh, you'll want to grease the front end after installing your new parts. Good Luck!
>
>Sorry for the length of this post but I would appreciate any
>help you can give.
>Tom
Elder User
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 662
Likes: 0
From: washington
Front End Help?
I did mine about a year ago and when I took the cotter pin off and the nut the ends just fell off with a slight tug. I had 130k on my rig so you may want to try before you rent or buy the pickle fork (the tool used to remove tie rods)
JFYI!
JFYI!
