94' Complete (mostly) New Front-End Rebuild
#1
12-13-2010, 10:22 PM
94' Complete (mostly) New Front-End Rebuild
Well after almost 280K miles and lots of clunking and such I decided to completely rebuild the front end componets. This included all new ball joints. New drag link, inner and outer tie rods, and adjustment sleeves. During this I also installed the Pivot Point drop brackets I've had for...ever.
How was it? Not as bad as I had worried. Rented a ball joint press from Advance Auto parts (brand new) which other than figuring out which pieces to use where was a breeze. The drop brackets were a bit of a PITA since the factory cross-member had to be ground down just a bit and I had bought it second hand and had to buy hardened bolt and such to attached the bracketry. Only looked up the bracket installation guide.
All parts are MOOG. Ball joints I got off eBay for less than $95 the rest came from Amazon because... they were cheaper than anybody else.
How long did it take? If I had everything laid out and time.... one day. It got a bit chilly here even in Atlanta and squeezing the truck in the garage was required so it took me several additional evenings.
Lessons learned? Don't attempt to even slightly over-tighten ball joint grease zerk fittings. Really a pain to remove and re-install only to find that there really is barely an material there in the first place so stripping it out really sucked.
Total cost ~ $400.00
Quoted price just for ball joints $500.00
Had rotors turned and replaced brake pads while I was at it. Will most likely replace wheels bearings ( left looked a bit used) and pivot joint bushing shortly after some settling and have the alignment check over again.
Summary.
Don't really worry about something flying off the front end now. I was getting really concerned about all the clunks and rattles before. Truck rides much smoother but really want to replace those bearings and bushings and have a better alignment shop lock everything down.
Next upgrades... found NOS Ford Steering wheel for pretty cheap. Mine is pretty Smoooooth. Looking into Saginaw P/S pump retro and replacement of the steering gear box ( mine has a re-occurring leak ) and universal jointed steering shaft. It'll be like driving a new luxury metro-man truck. Hmmm maybe I'll just keep the smooth steering wheel then.
How was it? Not as bad as I had worried. Rented a ball joint press from Advance Auto parts (brand new) which other than figuring out which pieces to use where was a breeze. The drop brackets were a bit of a PITA since the factory cross-member had to be ground down just a bit and I had bought it second hand and had to buy hardened bolt and such to attached the bracketry. Only looked up the bracket installation guide.
All parts are MOOG. Ball joints I got off eBay for less than $95 the rest came from Amazon because... they were cheaper than anybody else.
How long did it take? If I had everything laid out and time.... one day. It got a bit chilly here even in Atlanta and squeezing the truck in the garage was required so it took me several additional evenings.
Lessons learned? Don't attempt to even slightly over-tighten ball joint grease zerk fittings. Really a pain to remove and re-install only to find that there really is barely an material there in the first place so stripping it out really sucked.
Total cost ~ $400.00
Quoted price just for ball joints $500.00
Had rotors turned and replaced brake pads while I was at it. Will most likely replace wheels bearings ( left looked a bit used) and pivot joint bushing shortly after some settling and have the alignment check over again.
Summary.
Don't really worry about something flying off the front end now. I was getting really concerned about all the clunks and rattles before. Truck rides much smoother but really want to replace those bearings and bushings and have a better alignment shop lock everything down.
Next upgrades... found NOS Ford Steering wheel for pretty cheap. Mine is pretty Smoooooth. Looking into Saginaw P/S pump retro and replacement of the steering gear box ( mine has a re-occurring leak ) and universal jointed steering shaft. It'll be like driving a new luxury metro-man truck. Hmmm maybe I'll just keep the smooth steering wheel then.
#3
12-13-2010, 11:25 PM
Senior Member
I know what you mean on all the clunks and rattles. My old 94 E150 had all original frontend on it too and at 248,000 miles i finally got everything done. I went with the oreilly brands on everything. Lifetime warranty.... I got all new tie rod ends, center link, balljoints etc. Felt like a new vehicle when it got all done. I hated hitting a bump somewhere and everyone would stare at me thinking the van was about to fall apart lol
#4
12-14-2010, 11:39 AM
The Sag swap is very easy & cheap if you scavenge the bracket & both lines from a junkyard E150 w/4.9L, and the pump will usually work fine if you don't want to R&R it (the pulley is the hard part) to use as a core on a reman. I haven't done mine, but I've done 2 V8s and I have one cleaned up & ready to go in when my C2 dies.
The steering column already has 2 u-joints & the intermediate shaft has a vulcanized "rag" joint that never wears out, so I wouldn't replace it unless it's visibly damaged.
Most of the slop is probably in the steering box, and you'll need a special puller to get the Pitman arm off when you change it. I don't think the expensive ones are any better than those from Advance/O'Reilly/CarQuest/Parts+Plus, and apparently neither do the sellers because they still only warrant them for a year.
The steering column already has 2 u-joints & the intermediate shaft has a vulcanized "rag" joint that never wears out, so I wouldn't replace it unless it's visibly damaged.
Most of the slop is probably in the steering box, and you'll need a special puller to get the Pitman arm off when you change it. I don't think the expensive ones are any better than those from Advance/O'Reilly/CarQuest/Parts+Plus, and apparently neither do the sellers because they still only warrant them for a year.