View Poll Results: Have you replaced your ball joints?
once
104
35.49%
more than once
19
6.48%
will be replacing soon
48
16.38%
have not replaced, zero problems
122
41.64%
Voters: 293. You may not vote on this poll
Ball joint poll
Tuned
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 493
Likes: 13
From: Aurora, Iliinois
My loweres went WAY bad a little over a year ago with 60,000 miles on it....since it was taken apart already I had the uppers replaced as well ...all with lifetime warranty ball joints. Hopefully these will last a while...lol
Scott
Scott
Elder User
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 772
Likes: 3
From: Mount Airy, MD
Mine went out at around 75K. I started noticing something was wrong when my steering wheel was getting very hard to turn while at a complete stop. Also, while standing in front of the truck the wheels were angled in at the top. But what really convinced me was when I took it to Ford to get it aligned. They couldn't do the job because the ball joints were so bad. They took me back in the shop while it was on the lift and showed me. I couldn't believe it, the tires moved around like crazy, top and bottom, the drivers side being the worst. What gets me though, is that as bad as the joints were I really didn't notice anything was going wrong while I was driving the truck. Ford quoted me some ridiculous price to replace them and I quickly told them no thanks. I did the job myself with replacement parts from NAPA and surprisingly it was a pretty easy job. The new joints have grease fittings which is nice.
Lead Driver
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 5,844
Likes: 5
From: Albuquerque
Originally Posted by MRFIESTAS
This seems to be a weak spot on these, verses the previous trucks, WHY is that ??
Originally Posted by MRFIESTAS
Oh I forgot , can anything be done to extend their life ?
The "YES" is doing no work with your truck. No heavy towing, payloads, and No lift kits with larger tires. Stay out of the mud...and snow. This will help the OEM ball joints last longer...JUST NOT PRACTICAL!
The "No" : They do not have grease fittings...so they are doomed from the start.
biz
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2003 F250 SD SC 142" XLT FX4 V10 Auto 4x4 3.73s
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Post Fiend
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 5,378
Likes: 3
From: nebraska
1. What kind off cost am I looking at to replace my balljoints if I do it myself. 2. A shopdoes it.
Is this something I can do myself with the proper tools or should I leave it alone.
4 grease zerks on the ball joints means ball joints last forever. The manufacturers off the ball joints must have told Ford leave the grease zerks out so we can sell ball joints. It would be nice to tap a grease zerk on the current joints to avoid repair. I wonder if this can be done. I have an old Ford car a 1988 Ford Mercury with over 200,000 miles an no ball joint repairs yet. But they have grease zerks. Do the new SDs have grease zerks have . My bet is no.
Is this something I can do myself with the proper tools or should I leave it alone.
4 grease zerks on the ball joints means ball joints last forever. The manufacturers off the ball joints must have told Ford leave the grease zerks out so we can sell ball joints. It would be nice to tap a grease zerk on the current joints to avoid repair. I wonder if this can be done. I have an old Ford car a 1988 Ford Mercury with over 200,000 miles an no ball joint repairs yet. But they have grease zerks. Do the new SDs have grease zerks have . My bet is no.
