I'm posting in this forum becuase I figured I would get the most responses here. I've had my leveling kit installed for about 6,000 miles. I have had no major problems thus far. When washing the salt off my wheels today I noticed a small tear in the ball joint boot on the backside. I put some liquid rubber on it to seal it, but do not know if it will hold. The tear is about 1/4 inch long.

My question is what kind of preventative maintence can I do to keep the balljoint uncontaminated and free of dirt and grime? I would hate to have to replaced the whole upper control arm already. I was hoping I wouldn't have to do that for another 20,000 miles.

Thanks for reading,

Jrbhc8

 

duct tape

 

i think thats probably at the top of the list of "the best you can do"... just one of those things- maybe get some of whatever lubricant Ford uses on the joint and squirt it in there before you seal it back up next time to at least try and prevent any more contamination... my autospring is going on 23k miles with no joint issues- boot is still intact hope it stays that way for another 20k :thumbusp:

 

Those boots are prone to this, good luck dirt is going to get in.

 

Well, I'll just have to keep an eye on it.

Do they make any heat shrink wrap or patches that I could glue onto the side?

jrbhc8

 

I used some innertube glue on mine when I tore one installing the leveling kit on my last truck and it seemed to work fine for more than 20,000 miles (before I traded it in).

 

I did the same thing. I will shoot some lube and try to use some kind of rubber glue.

 

Where could I get one of these intertube patches? azfordby4, what kind of lube will you be putting in the boot?

Thanks,

jrbhc8

 

It's highly likely your installer got carried away with the pickle fork. It tears the boots right up.

-ii

 

I wish I could prove that, becuase the Ford dealership would be buying me new control arms. I'm still going to try to work my magic when it comes to getting them replaced under warranty.

jrbhc8

 

I tore the crap out of mine when I installed my Leveling Kit. When I got done, I wrapped mine with black duct tape and a zip tie around that. I replace it every few months. With it being black, you can't tell. It's held up good so far.

 

After you remove the nut for the ball joint, whack the casting where the tapered stud passes through it. Use a heavy ball peen hammer and the ball joint will pop right off. Make sure there is nothing supporting the control arm, so it will fall right off. You got to hit it square and with great force. It won't damage a thing. This works great with tie rod ends too.

 

Just get a new control arm. They only cost about $75 at one of the online parts stores. (Don't remember witch one) I tore my boot also when I installed my kit.

 

Let me clarify where to whack it. You need to hit it on the SIDE of the casting, not on the ball joint whatsoever! Not on the top side either like you are going to beat it off. It is the vibrating force on the SIDE impact that Magically pops it loose! A heavy ball peen hammer is a must, with a strong direct hit. (no sissyboy swing) Hit Only the Side of the casting where the tapered part of the stud passes through it. It won't damage a thing! No torn boot either. I do this all the time, I was a semi truck mechanic for about 15 years. The first side will take you a little while to figure out, but you will do the other side in about half the time. Start with the passenger side first. Also use lock tight on all of the spacer nuts. Some people have had popping noises afterwards. One other thing, make sure you tighten the sway bar links tight, they will pop too. Use silicone spray in the removal of the links.

 

I would get a new control arm and be done with it, but I'm the guy who had all the trouble with the daystar and bilstein shock combo. I've had my suspension taken apart 3 times by the dealer and at $180.00 a pop you can understand why I do not want to go back. I finally ended up buying a smaller leveling kit (2.0 autospring) and using my factory shocks. I'm sure I hold the record for the most money spent in a leveling kit. I should of just bought a 6 inch kit.

I still need to send the front shocks back to bilstein for some testing to see what the problem with them was. Hopefully over X-mas break.

jrbhc8