I’m doing the ball joints on my F-350 and ran into a small issue. The ball press I rented from Auto-Zone will fit the top ball joint but no the bottom. The sleeves that came with the press are too small or big to fit the outer edge of the lower joint. I asked a repair shop and they said that I need a special sleeve to fit the lower joint. Does anyone know anything about this? I don’t want to use the smaller sleeve because it hits the ball joint on the inner edge and the instructions specifically state not to do that.

Thanks

 

call auto-zone and see if thay have a sleeve fore the super duty. not alwase included with the kit.

 

I took the ball joint in when I gave the kit back and all they did was look at it and scratch their heads...I’ll purchase the sleeve but I need a supplier. Does anyone know where to get it?
Thanks

 

When I did mine my buddy had a 'special' sleeve just for that...he was a mechanic for years...(ie, a cut piece of pipe)

Best bet is to camp out at a car shop in the morning, catch one of the mechanics walkin in to work, slip him a 20 and ask if he would do it. Any national tire and repair place will have it...they do a ton of these.

 

I had to buy the special sleeve for my kit when I bought it. It did not come with it for some reason and I had to buy it extra.
For someone in your position, (not a professional tech.) do what Makomaker said. It's cheaper than buying the necessary sleeves.

 

I took mine down to the Ford dealer and they pressed everything in and out for me for no charge. This was, of course, after buying $80 worth of seals and o-rings from them for the job.

 

<TABLE width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top>Getting a bottom ball joint in a F-350 sucks. What a fiasco...everyone makes it sound easy and that is far from the case. For anyone that plans to do this job let me give you some help.

1. Go to auto zone and get a regular ball joint press kit OEM# 27023.
2. Along with that kit get OEM# 27165 (Adapter Kit).

The adapter kit will fit the lower ball joint...inside the kit use part number 27165B and place it on the top of the ball joint. It will fit the joint properly. On the bottom place the adapter #27165C (warning this sleeve will not allow you to completely press the joint...it will only allow you to press it to the edge of the bottom side of the knuckle. You will have to stop and check to see if you have pushed it too far a couple of times. Once the bottom of the joint is flush with the bottom of the knuckle get a quarter inch piece of scrap steel plate and use the regular kit OEM# 27023, the plate will slide over the normal sleeve that comes with the kit and allow you to press the joint all the way in. You will be able to place all the sleeves in the proper order and slide the plate over the second smallest sleeve (bottom side of knuckle) with the kit. The normal end adapter will not fit if you don’t use the plate...the press is not long enough. The plate takes the place of the end piece and gives you something to push against that is flat and applies uniform pressure. Make sure the sleeve is in the proper spot to allow the ball joint to have clearance. You can now press the joint the rest of the way into the knuckle and be done. Trust me if you lay all this in front of you and think about it you will figure out what I just said...necessity is the mother of invention.

If you can actually find the proper kit then completely disregard all of the above.
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I'm glad you got it but it always feels better after you finished...

 

Thanks for chiming back in with your report, olddog. Should help other members in the future.

Also for reference for those viewing this thread in the future, here is Racerguy's infamous Superduty Balljoints thread:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/3...ll-joints.html

 

Believe it or not, I just used a big hammer and a bar. Took about 10 minutes.

 

My problem is I’m a science teacher so I try to follow procedures closely...apply the correct pressure in the correct way etc...I was about two seconds from throwing the whole knuckle down the hill but I was determined not to let that 30 pound piece of metal out smart me! “What a fiasco...everyone makes it sound easy and that is far from the case” I’d like to apologize for that comment earlier...it is easy but the ball joints had me flustered. I’ll have a lot easier time doing the other side and the write ups are great to have. Thanks for all the encouragement guys.