Ball Joints Replacement?
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Freshman User
Joined: Jun 1999
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Ball Joints Replacement?
1987 F-150XL, 302EFI, 2-wheel drive, wide tires.
I jacked up the truck last night and was able to move my tires on both sides of the truck from side to side at least one inch. I went under the truck and did this and noticed that at the end of the tie rods there is a ball stud as my haynes manual calls it. They are totally worn out it appears to me with a lot of play in them. Are these ball joints? What would a shop charge me to replace them? Thanks for any help.
I jacked up the truck last night and was able to move my tires on both sides of the truck from side to side at least one inch. I went under the truck and did this and noticed that at the end of the tie rods there is a ball stud as my haynes manual calls it. They are totally worn out it appears to me with a lot of play in them. Are these ball joints? What would a shop charge me to replace them? Thanks for any help.
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Ball Joints Replacement?
Those are ball joints (also called tie rod ends). Have those and the center link replaced asap else your tires will get trashed. Don't know what they would charge you to replace them but it's an easy do-it-yourself job (may require a tie rod end seperator tool, but they're cheap). However, you'll have to pay for an alignment after you replace everything. Get it done right away, it'll drive so much better.
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Joined: Jul 1999
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Ball Joints Replacement?
Ball Joints & Tie Rods are TWO seperate parts . The Tie Rod is connected to the Spindle , Ball Joints are what the Spindle pivots on ( Left & Right Movement ) First identify what part is actually faulty before you replace it . To check the Ball Joints , Jack the vehicle up , Grasp the tire at the top & bottom positions and see if any play is present at both the upper & lower Ball Joints .
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Ball Joints Replacement?
I don't have play when I grasp the tire at top and bottom, but I have quite a bit of play when I grasp the tire on the left and right side. It appears to me that the ball studs at the end of the tie rod are separate parts of the tie rod and could be replaced as such?
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Ball Joints Replacement?
Thanks for all the help. I took the truck to my favorite mechanic and he is replacing the tie rod ends for me.
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