A shop is telling me that my 2000 F-250 Super Duty needs upper ball joints to the tune of $800. Is there anyway to check them to see whether or not that they are really worn out. The shop moved the wheel vertically up and down, and said that if the upper ball joint was OK the wheel wouldn't move up and down.

 

Thats sounds about right. If you jack it up and grab the tire, one hand on top one on bottom, and push and pull in and out there should not be any play back and fourth.

 

dealer i used charged ford 972 to replace all 4 front ball joints, and a hub/bearing assy, parts, and labor.......dealer rate is 95 bux an hour customer pay, not sure what they charge ford per hour.....but your estimate seems VERY, VERY high for only 2 ball joints..


i would want to know what parts cost is, how many hours the book says this operation takes, and what the hourly rate is, then do the math yourself, and see where you are gettin screwed.

 

Sounds about right. Make sure that includes doing the lower ones at the same time. Usually if the upper or lower ones are done then the other ones are on their way out soon too.

You are lucky they lasted this long. At work we are having to replace them on our 2004 SuperDutys. But they also carry 700-800 pound plows on the front in the winter.

-Matt

 

Problem is that its the same amount of labor. And like someone else said. Do all four at once instead of only doing the two. All you are paying for is the parts. Usually the lowers go before the uppers though.

 

$800, really isn't that bad. I recently did all 4 balljoints myself and it cost 363.88 for the parts not including seals at $19-20 ea. I didn't replace the hubs but priced them at $254.00 ea. for a grand toatal of $871.88, Minus seals and misc. stuff. Granted all the parts were from the dealer but still expensive werever you go.

 

I did all four of mine for about $600.00. this was upper and lower ball joints, new hub seals, new axle seals, new rotors left and right, and new front brake pads. do a search for ball joints. there is a post here with all the napa and ford part numbers. the dealer told me that this job was 6.5 hour of book time. I did it in 6 hours myself. just do it yourself, save the cash and get that great feeling of accomplishment

kenzmad

 

Here is a copy of my previous post and the link to the entire thread - hope it helps. Good luck.

Link: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=354091

Copied Post:

Ok, I finished my front end project and it took as long to find the parts as it did to complete the project (about 6 hours each - I worked slow and spent A LOT of time cleaning parts). For those wondering, I am not a mechanic (though I am mechanically inclined) and I have never touched this truck or any other Ford vehicle in the past. I didn't know what a ball joint, knuckle, U-joint, axle stub, or thrust washer was when I started. A huge thanks go to Racer and Fortyfords for their help throughout the project (and after).

Following is what I know regarding part numbers and prices - I hope this helps others avoid the same pain I endured finding parts. Everything I know is listed below - if it is not listed, I do NOT know. I used all Ford parts except the ball joints - I used NAPA for these. I'm told Ford now has greasable ball joints, but none of the dealers who gave me part numbers had them in stock.

Also, my 1999 F350 4x4 is a 1999.5 (I was just told that may make a difference in the parts needed - I'm happy to have the 'edit' button when posting).


Wheel Bearing:
Ford # C6tZ-3123-A $9.30 each
NAPA # B2110 $6.42 each

Small Knuckle Seal or "Dust Seal"
Ford # F81Z-1S175-HCA $15.46 each
NAPA # 21918 $8.99 each
National #710413 $7.84 each

Large Knuckle Seal or "Oil Seal" (pressed on with special tool)
Ford #F81Z-3254-CB $26.54 each
NAPA N/A N/A

Hub Assembly Seal (small yellow seal)
Ford #F81Z-4A322-AA $3.48 each
NAPA N/A N/A

Upper Ball Joint
NAPA #260-1248 $30.44 each

Lower Ball Joint
NAPA #260-1395 $48.69 each

Auto-Lock Hub
Ford #1C3Z-3B396-CA $279.00 each


I purchased my auto-lock hubs on ebay (new - still sealed in plastic) for $250 with shipping. My Ford dealer wanted $558.32 for the pair. Either way, the new hubs came with new o-ring seals, so I didn't need to buy these (and don't have numbers or prices). If my math is correct, this brings my total parts cost to $517.00 (my dealer wanted about $1,500).

For the ball joints, I "purchased" a press kit from Autozone for about $110, but it really works as a deposit. I returned the kit the next day (although they said I could keep it for up to 90 days) and they fully refunded my money to the last penny - a free rental in the end.

I made my own seal press for the large knuckle seal using 3 steel pipe pieces from lowes - $15.26 total amount spent and 3 minutes to assemble pieces.

I hope this helps everyone else doing this job.

 

Great information guys. Thanks.

BolderKeith

 

the local merlins will do mine (uppers and lowers) for 430.00