what does the first line mean?
yeah, its an IC, im running a blown 3.8 v6

i doubt the problem will be only 4wd, its just stretching th ball joint, you do the same when you level a 2wd.

thumper, as for wear, when the boot is torn, consider the ball joint on death row, it generally does not take long. one solution may be to use custom urethane boots, maybe?

im still curious as to see if this is an isolated problem, or just with certain trucks. ive got 13k on mine with autospring.
time for a lift, hah. not many lifts for these trucks i like, the ones i do like, i cant afford. plus, the f150 is mostly for towing the real toys.

another solution is to use limit straps. these keep the suspension from drooping too far, where the damage is being done. it would also elimate the annoying clank going over bumps. but, this would slightly compress the suspension all the time, resulting in a slightly stiffer ride, depending on how the straps are setup. plus, it probably wouldnt be a simple mod that anyone could do, it would more than likely take some fabbing up to work

 

right, that would not make the ball joints go bad.

 

Thanks!

 

Im just wondering what its going to sound like or do when the ball join does go bad? Im almost positive mine are bad. .:o

 

a bad ball joint may cause a few things. noise when hitting bumps, maybe a steering vibe or shimmy. one way to check is to grab the upper arm, and try to move it up and down, truck may need to be jacked up for this. if you feel movement, the joints are probably bad

 

If your boots are ripped, and have been ripped for a while, chances are they're probably bad. Especially if you off road a lot and get mud and dirt in there.
Besides what takotruckin said, bad ball joints will also cause your wheels to be bowed in a little and cause the inside of your tires to wear faster as well. Also when the truck is on a lift you will probably be able to wiggle the wheel when it's off the ground. Your ride will also be noticeably crappier than before. How do your lower ball joints look?

 

Yup, mine are bad. What parts do I need? Im pretty sure the lower ball joints are fine from what I can tell. My tires have been wearing fine though but I do notice a difference in ride quality on-road and offroad, along with a noise from the front suspension. .:o

 

The ball joints on my Ranger were shot for quite a long time before I realized it. What tipped me off was the tire wear on the inside edge. Once I had them replaced it was like riding on a cloud. It made so much of a difference.
As for the parts, I don't know. I've heard people say you need a whole new control arm. If so that really sucks. On most cars and trucks the ball joints are only a few bucks. The bulk of the cost of replacement is usually labor. They can be a bitch to install.