never had a problem with the ball joints but had to replace the wheel bearings @ 82000,the 35's put a lot of stress on them i guess! or maybe its cause i drive it like i stole it! super duty is as the name implies.....the deno

 

Have a 2005 SD short bed dually originally purchased new and now with 33K miles. Loved the truck when first purchased but now??? First notice steering loosening up at 22K mile. This is a truck that was pampered, no plowing, no blazing back woods trails through the streams and rivers; all easy highway miles on it. At 32K miles both upper and lower joints on both sides had to be replaced due to abnormal tire wear. The tires were worn sooo bad that a dealer in Ohio recommended that they both be replace for safty. They had no reason for the ball joints wearing out so soon. Very diappointing for a SUPER DUTY truck "Built Ford Tough" ??

In contrast I have a 95 OLDS 88 with over 200K mi on the clock and still all original front end parts, orginal alignment. Front end tight and the tires still wear flat!! GM makes no boasting that the OLDS were "Built Tough". I guess thats why they're out of business?

 

Yeh thats one off the weak spots on the SD. For good reason money. Look at number off superduties on the road literally hundreds off thousands off them. Lots off U-joints lots off dealership repairs. Lots off money to be made. If you drive on a salt laden road in the wintertime. Its a guarantee your ball joints will not last long. Salt will eat through any seals an rust will start an that will be the end. Greasable ball joints will last a heck off a lot longer then nongreasable. If you have greasable ones. Jack up that front end take the pressure off those joints an the grease will go where its supposed too.

As quirky as it may sound when you are turning your superduty one direction ar another all the weight shifts to the opposite side your turning. If you could drive a superduty on dry roads year around an always sraight your ball joints would last a long time. But thats a fantasy world not real world.

 

mine were replaced at 12k.Not sure if if it was really needed.II took it in for a clunking noise and they told me it was the ball joints.Still have the noise.

 

All 4 replaced at 70K. Bottoms now have zerks but tops don't There gone again at 120K..............

 

99 F350 @ 111,000 miles, took the truck into Firestone for a routine check of the alignment, they said I had bad lower ball joints, but....when they showed me the movement the weight was off the wheels, and he was using a 3 foot pry bar to show me a 1/4" of lateral of play. When I checked with Ford they said this was the way these guys get you to have after market stuff done that doesn't really need it. Ford said, bring it in and we'll check them, if they are bad you can have who ever you want do the work.

 

wfmcbride --

Let us know what the dealer finds...


Thanks!
biz

 

17k and still tight as day one , added zerks to the ball joints the same day I brought the truck home ! , always used Mobil 1 syn. grease .

 

03 f350 srw all 4 at 85k

 

Lower right was found bad at about 67, 000

I went and changed all four using NAPA's best quality.

New ones came with grease fittings, though I had to grind down one so the axle could spin.

 

2004 RWD F-250 Crew Cab, 5.4L V8. 44,000 miles. Ball joints going bad, no towing, no off-road, just typical Michigan roads and weather. Symptoms just started two weeks ago, I noticed a noise when turning the wheels at low speed. At first the noise was only in one direction, now both. And it seems to be temperature dependant.

I called two local repair shops, the price to replace upper and lower ball joints, both sides and allign was between $540 and $570. I think I'm going to buy the special tools and do it myself. I just read the write up, does not seem too bad.

Mine is not four wheel drive, I assume(!) the axle is part of the knuckle and not a seperate part as in a 4X4?

 

Hi Biz, Will do.

What I forgot to mention the dealer said Ford allows for some play in the lower ball joints, I'll get all the details when they check them. The truck handles fine so I don't expect any blown out joints.
I'm having the brakes done Wednesday but not at the Stealership so it may be a week or two before I know about the joints.

 

2000 F350 7.3PSD auto dually 93000 getting them changed next week.

 

Left side only @ 73K under extended warranty

 

Back in mid-summer, I noticed that my '04 F250 4WD Lariat seemed to be riding rough and wasn't tracking very straight. This is my first Ford and my first 4x4 so I wondered if I was just being too particular. At the beginning of July, I had just reached 35K miles, so it never even occurred to me to consider the ball joints. I've had a very busy summer and I finally got a chance to get my truck into the shop for an alignment last Fri (Oct 27) at 28,400 miles. The shop manager called when he got it on the rack and said that the left upper ball joint, two lower ball joints, and the pitman/control-arm joint were worn out.
I was so stunned, I stuttered in reaction. He said he understands my shock, and that he has seen many low mileage Ford trucks in with bad ball joints. He said they're simply under-engineered for this application.
Looks like a $500 to $600 repair. I invested in the Superduty to avoid this very kind of early repair issue. I wouldn't mind if I were 5yrs/80K into ownership of this truck, but 2.5yrs/38k with bad balljoints is very disappointing. Is this what they mean by "Ford Tough"?
If I knew back in the summer that Ford puts junk ball joints in thier trucks I would've taken it in to the dealer then. But I thought it was just an alignment/balance issue and not a warranty issue.