anybody got an idea of how bad it is to change out ball joints on front end? think top joints bad cause wheels kind of lay in at top. is this a front yard repair or does it need to go to shop? have lots of tools, not sure if there's some specialty tool that would make it cost prohibitive. don't really want to do it, but tires starting to make really annoying whine with the windows down, and since the A/C don't work (locked compressor) REALLY need the open windows.
speedrdr

 

oh, yeah, forgot to mention, it's a '90 250 w/7.3 4x4 5-speed, if that makes any more sense.

speedrdr

 

they are not really that difficult to change, but you need to know what you are doing. off the top of my head the only real special tool that you need is a ball joint press. also it doesnt hurt to have a 1/2 impact gun and or a torch.

 

you used THOSE words that i hate to hear: "you need to know what you're doing." is that like "some assembly required "????? well, never done it before but never stopped me from doing something somewhat ignorant before. LOL don't have ball joint press but do have friend(?) who does. have both impact wrench AND torch. didn't know you could work on trucks without torch.....that would be a foreign concept to me.
thanks for info. might just jack up front end tomorrow and start disassembly since don't have to be anywhere for a few days.
speedrdr

 

you need to pull of the caliper and mounting bracket. then you have to pull the hubs off you need to remove the cover then there is a ring that you remove then the hubs come off. i think behind it there are some washers and things like that. then you need to pull the axle shafts out. then tie rod ends and then you can remove the nuts holding the ball joints on. the hit the top ball joint to pull the spindle from the truck then press out the old joints and press in the new ones. i would only use moog joints they are the best ones that i have seen and the last the longest and there greasable. there is a torque spec on the ball joints put i dont remember it. this is just a short run down i have not done them on an older truck in a while but the newer fords need them all the time and its a bit different

 

thanks browineboy525 for the info, but that's the short run down???? guess i'd better plan on more than two days and better get radiator back in son's truck so's i got a way around just in case Murphy strikes me in the project. BTW, are these upper arms loaded by a torsion bar? don't remember what it looked like when refurbished the front brakes.
changed from drum to disc front on VW beetle and the sucker liked to have made me cry trying to get the new ones in against the torsion bar pressure.
speedrdr

 

speedrdr,
You should have front leaf springs, no torsion bar.

Also the IFS front axle has that over loaded VW rear axle look.
Worn upper front spring shackle bushings make it look worse.

How much clearance do you have between the front bumper block and the axle, mine was sitting with about 5/8" clearance.
When I replaced the front springs, when I dropped the front shackle out of the frame the upper bushing was worn clear out and the bolt was riding on the metal shackle.
Just changing the shackle raised the front about 3/4" which changed the negative camber to almost neutral camber.

Also for what it is worth, to change the alignment on a 4x4 you have to change the bushing the top ball joint goes through. Since I have mine aligned every time I change the ball joints, I just have the alignment shop do it all at the same time. I also insist they set it to preffered alignment, not just within spec which is plus or minus several degrees.
It costs a little more, but the tire mileage pays for the difference shortly.
Mud tires are expensive and highway miles chew them up fast enough anyway even with a good alignment.

 

yeah, got the leaf springs. should have remembered from when i hit head on them last time crawled under there. still have a respectable amoun of clearance. looks to be about 2 inches, but haven't measured it yet.
and you're right, the 10 ply that i'm looking at are right at 680 a set of four installed, so don't want to screw that up to start with. thanks much for the added encouragement.
talked to the snap on guy today and he said that if it was worn out upper arm, just had to turn wheel to limit in one direction and unbolt stuff and hit it with a mallet and it would just fall out. not sure if that's perfect knowledge, but he is a wrench also, so will look into it unless y'all got better dope on disassembly.
speedrdr

 

There is no upper arm on a 4x4 front axle in a Ford.

The end of the axle housing has 2 ball joints that attach the spindle tree.
When you remove the spindle tree you have to knock both ball joints loose at the same time.

Sometimes they pop right out, then other times.....four letter word dictionary with supplements 1 through 4 is required along with a bigger hammer and torch.
Removing the ball joints goes about the same, pop right out sometimes but usually require more persuasion before they come out.

When I took mine apart, I usually replaced all 4 ball joints while I am in there.
Since I just swapped my 44 IFS to a Dana 60 last year, this is the first year that I did not have to replace the ball joints to pass inspection. I also did not have to replace the tie rod ends this year either.
45 dollar alignment, 20 dollar inspection, usually those two ran about 600 dollars with the 44 under the truck.

 

Those IFS are all about moving parts and wearing tires off. If your going to replace them do all 4 if you don't you will be back there in 6 months to do the rest. Usually I coerce people to find a D-60 and slap that back in. The cost a little stiff but basically trouble free there after and you keep your tires for about 3 times as long.

 

LOL, LOL, LOL. dave, i've got the BIG dictionary with more than four supplements. worked with an uncle for several years that had 12 years in navy and 12 years in air force so i got the "upgraded" vocabulary. he had a saying if it don't fit get a bigger hammer. if it breaks, it needed replacing anyway. as for the dana 60, two questions. 1) is it just a bolt in mod and 2) got any suggestions as to what year 250's will fit. thanks much for the help.
speedrdr

 

okay, how little is little stiff? is that like a little pregnant? can you give me a round about guess on the replacement? not that i'm a tightwad, but every time i spend money on the truck, wife wants equity on spending. i'm up to a new kitchen now and don't know if i can afford much more. LOL
speedrdr

 

I just did my upper and lower ball joints, now that i know what all i'm doing i could rattle them off in again in four hours or so if i'm bookin it, i would say just have a trust worthy local mechanic do it(not a dealer, never let the dealer do anything), you can do it yourself though, i would say if you have the time do it, you'll learn a bunch of stuff if nothing else but if you really don't care that much just have the shop do it since they have all the tools necessary, just my .02

 

One thing to consider about the dealer doing the alignment. Locally the only place that had the different bushings to set the camber was Ford, the others either said it was within spec or used adjustable bushings. The adjustable bushings don't stay adjusted properly.
Yes I paid more at Ford, but it drives like a Lincoln.
I also saved the difference in price in tire wear.

On my 86 I installed a 1992 F350 D 60 which cost 1500 at a salvage yard.
Replaced all the bearings, seals, ball joints, tie rod ends, calipers, rotors and added a traction lock for another 1500 dollars installed under my truck.
So 3000 for a front axle is kinda stiff.
If I look at the 600 in front springs replaced with new springs with 2 extra leaves in each of them, the 3600 for the front axle is now a little stiffer.
A good pot hole will rattle your teeth, lucky me had all mine pulled the year before I did that upgrade though.

With the IFS front axle, 20,000 on a set of tires was about max tire life for a set of 800 dollar tires.
The set on it now have 21,000 on them and about half of the tread is still there.

I will never see three times the tire life, but not to many people use their truck like I use mine.
Also I think the new engine is decreasing my tire life a little.

 

thanx to all for the info. think i'm gonna tackle it anyway, just kind of the principle of the matter now, can't let the truck get the best of me, so to speak. we've got several parts yards in the area and think i can find a dana 60 without a lot of difficulty. gonna have to work on them about the price though, budget getting thin. Dave S, when you're talking about the swap to the 60, as long as the gear ratio in the front chunks are the same, it's just a matter of unbolt and rebolt? or is that just a naive and simplistic look at a bigger deal??????
have 16 year old son, so manual labor isn't a problem.
speedrdr