I have 76K on my 2001 Supercrew. Its a 5.4 auto trans Lariat.
During my last service the mechanic said the lower ball joints were loose and needed replacement. Is this common for this truck? Never off road, highway miles mostly. Seems premature to me. Thanks

 

Mine went at 61,000. Turned into my parking spot at work and the tie rod actually broke and went through the inside of my left front wheel.

 

Yes, since Ford went with the nonlubricate-able sealed joints this has been an expensive problem. Do a search on ball joints for previous discussions. If you need to replace yours I'd insist on getting new ones with grease fittings.

 

Thanks for the info.
Anything else I should be looking for?
I did have a coil go bad on #8 cyl. Had to replace plugs and boots on all 8 and one coil. 575.00 total. That hurt, rotors are next. They were thin at last brake inspect.

 

4 rotors here at 72,000.

 

I would take the truck to a front end shop for a second opinion. My Dad had a Crown Vic with 27,000 miles on it, and he was told by a Goodyear shop that his ball joints were shot. Obviously, they were perfectly good. The Goodyear jerks just saw my 80 hear old dad, and decided he would go for the repair.

Dad called me, and I called them, and they said they were just a little loose, and would probably be OK!!!

I called the Better Business Bureau and reported them.

Anyway, a second opinion is always good .

Good luck!

 

My 01 Screw has about 80K on it. I have replaced the the front pads twice, the front rotors once and the front calipers once. in my opinin that is the weakest part of the truck and that is what has kept me from towing much. if the front breaks give me this much trouble just getting to work, i can't imagine how fast i would burn through them while towing.

other than the brakes, it's been a great truck. but i think it's time for something new. either a new screw or the new expy.

 

Wingnut,
You absolutely right. The brakes are weak. The rotors showed signs of rust the first year! I've never heard of changing rotors with your pads! But thats what they wanted be to believe.
I like everything about my Screw, it jus doesnt seem to be built for the long run. I planned on running it for 10+ years. Now i'm looking at trading every 2 years, seems the only way to beat the system. I only wish BMW made pickups.
Go Pats!!!