Lower Ball Joint
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From: Dallas, TX
Lower Ball Joint
I'm wanting to replace my lower ball joints today, but I'm finding some conflicting info on Youtube and in the Haynes man. Can someone who's done this before please give me a quick step-by-step on this procedure? I have a 2001 F-150 2 wheel drive.
What's the problem?
Spray fasteners with PB Blaster last week.
Jack up the truck.
Take the wheel off.
Remove the brake caliper and tie it off somewhere.
Separate the tie rod end from the spindle.
With the assistance of an appropriately-sized pickle fork and a hammer, remove the spindle.
Remove the ball joint's snap ring.
Hammer/press the old ball joint out.
Press the new one in.
Reverse disassembly.
Spray fasteners with PB Blaster last week.
Jack up the truck.
Take the wheel off.
Remove the brake caliper and tie it off somewhere.
Separate the tie rod end from the spindle.
With the assistance of an appropriately-sized pickle fork and a hammer, remove the spindle.
Remove the ball joint's snap ring.
Hammer/press the old ball joint out.
Press the new one in.
Reverse disassembly.
Thread Starter
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Member
Joined: Dec 2011
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From: Dallas, TX
Thanks, man. That's what I thought, and that's what the Haynes manual says but this dude in the youtube video is loosening his stabilizer bar and taking off the cv axel nuts and all this stuff. I just wanted to make sure I didn't have to do any of that stuff.
Here's the vid I'm talking about:
Here's the vid I'm talking about:
Thanks, man. That's what I thought, and that's what the Haynes manual says but this dude in the youtube video is loosening his stabilizer bar and taking off the cv axel nuts and all this stuff. I just wanted to make sure I didn't have to do any of that stuff.
Here's the vid I'm talking about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw2e82Tic1g
Here's the vid I'm talking about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw2e82Tic1g
Good luck!
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From: Dallas, TX
Ok I'm having trouble getting the spindle loose with the pickle fork and hammer. I'm supposed to insert the pickle fork between the ball joint and control arm and hammer the bolt upwards correct?
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Finished the lower ball joint replacement, and it went pretty well. It took me about 4 hours, but I could probably do it again in 1.5-2 since this was my first time.
Tools I needed that I didn't already have for replacement on the 97-2003 F-150 RWD:
Breaker Bar ~$25
Torque Wrench ~$25
Pickle Fork ~$10 (But the ball joint puller is probably worth it instead for ~$20. You can use it for disconnecting the tie rod AND the lower control arm from the steering knuckle)
O/S Sockets (The biggest socket I needed was 24mm for the ball joint castle nut.)
Grease Gun ($10-$50 depending on how good of a gun you want, but it's a good tool to have for lots of other applications)
Snap Ring Pliers ~$20 (Overpriced for what they do. You can get snap rings off with needle nose pliers and a flat head if you really wanted to)
*Special ball joint press ~$120, and you can rent it from Autozone or OReilly's and they give you your money back when you return it.
Other notes:
1) Make sure you get a ball joint with a grease fitting so you don't have this problem again. It was stupid of Ford to design them without grease fittings.
2) I got the Raybestos ball joint on Rock Auto for $18 including shipping. It comes with the ball joint, grease fitting, 24mm castle nut, cotter pin, and snap ring.
3) You have to remove the protective boot on the underside of the ball joint to install it all the way with the special ball joint press, then you put it back on once the ball joint is press-fitted all the way. The boot on the Raybestos ball joint is held on with 2 thin metallic rings. You can pry these rings apart to get the ball joint off, but be careful not to damage the boot when you're doing that.
4) As noted in my previous post, I had some trouble getting the steering knuckle apart from the control arm, but if you hammer the pickle fork in between the ball joint and control arm, then hammer the threaded ball joint bolt upwards it will come off. No need to be scared of screwing anything up since you're replacing the ball joint anyways.
5) I removed the break caliper, but it's not really necessary.
That's about all. Thanks to the help I received via this forum, Youtube and RockAuto I saved myself about $400 over what the dealership was going to charge. Thanks everyone!
Tools I needed that I didn't already have for replacement on the 97-2003 F-150 RWD:
Breaker Bar ~$25
Torque Wrench ~$25
Pickle Fork ~$10 (But the ball joint puller is probably worth it instead for ~$20. You can use it for disconnecting the tie rod AND the lower control arm from the steering knuckle)
O/S Sockets (The biggest socket I needed was 24mm for the ball joint castle nut.)
Grease Gun ($10-$50 depending on how good of a gun you want, but it's a good tool to have for lots of other applications)
Snap Ring Pliers ~$20 (Overpriced for what they do. You can get snap rings off with needle nose pliers and a flat head if you really wanted to)
*Special ball joint press ~$120, and you can rent it from Autozone or OReilly's and they give you your money back when you return it.
Other notes:
1) Make sure you get a ball joint with a grease fitting so you don't have this problem again. It was stupid of Ford to design them without grease fittings.
2) I got the Raybestos ball joint on Rock Auto for $18 including shipping. It comes with the ball joint, grease fitting, 24mm castle nut, cotter pin, and snap ring.
3) You have to remove the protective boot on the underside of the ball joint to install it all the way with the special ball joint press, then you put it back on once the ball joint is press-fitted all the way. The boot on the Raybestos ball joint is held on with 2 thin metallic rings. You can pry these rings apart to get the ball joint off, but be careful not to damage the boot when you're doing that.
4) As noted in my previous post, I had some trouble getting the steering knuckle apart from the control arm, but if you hammer the pickle fork in between the ball joint and control arm, then hammer the threaded ball joint bolt upwards it will come off. No need to be scared of screwing anything up since you're replacing the ball joint anyways.
5) I removed the break caliper, but it's not really necessary.
That's about all. Thanks to the help I received via this forum, Youtube and RockAuto I saved myself about $400 over what the dealership was going to charge. Thanks everyone!