I am replacing my ball joints using a combination of the excellent guides on this site, but i have run up against a silly problem and i need advice from someone who has actually done this.

I can't get my ABS sensor out of the hole.

It is unbolted (removed a small hex bolt and a small allen bolt). I am assuming you just pull it out, but i grabbed it with my fingers and pulled...no luck. then i grabbed it with a pair of pliers and pulled as hard as i dared without breaking it and still no dice.

The hub is rusted up pretty good, could the plastic ABS sensor be rusted into the hub?

thanks guys

 

I just pulled mine out. Try to move it side to side then pull up on it. I got mine really easy on a 2001 with 126k. good luck!

 

Ok, so there is no secret trick to getting it out then.

It is in there tight...

I'll give it another go tomorrow. About How much does a new ABS sensor cost? (just in case I end up removing it one half at a time?)

 

how hard is it doin gthe ball joints?

 

I am following Racerguy's instructions on this page:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/354091-how-to-replace-your-super-duty-ball-joints.html


So far i have had no real show-stoppers, but here is what i have run into so far.

I broke the black plastic hex-shaped washer thing, so i'll need to go get a new one of those from ford tomorrow. (cant wait to see how much that costs...)

I had to cut off the nuts on the ball joints since they were rust-welded onto the threads. The new ball joints came with nuts so no big deal.

I never did get my abs sensor out of the hole.

I am about to remove the nuckle, but my pickle fork is too small. So im off to autozone for a bigger one.

So far i have probably spent 2 solid hours on it. It will probably take me another 2-3 since i plan on taking my time to clean everything up real good.

 

You might want to also pick up some PB Blaster with all that rust.

Rent or borrow their ball joint press, too. Makes life easier.

Pop

 

well, i broke it.

this ball joint replacement thing is turning into a PITA.

I tried one last time to get the ABS sensor to come out so i could lube that hub bearing, and i broke it. I took a picture, and will post it later. I was debating getting a new hub because the needle bearings were on the dry side. I guess a new hub it is!

I have more questions, but i will start a new thread because they have nothing to do with my ABS sensor...

thanks guys.

 

New hub will come with ABS sensor...........also mine came with the small yellow seal........Buy the hub before you go to the ford dealer to make sure yours does too but this will save you about $5 or a trip back to the dealer to return yellow seal.

If you dont buy a new hub, I'll send you my old sensor if you want it......just send me 50 cents to cover shipping! ha

 

browntown3 thanks that is a very generous offer but I was thinking that i should replace the hub anyway, so i will just get the one that comes with the sensor.

The hubs come with lugs, but not with the 4 hub studs. Is is possible to reuse the old ones? Should i just get new ones from ford? I have heard that you can heat them up and remove them with a pair of pliers, but i only have a propane torch, i don't think it makes enough heat.

I already got the o-rings and seals from ford... I figure i will just return any extra seals since i have to go there to have them remove/replace the ball joints in the nuckle. I can't find anywhere around here that rents a ball joint press big enough to do it myself. I figure i'll bring the axle and have them press the big seal on while i am there. OH and i have to buy a new plastic hex shaped washer...

 

GunnerDog, your job sounds like exactly where I am too. Too bad you did not follow the sensor wire back and unhook it from the harness behind the inner fender instead of trying to take it out of the hub. The only reason I did it this way is because there was too much mud around the sensor and I did not want to get the mud in the bearing. I had to use two pickle forks to get the knuckle off, one on the top and one on the bottom and I alternated hammer hits till one broke loose then finished off the other and I had to heat up the nuts to get them off.

SpringerPop is right about the ball joint press. It is like a big heavy duty C-clamp and even with that I still had to bang the knuckle to get the ball joints to pop and start moving. I believe I did the bottom one first then the screw on the press will fit through the bottom hole so you can get to the top ball joint. Try to get a press with lots of rings as you may have to change rings to a deeper one in the middle of the job. I also used this ball joint press to change u-joints but it was not a straight forward process as the u-joinst for the axle are bigger than the hole in the press but once I got them started moving, I used a big hammer and a brass drift to knock them out the rest of the way.

Today I am going to install the ball joints using the ball joint press as soon as I get off the computer. BTW I am also replacing the seals inside the pumpkin because one side was leaking. Thats what started this whole job in the first place.

Feel free to ask for help. Lots of nice helpful people on this site.

 

i have a ball joint press, but its too small... the cups are too shallow, and the C is too small to get a bigger cup into. I would love to do this myself, but i just can't find the tools around here.

I actually did unhooked the sensor from behind the fenderwell... i was trying to remove it from the hub to try to grease the non-serviceable hub bearing to try to squeeze some more life from the hub (hub wasn't bad, but it is old and the needle bearings were on the dry side.)

Good luck putting it all back together. Let us know how it turns out.

 

GunnerDog, did you ball joint press come with 3 or 21 pieces. The one I rented had 21 pieces. Even so, I still had to Mickey Mouse a bit because of the ball joint sizes. Big. Any chance you can adapt a piece of pipe? Be careful a lot of force here. I used my impact gun on the c-clamp. Once the thread on the c-clamp stopped moving I hit the knuckle with a hammer. Bang it popped. Once you get the ball joint going about half way you might be able to hammer the rest out. Keep me posted too. I will check back at least a couple of times a day.

 

The hubs come with lugs, but not with the 4 hub studs. Is is possible to reuse the old ones? Should i just get new ones from ford? I have heard that you can heat them up and remove them with a pair of pliers, but i only have a propane torch, i don't think it makes enough heat.

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I was able to reuse mine but only after some intense heating from a cutting torch.....I would HIGHLY recommend just replacing them from the dealer......I hear they are about $4 each.......The only problem i had was i went to 4 local dealers and they all had to special order them and my truck was in pieces in my driveway and i had yards to mow and a garage full of stinking trash i needed to get to dumpsters ha!.....so i needed the truck ASAP. Hopefully your dealer will have them in stock.

 

I thought about "making" a larger cup, but the C clamp is too small to accomidate a larger cup... I actually started to cut the end off one of the old ball joints so the cup would fit, but i stopped because i realized even if i get the old ones out, i wouldn't be able to get the new ones in.

The kit came with three cups. None of the autozones or advanced autos around here have a larger kit to lend out.

I am gonna bring the nuckle to ford tonight and see how much they will charge me to press the old ones out and press in the new ones. Should only take a few minutes for them to do it.

On the upside, i found out that Ford OEM studs are only $3.68 each from the stealership. A new EBAY hub is on its way.

Ill let you know how it goes tonight.

 

GunnerDog did you get your ball joints installed at Ford? The ball joints are the most difficult part of this project imo.

Yesturday, because of the rain, was cleanup parts day in the garage but everything is ready to install now.

Are you winning?