upper ball joint replacement
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Senior User
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 164
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From: Cheswick, Pa.
upper ball joint replacement
'99 Ranger, 4x2, 3.0 liter, 79,000 miles. Just passed inspection but the shop suggests upper b j 's since tolerances are very close. Never had this done on any vehicle. Does this mean lowers will go soon? Do b j 's go out around this mileage usually? How much do the parts cost? What should I pay for the whole job at a shop? I put aftermarket shocks on a year ago. Would this cause any ill effects? Thanks.
Elder User
Joined: Jul 2005
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The upper ball joints is not a very labor intensive repair. Expect to pay about $125 per side for parts, and about 1 hour labor per side. You have to replace the upper control arm assembly, as the ball joints are built in.
Lowers on the other hand are just the opposite - $50-60 per side for part, 2 hours or so per side for labor.
There is no time saved by doing all 4 at once (unless you can convince the shop to give you a "volume" discount), so it's not any more cost effective to replace the lowers if they aren't bad. However, this is about the right mileage for the lowers to go bad as well. Ford allows up to 30 thousanths (0.030) inches of play in each ball joint, but from my experience you'll notive uneven tire wear and poor steering performance way before they get this bad. You might make sure they are checking the lowers properly by jacking the vehicle up from under the control arm to "unload" the joint before checking for play.
Hope this helps.
Lowers on the other hand are just the opposite - $50-60 per side for part, 2 hours or so per side for labor.
There is no time saved by doing all 4 at once (unless you can convince the shop to give you a "volume" discount), so it's not any more cost effective to replace the lowers if they aren't bad. However, this is about the right mileage for the lowers to go bad as well. Ford allows up to 30 thousanths (0.030) inches of play in each ball joint, but from my experience you'll notive uneven tire wear and poor steering performance way before they get this bad. You might make sure they are checking the lowers properly by jacking the vehicle up from under the control arm to "unload" the joint before checking for play.
Hope this helps.
Thread Starter
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Senior User
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 164
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From: Cheswick, Pa.
Thanks, Ranger Guy. The mechanic I talked to says he would push the old bj's out with a specialized tool that looks like a modified C-clamp. He would then press the new ones in with another tool. He never said the upper control arm had to be replaced. It doesn't go bad, does it? The labor quote I got is just as you said - 2 hours.
