Sway bar link went out on me last week, while replacing them I couldn’t help but notice most all the other bushings were dry and cracking. So here is my list of things that I think need replacing.

I am considering getting Moog for all the suspension and steering replacement parts, would like to get your opinion on this brand. Motorcraft parts got me to 180,000 miles can Moog do the same?

About 530 bucks in Moog parts and that price includes the shocks. Motorcraft parts are ~35% more. Also, is there is anything else you would recommend?

Stock 02 F150 4.2L with 180,000 miles

Shocks – Going with Monroe Reflex Light truck shocks all the way around. 90% highway driven only excitement she sees would be a camping trip with the kids and/or a fishing trip out to the Lagoon, some light towing.

Outer Tie Rod – replace these little over a year ago with Duralast Tie Rods. The have already failed and need replacing again.

Inner Tie Rod – Figure what the hell might as well.

Tie Rod Center Link - Figure what the hell might as well.

Upper control arm - Comes with bushing and ball joint

Lower Control arm - Comes with bushing and ball joint

While I’m at it should I do these too?
Pitman Arm, Idler Arm, Center link – Not sure of their condition and no noticeable steering issues.

 

Hey Dub, I'm doing one , well suppose to be as I type on a 4x4 as I type. One side at a time since I'm replacing both half shafts as well.

307,000 miles on this truck tho and it's the second time around for it, - Ford did it the first time. Surprisingly, well, what looked the worst was the upper control arm bushings like you mentioned. What actually was the worst so far is lower ball joint, but I'm not even sure that needs changing. No play/slop, I can just move it 360 real easy by hand. The uppers looked like hell, so I had Moog replacements (upper arms complete) ordered up for those, but, as bad as it looked on the outside the bushings on the inside looked great, no obvious wear. So far the ball joints seem tight and move well, I'm debating replacing those now, all that stuff adds up lol. I was going for a totally new lower control arm, but the bushings are in great shape, so, I just beat out the lower ball joint, (were I left off) and going to press a new one in. I went ahead and purchased an Astro Pneumatic press since that was cheaper than the control arms, and very versatile $52.

So what I'm getting at, - check everything out thoroughly for wear, play and/or slop first. I'd replace everything if it needed it, but I just can't see it if it don't.

You have the 2wd ?

Do you know the proper procedures for checking everything?

And yes, Moogs are better than the Motorcraft IMO, since you can swap grease out when ever you want, - with fresh. Just get the gusher bearings, with grease grooves. Ordered my stuff from Rock.

Sounds like your going to do a good job.

 

I don't think you need a center link.

 

I hear what your saying, It was more of a visual inspection than mechanical inspection. When I started out looking into fixing this I was just going to do the bushing. I found i can get the UCA bushings for 20 - $ 25.00 or the whole arm with ball joint and bushing for 50.00 from Amazon. Same story for all the other parts.
Lower Ball Joint is 26.00 or I can get the whole LCA assembly for 60.

Then I don't have to bang or press anything (I hope) The convenience factor is playing a big part in my approach.

Yes 2WD


Not really but I can google it Basically I believe you look for play in the links when moving the wheel?

These Gusher Bearings are optional or a add on?

 

Yea I won't buy an off brand when it comes to the front end and yes "Gusher Bearings" are a Moog advantage from what I've seen. Everything else looks sort of cheep in person. Go to Rock Auto and hit Info next to the different balljoints and other front end parts. Iduno, there's the off brands, there's Motorcraft or Top of the line Moog stuff. I don't want to chance a wiggle wobble or any flexing, - it's hard enough keeping these 3600 lb front ends aligned with the roads around here. Just be careful attempt to see a pic of what exactly you getting and compare to it something you know is good. Ordering over the internet can surprise yuh sometimes, not always in good way.

Yea you got it right, but check the tie rods and ball joints on the ground, -(if you can, that might be hard with a 2wd lol) before jacking it up as well. If there's any wear or slop you'll see it with an assistant turning the wheels from left to right with weight on them.

And get some beers of course of course

Yea the Moog lower control arms I looked at were pricey, but nice and heavy.

 

Btw here's the Moog site, - http://www.moog-suspension-parts.com/default.asp

I use that site to find out exactly what part # I'm after and then go here for the best price (best prices I found anyway,- and they're fast), -

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/rafr...arcode=1315033

 

I believe it's a Moog thing. It's a 4 port engineered concaved washer design that forces lubricant around the joint in 4 locations vs just one.

The one port design can eventually leave sections of the joint dry and blow out/weaken the dust cover as well.

It's a great design IMO, - I was just checking one out a few days ago lol. I have a pic of it I haven't uploaded yet.

 

Save your money and don't buy monroe anything

 

I put Monroe Reflex shocks on my 2001 Supercrew 5.4 2wd a few (5) years ago. The Reflex units have some strange properties. You feel every small bump (like a stack of 2-3 quarters) up to to the small lane divider (Bott's dots?) with a sharp shake of the truck. Its rougher than you get from a stock shock. On the other hand, the BIG impacts like bad potholes or the BIG lane dots are handled much much more smoothly ( and under control) than I ever expected from a shock.

The selling point on the Reflex shock was extra control for SUV's and Light trucks with an attempt to reduce body sway ( and rollovers?). I decided I don't drive hard enough tell if the control is any better.

All my driving is on city streets and highways. The not so great city streets can be very jarring and I feel like the shocks are shaking and vibrating my truck apart - and I am a guy who likes a firm taut ride. I would recommend this shock for someone who does a lot of fast rough driving on dirt and gravel roads with lots of big pot holes. For normal streets that are anything but very smooth, I find this shock to be much rougher than it needs to be. My next shock will most likely be a Monroe Magnum. I used those on an older truck and they were fantastic on all road surfaces. I hope this helps.

Note : All comments above are made with the greatest respect to Patman (whose judgement I greatly respect ) except that I have had good experiences with Monroe.

 

If you haven't bought the shocks yet, I would strongly suggest a different shock than the Reflex. I put them on the front of my F250 and was disappointed. My impression was that they looked nice but didn't seem to do much. I put KYB Monomax shocks on my 99 f150 2wd and am really happy with them. They took all of the mush out of the handling.