I need to replace the ball joints on my 96f150. (reg cab, 8'bed, 4.9l) Not looking forward to it, but its time. I have been looking on line as well as the local jobbers and there are plenty out there. I normally use NAPA parts on the 96, my jobber said they would go to the top shelf as far as their product line is concerned, since I only want to do this once. Anyone do this recently? Any procedure advise or brand selection you may be able to offer. Advance auto has moog with 25% off which gives me about the same price as the NAPA's. (?) Appreciate hearing your thoughts and experiences. Thanks in advance

 

Advance will match prices for rockauto. Just fyi.

I replaced mine 2 month or so ago. Since I am a total noob I ran into several issues/made several mistakes. First I had difficulties selecting the correct sleeves/adapters with the press I rented. Plus I thought I could just use a ratchet to press out the old ball joints. I ended up doing a Home Depot run to buy an impact. What I also didn't realize that the new ball joints (I bought Moogs) came dry. Oh, and pay attention to the correct order when you press the new ball joints in.

 

Make sure you get greaseable versions. That should help with longevity. Though my originals have 110K miles on my '95 and still tight. Lucky I guess?

Sometimes you'll find that one supplier makes them for numerous brands. So the only thing different is the box. Kinda like batteries. It's a black plastic box with someone's sticker on it.

 

Freightrain, what brand did you buy? There is a sure difference in price and I’m sure there is a big difference in quality as well. Many brands I have never heard of, but that doesn’t mean a lot either!

 

I've used Moog, XRF, and Duralast. One set of Moog lasted over 100k miles, but the next didn't make nearly as long. Duralast made it as long as the second set of Moog. XRF made it 40k and the now uppers have a tiny amount of play, but they've had the roughest life by far with heavier wheel/tire, gvwr most of the time, and lots of off road. They're still serviceable but on the list of things to do.

Seems to me greasing regularly and the use makes the difference more than anything.

 

i have read on line that the Moog are not the quality they once were. Did you have trouble getting the old ball joints out? A friend of mine soaked the bell joints with blaster for s few days prior then uses a round head bit on his air chisel to push them out and the press to install.

How is are you checking the ball joints for looseness. I have the wheel a few inches above ground and a bar between tire and concrete then rock to check for looseness. May or may not be correct.

 

I haven't bought ball joints for a few years. My present truck is still in good standing with originals. My last truck, '89 I went through a few sets as they were shorted lived. Can't recall anything about them, unfortunately(too long ago).
Finding even most "good" USA brands are just foreign built junk. Just paying for the name?

 

It’s tough trying to find quality My local parts jobber summed it up pretty well. He said,,,“We have foreign built parts and better foreign built Parts, we don’t stock any good foreign built parts”

 

That method of checking works. I've also just grabbed the wheel/tire at 6 & 12 o'clock and rocked it to detect play before. Just make sure what play you feel is ball joint, and not wheel bearing.

Difficulty of ball joint removal varies. How rusty is the truck? I've done it with a hydraulic press and a big C-clamp style press (ball joint press rented from Orielly).

The first time you tear into the front end, plan on it taking a while. Check out Full Size Bronco for detailed procedure write ups, there's a few really good ones over there. I know I wrote one up years ago too on here.

 

I think that’s the reason my friend gives them a daily bath of PC Blaster. NAPA has a unit I can rent, may go that approach.

When you say go to full size Bronco for a good write up, is that a web site?

 

If you have a harbor freight near you, think about picking up the ball joint separator (item #99849). I had a ball joint that was stuck in the tapered bore on the I-beam... beat it with a hammer, air hammer + pickle fork and it didn't budge. Popped the separator on it, tightened it some, hit the knuckle with a hammer, tighten more, hit, repeat a few times and it finally let go. You shouldn't just tighten down the separator until the ball joint lets go... tighten & smack the knuckle (look for videos on youtube showing how to use it).

The lower ball joint nut is huge -- I had to buy a special socket for it.

One of my upper ball joint pinch bolts was seized into the I-beam. I had to cut it in half and press it out.

I used Moog ball joints and have no complaints.

The C-clamp ball joint press works, but requires A LOT of muscle. An impact would be very helpful.

All that said, it wasn't a miserable job and took me about 4 hours (not including trips to HF and Autozone for tools). Definitely beats paying hundreds of dollars in labor for someone else to do it.

 

Thanks so much Mark! That’s some great info.

I do have an HF close by, for that price, I’m going to pick it up in case I need it. Do you remember what size socket you had to pick up?

how did you get the pinch bolt out of the I beam? I hope to soak them pretty well with PB Blaster for a few days before I start on it. I never even though of that happening. My 96 set for a long time and the front suspension looks pretty rusty.so I would appreciate any more info you might be able to share.

Thanks again for the help and sharing the information.

 

Buy a MAPP gas torch. It'll make your life easier and you can use it on anything rusted. It gets hotter than the propane torch.

When I saw how well it freed an O2 sensor that rusted stuck for 25 years...WOW!

 

I cut the bolt in half with a hack saw and used a press to push out the side that was seized. One half came out with pliers, other half had to be pressed out. I have the HF 12-ton hydraulic press which I used for this task. I used a C-clamp press for the actual ball joints though since it would be hard to get the knuckle positioned on the hydraulic press. Hopefully you won't find any seized bolts.

I should be more clear about the socket -- it wasn't "special" ...just oversized compared to what came in my socket set(s). I don't remember the sizes off the top of my head. I want to say the OEM castle nut was SAE and the Moog was metric though.

Regarding the MAPP torch, if you go this route don't heat the I-beam up... it has a warning cast into the side that says "do not heat or bend".

 

I have been spraying the 96, f150 with pb blaster with hopes that it might soak into the metal to metal contact surfaces and make the removal of the Ball Joints a little easier. I had planned to start tearing her down today. However. with the vehicle resting comfortably in the shop and the tire off the ground and my hands at 3 and 9 O'clock on the outside of the tire I get no movement. With my hands at 6 and 12 O'clock I get no movement. So I used a fulcrum, with a 4' long lever under the tire and I get a little bit of movement and a slight clicking sound on the driver sides. To be honest I hear the clicking more than see any movement. On the passenger side, using the same fulcrum and lever, I get no clicking out of it and I don't think any movement. None that I can see or feel. No movement could be felt while "rocking" the wheel when I hold my fingers on the ball joint of each respective tire/wheel assembly. Looking at the ball joints it looks like the drivers side ball joints are the originals, I say that only because they have no grease fittings. The passenger side has grease fitting in both upper and lower ball joints. Both sides are very clean and the rubber boots look like they are in great shape.
With the wheels off the ground and using the same fulcrum and lever I had someone try to "rock" the wheels vertically, while I was underneath watching the I beam axle pivot bushings for each side. I see no movement nor could I feel any movement. Now, I'm not sure that my ball joints are actually bad. At least, they don't appear to be bad based upon my test above.

To me it would appear that no movement when rocking 3 and 9, would indicate the tie rod ends are tight. Also when rocking at 6 and 12, and no movement or at least slight movement indicates the ball joints are tight. What are your thoughts? Are the Ball Joints actually bad or only have minimal wear and I need not to install new ball joints immediately. I was sure ball joints was the cause of the dreaded clunking sound I hear up front. Now, not so much!

Appreciate you thoughts and help!!