quicklift = change in suspension geometry.

New UCA= same suspension geometry with a new, beefier part.



Like I said, you shouldn't have to. The alignment is taken care of with little "washer" type devices in the lower control arm. The UCA should not affect it.

 

Makes sense

 

The mechanic said he could barely get it aligned back to factory specs due to the upper ball joint going bad. Is that true or was he stretching the truth a little?

 

Yeaa, I just changed my lower ball joints and I got 45,000 miles on the odometer on my 04 f150

 

The upper ball joints, if they go bad, can cause alignment issues. Thats because they get "sloppy" and can't hold their "position". They can allow for other suspension parts to move just a little bit, causing a mis-alignment. When you took it in, was is pulling off to a side ? Thats usually a good sign you may be in need of an alignment.

Hard to tell if he was "stertching" the truth tho... they could have been fine. I didn't see them.

 

It didn't pull at all. There was significant outer edge wear on both front tires, though. That was the reason for the new tires.

Now, that I think about it. The truck did have a good bit of lane wander on top of the tire wear. I will probably just change both uppers and lowers at the same time.

Damn, that makes for a long Saturday.

at our DIY auto shop:
oil change
brake pad change
upper/lower ball joint change

then off to the shop for an alignment

fun times..

 

^^^ sounds like a day FULL of excitement ! And you know everything will come together without a hitch
And from the sounds of it, you were probably due for those Upper ball joints.
so you guys have a local DIY shop ? How does that work ? You rent a bay ? never heard of that, but sounds like a great idea... maybe a new business venture !

 

I work as a contractor on the military base out this way. They have a DYI shop. You can do damn near anything you would ever want to in there. Engine swaps, turn rotors, oil change, tranny change, rear end work, suspension work..I know the hobby shop in Pearl Harbor even had a paint booth.

 

aww.... didn't know you were on a military base. I knew they had stuff like that. Awesome man, so what kind of work do you do on base ?

Which base?

 

I have a question, Is there a way to tell your self if your ball joints are going bad??

My second question is if I replace the ball joints with aftermarket ones or beefier ones, will they last longer?

dont mean to jack thread, just was curious, I have a AS 21/2" right now.

 

Port Hueneme. Its helps on the labor costs..

 

The way to check ball joints, from my recent searching:

1. lift truck up using frame as support
2. place long sturdy bar under tire..bar acts like a lever to lift/move tire..
3. look to see where, if any, the excess movement in the ball jionts is coming from..

if that is wrong, feel free to correct it/me..



I can't seem to find any aftermarket uppers for the 05 anywhere. All I can find is the OEM replacements. I wouldn't mind using MOOG, but finding them is proving impossible.

 

^^ thats about right, but its reall not an exact sceince. If you start having your truck wander on you, or pull to one side, you may want to look into it. Otherwise the "bar test" would work fine. Also, visual inspections don't hurt !

 

Camburg and Total Chaos make awesome UCAs with uniballs, but factory backspacing won't work. You need 5" max with Camburg and 4.5" max with TC.

Sux

 

Does that mean we, 04+ models, have to use oem upper control arms when using oem wheels?