I have a 2000 F250 (diesel)that has been an excellent work truck since I've owned it. I use it for hauling material, pulling a trailer and plowing snow in the winter. However, the one problem I've had is with the front ball joints. They were replaced under warranty(both upper and lower ball joints) in Nov/2002 (32,000 miles) because they would make a creaking sound when going over bumps. They have fine been up to a week ago when I noticed a creeking sound again, but this time only when turning (now at 52,000 miles). It only comes from the driver side.

I brought it into the dealer today and was told that the driver side upper and lower ball joints would have to be replaced again (this time it's out of warranty - cost= $750.00 CDN). The service guy said that they aren't loose, nor is it a danger to drive like this; but the sound is terrible. The dealer was unable to explain what the problem is, just that they need replacing.

My fear is that the last time they were replaced, the hub nuts were seized and whole hub assemblies had to be replaced (again, under warranty) and the service tech couldn't guarantee that this would happen again, but this time I'd have to pay for them if it did happen.

My questions are: is there any option other than replacing them the ball joints? Is this a common problem with this model?

Thanks.

Raf

 

The snow plow is responsible for a lot of the extra wear on the ball joints and tie rod ends. If you run chains it is even worse. I never get more than two years out of mine on my 86.

Sounds like we are in the same business as that is what mine does all the time also.

The greasable ball joints do last just a little longer, and I do mean little. Sounds like the greasable ones could fix the problem you are having now with just noise.

 

Try to get them to charge you flat rate what the book says. they should be able to do one side in 3 hours or less..I can in 2 hours or less. Its not a big job..tools knowledge etc..Use moog balljoints they are heavyduty and lifetime warr..ford units are junk. Sorry you are going through this again.
Welcome to the FORD SD place to get answers.. good price would be $300 US

 

samething on my 2000 350, talked to a friend at ford who also said that they were junk. I just put grease fittings in mine and am looking foward to our late night driveway date sometime in the future.
You said you have a hub nut on yours,hmmm. after I pulled my rotors all I had to do was remove the retaining clip pull the remainder of the hud out and yanked those drive shafts right out.
Now these were manual lock hubs but the whole process was not to hard.
Oh yeah you will need to press those out some how. pep boys loan a tool program our just take it to a corner garage and have them do it on the side. Alot easier this way

 

This was one of the things I talked about with my service tech the other day.
I quizzed him on the longevity of the ball joints on Superduty's. He fully acknowledged that there is definetly a problem associated with them. He felt that it's a vender problem as Dodge trucks are going through them just as fast. Perhaps even faster than Ford.
Looks to me that the company who makes the ball joints for Ford, Dodge, and probably even Chevy got a good contract, then went about screwing them and us.
This screw the consumer mentality seems to be rampant.

Rich

 

Thanks for the advice folks and thanks for the welcome 99F350!

A couple of points: (1)the dealer is charging me 4.25 hours for the job, plus $45CDN for the inspection. (2) I have Electronic shift on the fly.

I will look into replacing the original parts with Moog parts. Also, I think I will do this repair after the snow season, since the joints are not loose, they're just noisy, what do you guys think about that?

Raf

 

You can get a needle oiler and oil the Sob's to keep em quiet for now. Be creative.

 

99F350, where exactly do I inject the oil? I know this sounds alitttle dumb but I'm not the most mechanically inclined guy.

I sprayed some graphite lube around the joints but it didn't work. I guess the lube didn't penetrate inside the joint.

Thanks again for your response.

Raf

 

poke a hole in the rubber boot.

 

Boot? The only thing I see is a thick rubber bushing, sort of like an o-ring. Is this where you mean?

Raf

 

I think 99 meant to say a grease needle ,not oil .

99 I'm not trying to step on your reply,just a little clairification

you want to use a good water proof type graese that won't wash away .poke a small hole in the boot opsite the brake rotors so you don't have a chance of getting grease on you brake components

Suggestion take the weight of the ball joint when doing this it helps to get the grease in the joint.

I have an explorer right now which i'm trying to get through the winter right now with this action taken .will be fixed in the spring !

Good luck in trying to get Ford to put in other parts than theirs

Rich

 

Rich, again I'm not sure where I should poke the hole. A "boot" as I know it something like you'd find around a tie-rod joint. This is not what I see at the ball joints. I see a thick rubber "ring-like" thing. Am I missing something or this what you and 99F350 are talking about poking a hole in?

Raf

 

I thought using oil would work to quiet the noise. He's not concerned about longevity FF..Oil might quiet it but grease might not get in there enough..

The rubber around there is the boot. just like tierod ends.

 

My right one was making a real bad squeaking noise whenever i turned. I took WD40 and sprayed ALOT on the upper/lower ball joints on both sides. Just spray the "thick rubber thing" and everything around it. (don't spray near the brakes).

It got rid of the noise for me, but i took my truck to be aligned after getting new BFG Mud Terrains and the guy told me the right ball joing is bad. Not bad enough to warrant fixing right away, just bad.

Oh yeah, the shop only wants $150 labor plus $50 for each greasable ball joint! Sounds good to me.

 

I'm sorry to bring this up yet again but I definitely need clarification on this issue. Is the boot on a tie rod end look exactly like the boot on an upper or lower ball joint on my 250? Because if it is supposed too, on mine it definitely doesn't.

The boot on the tie rod end is a bulbous, thin piece of rubber, about 1/2" high. The "boot" on the ball joint is made of much thicker rubber and is about 1/4" high. It is tightly rapped around the metal. Is this correct or am I missing an actual boot that covers this area??

Please bare with me, as I know the answers to these questions are obvious to most readers.

Raf