Rough ride.
Postmaster
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 4,807
Likes: 125
From: Colorado Springs
You nailed it. I just talked to the dealership. They are telling me the damper went bad, which took out one ball joint. The ball joint of course caused the misalignment. They are trying to argue a bit about charging me for the alignment. I cant see where I should have to pay, when the cause was failed parts. And as they told me yesterday it has been a known issue. They also said they need to put on new tires to do the alignment which I kind of doubt, as alignment usually comes off the wheel not the tire. I may be out of date knowledge wise on that. There are new tires on the back so they are going to rotate, to do the alignment. Anyway anyone with a 2016 might should keep this issue in mind.
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Junior User
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 74
Likes: 0
Just to clarify something the dampener is not needed if all your steering components are working properly and in good condition. All of dampener does is help reduce any jarring in the steering wheel when you hit a pothole for example. A dampener going out does not take out a ball joint. You will see many trucks out there with dual stabilizers/ dampeners many drivers use it as a Band-Aid because they don’t want to fix what’s actually wrong with the truck or it’s just cheaper to do a steering stabilizer/dampener.
Lead Driver
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 7,093
Likes: 147
From: San Diego, CA
Nope. It's there as an aid as Colorado350 said. Mine takes a beating as a rock magnet when I'm off-roading.
It's a heavy truck and that takes a toll on components regardless of how stout they are. I've read of ball joints going out after 10K miles.
I don't know of anything external that would cause a ball joint to go bad short of poor installation or driving abuse (e.g. rough off-roading, hopping curbs).
It's a heavy truck and that takes a toll on components regardless of how stout they are. I've read of ball joints going out after 10K miles.
I don't know of anything external that would cause a ball joint to go bad short of poor installation or driving abuse (e.g. rough off-roading, hopping curbs).
Mountain Pass
Joined: Feb 2018
Posts: 134
Likes: 5
All my fords except F-450s that have a fully greasable front axle go bad around 75k which really sucks .
Laughing Gas
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 969
Likes: 30
I always run my tires at a lower pressure WHEN UNLOADED. There's absolutely no reason to run max psi (as indicated on the sticker) unless you're running at max capacity. Unless you're trying to get a new set of tires a little quicker. Manufacturers try to make things dummy proof so they're only gonna our one pressure. They can't rely on some average joe to change pressures depending on loads so they just recommend the max and you're good to go.
I run 48 up front and 32 out back on my 15 6.7.
I run 48 up front and 32 out back on my 15 6.7.
Mountain Pass
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 189
Likes: 7
I agree if your going threw the work to pull the the steering knuckle out just do both , The Factory ball joints suck from factory and seen guys do just one and disturbing the second one usually causes it to go bad .
All my fords except F-450s that have a fully greasable front axle go bad around 75k which really sucks .
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Junior User
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 74
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Well as I said the two service managers were not tech savy and misled me a bit. It wasnt a ball joint they replaced it was track bar ball joint. I'm not even sure what that is. I was told it's part of the rack and pinion. They did replace the dampner though. The paper work said it was "weak." Whatever that means lol. Feels much better while driving now
Laughing Gas
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 969
Likes: 30
Originally Posted by Celtictexan
Wow that's getting low. You don't experiance any handling issues, or anything like that?
Tuned
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 267
Likes: 31
I run 60 front/45 rear on my 2001 (empty) and it works well for me. I have 285s on the stock wheels and if I ran max pressure the tires would be very "domed". They still don't run as flat as they should. I need wider wheels, but it's not bad.
More Turbo
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 616
Likes: 13
From: Ofallon Mo
Well as I said the two service managers were not tech savy and misled me a bit. It wasnt a ball joint they replaced it was track bar ball joint. I'm not even sure what that is. I was told it's part of the rack and pinion. They did replace the dampner though. The paper work said it was "weak." Whatever that means lol. Feels much better while driving now
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Junior User
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 74
Likes: 0
Yeah writers would be more correct in this case. But in my past experience writers had to be knowledgeable too.