Ok I have a few items that I wanted to get some input on so this may get a little long. I have 71,000 miles on my truck now and when I had it in to the tire place last time for my regular rotate and balance and checking of the alignment they noticed that the ball joint on the driver side was worn and needs to be replaced. I did not have them do anything with it or the alignment since after doing the balljoint it would need an alignment anyway. Also, lately I have noticed that my trucks ride quality has decreased. I know that is the shocks that are worn out. Now I had asked about the Ranchero 9000's prior and was getting ready to purchase a set of them when the ball joint issue came up.

Here are the questions at this point:

1 How difficult is a balljoint to replace on a 4X2? and is it worth paying someone to do it?

2 The place that dose my rotations, balanceing and alignments also has Monroe Sensatrack shocks, I read somewhere that they are the same as ranchero 9000's, are they the same and what is the general opinion on them?

3 If I am doing all this at the same time and if I had someone do the ball joint should I just let them do it all?

Thanks

 

The ball joint is pressed into the A arm and both are replaced at the same time.
The ball joints are a weak link in these trucks. A lot of the 4x4s with bigger tires are running into problems. For the lower joint unless you have a coil spring compressor or know what you are doing have it done.

Worn shocks will contribute ot premature wear on the other suspention componants. Have all the ball joints checked while they are under there.
I have no opinion on the Gabriel shocks.
Installing shocks is no biggie.

regards

Jean Marc Chartier

 

Should the a arm also be replaced if it's the lower ball joint, or is it not required for the lower ball joint? I am going to have someone do it for me howeve I want to make sure that they do the repair correctly and I know I don't want to take it to a dealership and pay an arm and a leg for it.

Thanks for the input JMC.

 

Both upper and lower A arms have pressed in Ball Joints. I can't wait for the After Market to make replacable ball joints. Maybe they do now, check around.

Regards

JMC

 

I will check around thanks again for the response. I have another one for you, the dealership replaced the rear leaf springs at 35,000 miles do you think the I need to replace the rear shocks as well as the front?

 

If the shocks are still good leave them on.

Regards

Jean Marc Chartier

 

I had the lower balljoints replaced on my '97 2WD about a month ago. The uppers are welded into the control arms and cannot be seviced seperately but the lowers are pressed into the lower control arm and can be replaced with the proper tools.

This is a big job. For me it was certainly worth the $250.00 labor charge.

You'll be better off avoiding the Motorcraft ball joints in favor of a set with grease fittings too.

Shocks are so very simple to do yourself. If they're the originals though, expect a bolt or 2 to break while they're being loosened.

 

They are the factory shocks as i am the only owner and have never had them worked on. I have asked places about shocks before and they all say if they aren't leaking then leave them alone. I don't think this is very accurate since the ride quality has gone from solid and responsive yet smooth to bounceing all over after every bump, leaning heavily in corners and going into a nosedive everytime I hit the brakes. To me this means that the fronts need replacing, how am I to know if the rear are worn out or not? I have done brakes, rotors, brake cylinders, calipers, tune-ups, and helped a friend out with his timing belt, however suspension is new to me, how hard is it to do the first time with my limited experience? How long does it take to do all four, and are there any tools that I should make sure that I have prior to starting?

Thanks again.

Eric

 

AjRagno,

Who carries ball joints with zerk fittings?
I can't find them here in Canada.

JMC

 

I picked mine up at NAPA. They're $48.49 USD each.
www.napaonline.com

The photo doesn't show it, but there is a grease fitting screwed into the top and a heavy blue dust boot.
http://www.napaonline.com/images_pro...nail/48833.jpg

 

Some tips for replacing the shocks.

Use as Haynes or Chiltons manuel as well because I can't note every technical detail.

Front:

-Remove the 2 retaining bolts connecting the shock to the lower control arm. The shock should now expand and hang down.

-Raise and place one side of the vehicle on a jack stand and remove the wheel.
You don't need to remove the wheel but it give very good access to the top shock mounting bolt. It also helps when installing the new shock because you don't need to compress it. The lower control arm will already be hanging low enough that you just need to compress the shock slightly to install.

Rear:

The instructions in the manual are pretty striaght forward.

*Tip* Do not cut the plastic tie the keeps the new rear shock compressed until after you've secured it to the top mounting bolt.

-With the lower retaining bolt in your hand, cut the tie and allow the shock to expand till it reaches the lower mounting bracket and install the retaining bolt. If the shock expands too much, you'll need to compress it to get it to line up with the mounting bracket again.

Even your first time out, this should only take about an hour. You could also spray the bolts with penetrating oil the night before to help with getting them off. I broke one and bent the other when I removed mine.

 

AjRagno,

Thanks for the tips, I'll definately keep them in mind while doing the install. I will be ordering a set a RS9000 later today, I'll have to wait to put them on for a week seeing as the weather is all rain for this weekend unless something changes then I'll put them on this weekend . Thanks again.

Speedy