Any tips/tricks to replacing BJs on a RWD F250?

I was getting some rumble sounds and wobble. I suspected wheel bearings. I had replaced the front left about a year ago. I now replaced the right. But when I wiggled the tire, the play had not changed. The right side is worse than the left but both have play in the upper BJ.

Any tips/videos appreciated. I've done a 4WD Excursion, but not a RWD. Easier?

 

Any brand model recommendations?

I put greaseable Moogs on the excursion
Would Moog greaseable K80027 and 28 ok?

 

I've done an 04 F250 RWD and 2000 Excursion RWD using this guys 3 part videos.


I used MOOG for the 04 back in 2015 before I got wind of their quality not being what it used to be and then XRF for the Ex in 2020.

 

Do I take a shot on these? Generally, on parts like this I don't cheap out. Too much labor to save $50 on parts.

 

Who makes the best ball joints?

 

XRF has a million mile warranty and has been getting a lot of praise of recent years. Kryptonite has also been floating around this forum with good reviews from members. Can't go wrong sticking with Spicer as well.

 

Depending where you get them, Moogs are good, ebay or amazon maybe not. A solid place like Napa they'll be real and not knockoffs. I've been using Mevotech premiums or whatever from Rockauto, they've been good and solid. Kryptonite is supposed to be solid too.

RWD I'd say is much easier than a 4wd, much shorter anyways in time. You'll need a press or a ball joint press tool to get the joints out and new ones in. Also get a set of double adjustable eccentrics so they can dial in your alignment perfect. Think about doing springs, shocks, sway bar bushings while your in there and its exposed. Check tie rods and center pivot bushings too

 

I'll look over the other components. Good point. The eccentrics - where are those purchased?

 

Eccentrics or alignment cams are orderable where ever you get the ball joints from. you want the +/- 2 dual adjustment set. Then have a bit of fun finding a alignment shop that KNOWS what the fudge their doing with a ford setup. SOOOOO many shops are just stupid and lazy on our trucks. I'd force the issue by installing the duals when you do the ball joints, otherwise the lazy SOB is just going to twist the existing fixed cam until it "looks good" and you end up with camber and caster that's close but no cigar. Said it before, ask the tech to see the 0/0 starter bushings, if he has no idea what your talking about, he has no idea how to truly align your truck. To be done right they pop out your old eccentrics and "trash them" / put them in saved storage for later use if they're right for another truck and install the 0/0 starter eccentrics, they then shoot a baseline to find out what degrees of camber and caster are needed so the proper eccentrics with those adjustments can be found in the saved pile or ordered. They then install the new eccentrics and shoot it again to verify its right, maybe give them a small twist/tweak for fine adjustment, then tighten the pinch bolt and your good. The dual eccentrics have all the adjustments, so after they shoot the 0/0 the consult the chart and setup the duals to the settings, shoot it again and easily tweak them into perfection. That's if the alignment kid knows what the hell they are and how they work. If the tech is young you probably should just keep going. I have the best luck with a shop that does medium and heavy duty trucks, they seem to have experience with 450 & 550s and know the deal.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...vzUQYYAT4ayBi0

 

Excellent info!
The Mevotech's don't seem to last long on Amazon. Had some in the cart last night. Gone today! Only 1 lower is now available. My Excursion wore tires extremely well, so I assume my alignment was good. On the F250 I have not had it long enough to know. The Mevotech prices are fine. I sort of prefer Amazon in case of a return.

 

I prefer Mevotech over Moogs. The last time Moog was good for me was 2010. The steering was tight and it lasted awhile. Things aren't what they used to be, so I've switched to Mevotech's TTX line. These were designed for the Canadian Oil fields so they were designed to last.

 

​​​Thanks. The TXTs are 27 and $32, which is only a tad over Moog.

 

My take is greaseables are unnecessary even in ball joints. Put in a quality non-greaseable and you're set for a LONG time.

If you do get a greaseable make sure there's a provision for the grease to escape -- many just "blow out" the boot and that makes zero sense to me.

With a quality boot, where exactly is that initial grease gonna go???

Exceptions might be boat ramps or axles that are regularly submersed

 

That's always bothered me too. On my exc with Moog greaseables I only get to the bottom ones. I pump in just enough to see the boot bulge. Maybe 2-3 pumps. But it does beg the question, where does the grease go? It's not high speed like a wheel bearing.

 

Can anyone please share the torque specs for
upper ball joint
lower
Tie rod
Brake mount bolts
Or share how to find torque specs in general

Also that video posted above is good but a few things
- the rotor can stay on BUT it's heavy!
- breaking the bj taper can be much more difficult. After hours of pounding and prying, hitting it with a propane torch finally seemed to help
- finding the right combo of cups and caps can be tricky when pressing the bjs out. Some short pieces of pipe and flat metal come in handy