Need a little help - @ work today & truck is at home. Want to buy what I need on the way home tonight.

What size socket(s) do I need To fit the nuts on the upper & lower Ball joints on my 00 F250 4X4. ?

Last time I did balljoints on an 01 - I was using someone else's tools and don't remember what size socket I used - I remember it was deep well & >1in but that's about all. Kinda recall it was an odd size - metric maybe?

DG

 

I believe it's metric 20 or 21.

 

Here's what I had to use. I had up to 32mm. Had to go buy a 34mm

21mm
28mm
34mm

 

I couldn't find the correct sockets when I went to do the job on my '03...

I use a 1-1/8" open end wrench on the top, and a 33mm open end on the bottom. (I had to open the 33mm a little bit with a grinding wheel - 33 is too small, 34 is too large. )

ken

 

Thanks for the info on the sockets - saved me a couple of trips into town.

Well guys, I'm now officially a member of the: "knuckle seal installation victim club" I think anyone considering using the "home built pipe flange tool" should be cautious. I tried it and didn't have the best of luck.

The really Bad news is: the truck is still sitting in the garage awaiting the arrival of a new knuckle seal. I didn't dare try again after caving in 1 of the two $30 seals I had. Unfortunately our local stealer will not install the seals unless they do the work. I couldn't find anyone close by could loan the OEM tool out either. Got bit by the holidays as well since very few people were around last week.

I offered to provide the balljoints (Moog - Greaseable) and let the dealer do all of the work a few weeks ago but they refused stating: "we only use OEM parts" I then said: "the OEM parts aren't greaseble & don't last I want something that is designed to last longer than 65-70K" I do have another dealer in the area I could try but they don't have the best service dept so I'm skeptical about using them anyway. (they don't sell or service many SD's either) Basically the local dealer wants his grand+ to do the work and anything else doesn't matter to him. I asked a couple of independant places in town about how they did it and they said: They use a press to put them on but - destroy a few seals now & then. They offered to do it for me but wouldn't sign up to not destroying a seal. I decided since we own X8 2000-2003 SD's (2 personal + 6 for our contracting biz) getting the right tool was just going to have to be worth it to my boss/accountant. (the wife)

I ordered the "official" Ford installation tool and it should arrive by wednesday. I had a friend of mine who works for a Ford Dealer order it for me. Man I wish he was a lot closer or I'd just have taken it to him. (8+ hours away) He offered to loan his out to me but the timing was just bad - I couldn't get the replacement seal in time to turn the tool around quick enough for him. He basically says there is no other way to do it w/o the tool - not sure I 100% agree but given my predicament I'm not going to argue right now.

Luckily we're not real busy right now so I can live w/o having my truck for a short period of time.

When I'm done - I'll be willing to loan my tool out for a small "fee" (S&H + a few refundable $$ when the tool returns)

DG

 

What happened?

 

Everything went smooth till I got to the seal. Everything came apart pretty well and I didn't have much trouble pressing in the new ball joints (where I figured I have trouble before I started) or putting the knuckle back on.

What happened was I initially didn't get the seal started straight and thought that was going to be the worst of it - I was wrong. I managed to get it off w/o damaging it only to have it cave in on me right near the end. I only needed to drive it another 1/16 of an inch or so to be flush with the axle seat. I ended up with a "dome shaped" seal. It was bent enough so that I could not get the axle to go all the way in. Drove this one off and then decided I didn't want to risk trying it again since I had a source for the OEM tool but had originally decided it wasn't worth buying since I probably won't use it very much.

Now I figured out that if I bought the OEM tool I alone know of enough folks around here that have SD's that at least it'll get loaned out from time to time. Heck one local shop that sees a fair share of SD's has already said he'll pay to rent it from time to time. It'll let him do some front end work he's had to send folks to the stealerships for. I'll probably sell the tool when we trade our 2003 in a couple of years. (it's up next for new Ball joints)

This tool I bought won't work on the 2005+ (?? - or 06 on?) trucks since the front end changed. The newer tool looks similar but isn't quite as tall or as big around from what I could see in the shop manual photos.

What's really bad is the inner seal didn't even go into the axle tube (stopped just short) so I must have bent it much worse than I thought. I wish the design on the front end was a little better on these trucks.

DG

 

Hi DG

I think I was one of the people (or the only one) that referred you to RacerGuys step-by-step ball joint replacement thread .... where someone showed the home-made pipe tool they used for the knuckle seals.

I believe I told you that the tool worked perfectly for me and my son, and it did. And, I believe it has worked for others that tried it. Another forum user welding together heavy pipe and it worked for them.

But, I never want to come off like a know-it-all (because I don't), or shoot my mouth off. If you feel that I gave you a bum steer with the home-made pipe tool, I'm sorry. Tell me what you paid for the OTC tool, and I'll buy from you.

Jim (Jim59)

 

Nah no need to buy it - heck it could have been me just about as much as anything else. I'll be a little better prepared this time as I think I have a better handle on what went wrong the 1st time

BTW:the tool got here today - haven't tried it yet probably Fri/Sat before I'll get back to it.

My big problem was I just couldn't seem to get the darn thing to go do all the way despite how hard how beat on it. I started it a little crooked the 1st time, got it off & tried again. The 2cnd time around it started straight but caved in right at the end. I think try #1 did me in - I bet I bent it just enough to make try #2 even harder even though it wasn't really visibly damaged.

We've got a few 02-04 trucks we use for our business so I can sorta see this as an investment but I still probably won't use it very often - hence my offer to rent it out to folks on the forum. Hate to see someone go through the frustration I went through. (& spend the $$)

DG

 

Took a bit longer than expected but they are done.
(Due to waiting for a new seal to arrive & the weather)

Drives like a new truck again! Some comments:

1. I couldn't have done it w/o help from everyone on this site
2. Its not that tough of a job but its more work than you'd think. (Took me 2.5 days spread over two separate weekends)
3. Upper grease fittings do fit if you find the ones that are ball shaped vs the hex or squarish ones. (Plenty of clearance - found these at Advance Auto)
4. Can't state this enough - the axle seals are fragile. Either have someone put them on for you (dealer) or borrow/buy the seal installation tool. Saved me a ton of headaches once I had it in hand.
5. If you are doing this for the 1st time start on the Driver's side (shorter axle to deal with) rather than the passenger side - I think I would have been better off if I had. The longer axle is tougher to handle just due to the length - that added with my seal difficulities made things a little worse.

That said - having the OEM install tool in hand I figured out where I went wrong w/ the home made pipe flange tool. I simply tried to drive the seal further than I should have. I thought it needed to be flush with the seat on the axle so I kept pounding when I should have stopped.

I think (wish I had these) a thread should be added in the tech folder w/ good closeup photos of how the seal looks when it is properly installed. Along with a few photos of the process along the way. I'll offer to take these when I help a friend do his F350 in about a month. It probably would have helped me if I had these photos or had taken one or two photos prior to driving the old seal off of the axle. A photo of the axle re-installation into the knuckle would go a long way as well.

DG