I did my ball joints this week ('04 F350 4x4), this is the second time I have done this in same number of trucks. This one tested my vocabulary skills and patience to the extent!

Has any one had issus getting the inner ESOF seal to seat properly on the drive shaft?

I made up the driver per the write up and ended up ruining one seal with it. I ended up having to make another driver that bottomed out on the axle shoulder and stayed within the outer portion of the seal so as not the bend the seal when driving it onto the shoulder of the axle. Even with this new driver, I was uable to get the seal flush with the top of the axle shoulder without a very large amount of persuassion. Even then I was defroming the inner area of seal to get it flush. I dont know how the factory driver differs, but I don't know of any other way the seal could have been installed.

I was not able to get the snap ring on the axle unless this seal was flush to the shoulder on the axle. We finally ended up assmebling the axle to the hub and installing it into the truck. Of course it had to be the passenger side that is the heaviest. I believe that I do not have any interferences within the hub but that seal just didnt install right.

Is there variation in the width of the bearing assembly that could be causing this tight of a fit? With the other seals I installed this was not an issue.

I did notice upon the original disassembly that there were signs of prior metal to metal contact on the bearing hub to something. The axle and seal had no visible signs of wear though.

Since the rebuild, I now have a small vibration that that is constant so I am concerned that I have bearing issues on the drivers side, go figure.

Any helpful comments would be appreciated, thanks.

'77

 

Grease it before you put it in. It has to be flush with the knuckle.

 

Both of my local AdvanceAuto's now loan the correct, expanded balljoint press kit (they used to have the same kit as AutoZone) .. which worked well for me.

I never buy parts at Advance or AutoZone, but they still let me use their tools. So, I buy fluids and filters from them.

 

First off Thanks to Racerguy and all others that posted there tricks on how to go about this job! Idid my bj's about a month ago on my 03 135K and all in all it went fairly well with the usual stuck this or that. One problem i am left with is an ABS lite on the dash its been on since the repair, i cleaned the sensors off and reinstalled no problem has anybody else ran across this? I hate annoying dash lites! and the ABS seems to be working fine(tested in wet rush hour traffic) i also still have a bumping noise coming from the front end i was thinking sway bar bushings? Thank's again for the insight and any comments.

 

Another thing i wanted to share. My ball joints were replaced once by the dealer before. On the first side I had a hell of a time getting the knuckle to drop out of the lower ball joint. I figured it was due to the too small pickle fork from Autozone, which I am sure it partially was. Once I got it out the ball joint shaft was all dinged up. i figured it was from the pickle fork. Upon further inspection it looks like the guy who did them before me had staked the inside of the C's and the ball joints to keep them from spinning. Sure enough the other side was the same way. Needless to say I had to sand down all the divots the knucklehead put in there. Mine did want to spin when tightening but I just used the floor jack trick and it worked like a charm.

 

This was the thread that gave me the confidence to do the job.

Thanks alot Racerguy!!!

Here's a write-up I did with helpful hints and links to helpful websites:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...ml#post7674608

 

I also could not get the knuckle seal on. I finally just tried to draw the hub down on the knuckle to push it on, I torqued it to 133 ftlbs and then removed it to check it. the seal was not on all the way. Why not?

 

Did you make the tool needed? Works everytime

 

Before I tackled the job of replacing the ball joints, I did ALOT of research and found that individuals who crafted the homemade seal driver tool had to do more than just screw pieces of pipe together... most had to grind or use a lathe to get the piece the correct diameter.

Not wanting to spend my time fabricating the tool, I found this for $60... what's so great about it is it drives the seal to the correct depth... no guessing. Heres a pic and the link to it.





http://www.toolsource.com/vacuum-sea...-p-100397.html



Also, link to my write-up from my above post (#343) for more helpful hints and numerous links to other ball joint replacement "how to do's".

 

I just made the tool for about $17 at Lowe's (for some reason Home Depot does not sell 1-1/4" galvanized pipe) and had it turned down for free (machine shop does a lot of military contract work and hooked me up).

