Noticed my right front tire was leaning in at the top yesterday and have been noticing uneven wear on my tires. I jacked up the truck and sure enough I have a bad upper ball joint with probably 3/8"+ slop back and forth. The other ones did not show any play, hard to tell on the lower right ball joint with so much movement on the top ball joint.

I usually do all my own work on the truck, but I do not have the special tools required to pull and replace the ball joints. There is no place in my rural community to rent such tools. How challenging is replacing the ball joints? Should I purchase the tools or just pay a competent mechanic to fix this? I know with almost 200,000 miles on the truck, some of the bolts holding the spindle on will be fused. I am tending to think this procedure may be better suited for someone who already owns the tools and has a shop with a lift. I would prefer to not have other people work on my truck, but after looking at what is going to be required I am moving toward this option.

Any comments or opinions on replacing ball joints?

 

I did mne a few years ago borrowed the ball joint press and followed the instructions in the repiar manual it went ok I went slow did one side aday then took it in for wheel alingement was all good

 

let me know what happens cuz i think i have the same problem

 

The ball joint replacement is pretty easy with a press. You can probably buy one specific to the vehicle or just the Ford pieces. You can also use it for u-joints and allot of other things. It's the parts you'll need to replace while you're there that is going to be the biggest expense. Seals and bearings. Axle u-joints. Rotors if it's time for brakes. Pivot bushings. Plus any other front end parts that are worn out.

 

I was too busy and knew it would be a huge pain to get done so I took it to a good mechanic I know to have him pull the old ball joints and install the new ones. I got the highest quality HD ones I could locate - they have grease zerks unlike the old ones so I can keep them lubed. The HD ones cost about 30% more than the stock ones. Payed $59.17 each for the uppers and $89.45 for the lowers from the local parts store. Labor ran $400 - I usually don't pay someone to work on my truck, but I knew I made the right choice when I went to pick it up. This fellow got worked getting the old ones out. He had to call up all his Ford buddies to help get them pressed out. I figured as much, I told him that is why I let him do it.

The truck was done by the time I finished work that day at least. The old ones were shot. One had enough play that it threw the wheel off camber by more than an inch. I am glad that ball joint had not worn its way through the side and I needed to replace more than just a ball joint. The others all had at least 1/8" slop. This should keep it steering well for another 200,000 rough miles.

 

Just had mine in for an alignment and both ball joints wer bad in the right side. I had the shop go ahead and replace them. I had done it on my '88 gasser many years ago and just did not have the time/energy to undertake the job again.
When I was younger and didn't have kids and didn't have so many work related responsibilities that took up my time, I'd just dive right in to projects like those. Ya get a little older and the time becomes more valuable than the money spent to have someone else do it. It is a kind of natural progression in life, I believe.
There are still plenty of things I do myself rather than hire them out, but only when I can do them on my schedule and terms. In fact, I just stuck new front pads on the other night. If a critical component needs replaced nearly immediately for risk of further damage/danger and it will be a time-consuming task, I will typically just have someone do it.
There is a lot to be said about the satisfaction gained from doing the job yourself, no doubt. But there is also something to be said about just biting the bullet and paying to have it taken care of without chewing up most of your weekend, too.

 

I'm in the same boat as you guys. I had planned to do the job myself but being as how it's a daily driver I decided to let the pros do it in a day instead of me dinking around for a few days. In other words it'll be cheaper for me to miss one day of work instead of three.

 

Careful with the grease able ball joints.

The more I get involved with the manufacture of grease, its amazing how much I don't know. One thing I do know is that although grease is an oil based product it is still mainly a chemical product (thickeners and soaps etc.). Mixing grease's can cause the exact opposite reaction, meaning it won't lubricate and will allow parts to wear. Even within the same family bases (ie Clay base, Lithium base, or graphite base grease etc) and from one manufacture to the other you could also have problems because of different additive packages.

I wash everthing that I don't know the origin of the grease and repack it with the known grease.

With ball joints you don't have that advantage to wash out the grease so the first 6 months to a year give them a shot of the same grease you started with until the original grease is gone or at least not causing a reaction.

Oh ya I have 20 years experiance in blending lubricants, and have been involved with the grease plant the past 4 or 5 years.

Just my 2 cents, just hate to see regret work from not knowing what grease can do.

 

Thanks for the tip. I always use the same brand of grease on my truck. I will keep that in mind as I lubricate these new ball joints. I will also check with the guy who did the work and see what he packed them with originally. Thanks again.