Hey all,

fixin to change ball joints on my 200 f250 4x4 this weekend. I found a lot of very usefull information here at FTE and some good quality pictures. Just wanted to say thanks to all the folks that have taken on this job and passed on their tricks and tips.


Thanks again and wish me luck.

 

You're welcome and good luck.

 

How many miles do you have on your truck?

 

I can't speak for the OP, but my balljoints have been replaced twice since I've owned the truck. Once at 100K and the other was recently at 180K.

 

90,000 for me. Left side was bad!! But I did both sides, upper and lower. Got the dealer to do it for me, never again!! Not because of the price to do it, But now the auto hubs don't work, and the inner seal is leaking....

 

That happened to me as well at the first ball joint replacement. There's a right and wrong way to replace the ball joints on a SD with autolock hubs, and it's not the pressing in and out of the actual ball joint, but the replacement of the outer axle seals and such that make it done right or not. It seems that a lot of shops don't understand this and just put the axle back on with the old outer seal still on the axle. This is typically causes a leak because it's hard to pull the axle shaft out without damaging the seal, and the seal needs to be replaced.

My first set of ball joints replaced in the spring time, and I didn't discover the hubs weren't auto locking until that winter. The following summer, I learded a lot about the front axles, and the seals in the hub and knuckle. I tore into the front hubs trying to figure out why they weren't working.

This last time, I did everything myself. Sure, it was a PITA (I've got a thread on my woes somewhere), but I know it was done right and all the necessary seals were properly replaced and reinstalled. I'd reccomend the kit from the Powerstroke shop, since it comes with the new seals that are necessary (axle seals in knuckle, dust seals, yellow o-ring) and the ball joints are greasable, which should prolong the time until they need to be replaced again, assuming they are properly serviced.

 

my truck has 120000 miles and I bought a kit from powerstrokeshop.com and it comes with moog joints which are greasable. It also comes with the yellow orings for the auto hubs. I found several detailed accounts and pictures of how to do the job. I hope it doesent take all weekend LOL