I'm going to tackle this tomorrow (and maybe Sunday too, but hopefully not) and I have one question:

What did you guys find worked best to clean off all the rust, dirt and grime off all the parts? I was thinking of using some fine emery cloth for the inside of the knuckle and the ball joint sleeves. I wanted to kind of clean up the front end and bring back some of the black to the knuckles, axle housing and everything else while I had it up and torn apart. I figured that since I'm replacing all the steering linkages (both drag links, both tie rod ends, both adjustment tubes) along with the ball joints I'd like it all to look nice again (to match my new front springs that are black too).

Any good recommendations for solvents, cleaners, etc.? I'm going to go crazy with the PB Blaster tonight so that it has a chance to penetrate before tomorrow morning.

Thanks for any info.

 

One of the first things I would get is the 3 jaw puller... OMG that is the #1 time saver... Make the seal install tool and grab some brake cleaner and green and blue scotch bright pads and clean away... Mine is great, but must have a bad bearing or something as I am still getting the popping in the left front. Good luck and have fun.

Also thanks to everyone that has posted help on this job....

Doc.

 

Did mine over the weekend.

It's night and day to drive it now (and I haven't even got an alignment yet). The wander is gone and the slop is all but eliminated (there's a little left, but it's a big truck and a new Redhead steering box wasn't in the budget this time).

I spent 8 hrs on Saturday and 8 hrs on Sunday. Yes, I could have done it quicker, but in my defense I was also replacing all my steering components from the pitman arm to the knuckles as well (both drag links and both tie rod ends). I tried to save them as best I could for spares, but I eventually had to give in and pickle fork the pitman arm to inner drag link joint (not enough room to get a puller in there and have it hold onto the link).

I had a copy of almost every write-up done on ball joints and used some portion of almost every one. Things I learned:

1. Steering knuckles don't line up well on a 12 ton press, so stand off to the side when pressing ball joints in/out (don't ask, the safety violations rose at the same rate as my frustration). At the end of it all, ball joints were swapped and there were no broken/severed appendages. It was a win/win (now I can look back with a sigh of relief and crack a smile).

2. Make the tool. It was perfect! I can't imagine doing it any other way (or paying $$$ for a special tool). About $17 at Home Depot and a quick stop at a local machine shop with a metal lathe and I was in business.

3. If you are replacing the axle seal (the one that requires the special tool), set aside some time to get it off. After several jaw pullers, I gave up and used a chisel and banged the cr@p out of it with a small sledge. It took me almost an hour to get both seals off (use that hammer to reshape the metal shield piece back to somewhat of it's original form).

4. Don't forget to put the dust shield on when you put the hub back on the knuckle!

5. Don't forget to put the dust shield on the correct way when you put the hub back on the knuckle!

At first glance, it may seem like steps 4 and 5 are the same. They are not! I do not want to discuss how many times (2) I had to pull the hub back off...

Thanks to everybody who took the time to take pictures, write it up or comment on how it went for them. Without this thread, I can't imagine how long it would have taken me.

Thanks again. And a special thanks to Racerguy for starting this thread almost 7 years ago...

 

I'm surprised. Using the floor jack, I just jacked it up until it started to lift the truck and everything worked fine (I definitely applied some pressure).

Good luck and let us know what you did to solve your problem. I would recommend not tack welding. People have reported poor handling from improper ball joint torquing. I followed the torquing sequence and all is well. I don't even notice any tightness that people have written of either. The sequence is:

1. Torque the lower ball joint to 35 ft-lbs (this will stop the rotation of the ball joint also).

2. Torque the upper ball joint to 69 ft-lbs and install cotter pin (if the hole doesn't line up with the castellated nut, tighten until the hole lines up to put the pin through...DO NOT loosen the nut for this).

3. Torque the lower ball joint to 150 ft-lbs.

This sequence is for the OEM Motorcraft ball joints and for the Moog ball joints. I followed these instructions and I have no issues with steering, wander or tightness.

 

One of my lower ones did that and I just used an old scissor jack with not alot of pressure and it worked like a charm.

 

I tried everything from low pressure to high pressure, still got nothing. Even the 1/2 drive, running 120 PSI wasn't doing the trick, at this point I guess I am stuck. Thanks to everyone for the input.

Also, I did follow the instruction on the MOOG instruction sheet, which is exactly as Brian has posted.