Ball joints - Diesel Forum

Jasperr · 04-17-2007, 04:37 PM

Have 04 Ex with 78K and joints are showing wear. Ford wants $1200 to replace. How hard is this job? What are the best parts to use?
Thanks

WAMPAKU · 04-20-2007, 02:31 AM

its relatively easy. just need some big sockets and torque wrenches. get a really good ball joint press from a store to borrow. i did mine thats not stock in about 4 hours which includes repacking the bearings. from replacing the factory units it shouldnt take very long. figure about 6hrs for the first timer.

Jasperr · 04-20-2007, 11:27 AM

Thanks, I did see the step by step instructions after I posted.
It looks doable, however not to be done under duress.
Can the factory ones be greased in any way? I don't have time to tackle this until the end of May.

fxdwg · 04-20-2007, 11:45 AM

I don't think any of the older ones could be greased, unless you want to drill a hole in the original joint. But- you can drive the originals for a LONG time without having to really worry about it. Stupidly I drove one of mine for better than 50k before I replaced it. It made a hell of a thump every bump for a long time! When I pulled it, it had play but was still tight together and wasn't falling apart. Just wait until May. I'm now on my 3rd set. The replacements (Moog) are only marginally better, IMHO. I just did the replacement, so I'm going to try greasing these every 5k instead of every 10k to see if they last any longer. Follow the write-up. It's pretty good.

HDUTYDUDE · 04-20-2007, 12:25 PM

Have you guys heard of XRF Ball Joints. I've used them for about 5 years now. I've got an E350 with almost 500,000 miles on the ball joints and an Excursion with 150,000.

Four Wheel and Offroad Magazine did a write up on them a few years ago.

Appearantly they do a lot of military work and make parts for the logging and oil patch industry. I luv 'em and they are greaseable.

housedad · 04-20-2007, 06:14 PM

Is this the company?

XRF

They look like they mean business when it comes to making extreme duty parts.

housedad · 04-20-2007, 06:18 PM

Where do you buy them?

HDUTYDUDE · 04-20-2007, 06:44 PM

Yeah, that's the guys.

Where are you? I understand that if they don't have a distributor near you, they will sell direct.

You should call or email.

housedad · 04-20-2007, 06:50 PM

Answered my own question. Gave them a call and talked to a gentleman named John. I found out they make the OEM Balljoints for the Hummer H1. He said the aftermarket ones for the Excursion and superduties are even better quality.

Their prices are VERY competitive.

I told him about how we need a really good long lasting ball joint and it seems this is the one we want. They hold thir roundness to tight tolerances, and their heat treatment is much better than the competition. That means 'long lasting' parts

I'm going to order a set.

They sell direct if there is not a dealer in your area, otherwise they will send you to your local dealer.

Talking to him, they are VERY familiar with both the Dana 50 and the Excursion and what it needs.

housedad · 04-20-2007, 06:53 PM

Thanks for the info, HDUTYDUDE!!!

I'm looking forward to these. He sent me some literature by email that I am goin to peruse tonight.

MotionMan · 04-22-2007, 12:10 AM

You need a special tool to install the seals, you may as well buy new ones. Replace the yellow seals also. I had mine done and the seals have been a biotch. They can't seem to get it right and the 4wd will not hold air, it does for the 45 sec the pump runs but then drops off, that goodness for the manual hubs. I am almost ready to ditch the air deal, sell the hubs and buy some warns or mile markers. I guess I can get out to lock them, I do when on the hwy so I can change in and out at speed.

TxSam · 06-18-2007, 02:26 PM

Sorry to resurrect an old post, but I purchased some XRF ball joints and they do look real good. Was wondering if any of you guys that have used them were able to use the zerks that came with them (i.e. clearance issue, upper ball joint to u-joint)

Although they are straight, they seem to be fairly low profile. So just wondered what you guys did.

Thanks for any info!

lvsqcsl · 06-19-2007, 01:36 PM

Hi Jasper,

A good friend of mine has an '03 Excursion and he recently contacted me about a noise in the front end. (It was urgent! Actually his WIFE was complaining, hence the urgency!) It is an '03 with 85,000 miles.

I got there and the truck sounded like an old bed when you turned the steering wheel. Sure enough it was the balljoints. I got those things out and they were full of rust.

Go ahead and rent all the tools that you need to change the joints. I rented mine from O'Reilly's. I did need to leave a deposit, but the tool made things sooooo much easier.

As far as those seals go, the rubber on the outer seal that goes around the splined shaft was deteriorated and I saw no need to put it back together like that. You will need to either buy the tool from Ford or many people have posted that they just take the shaft to Ford and have them install the seals. Either way you will not be able to install the seals without the tool; you'll damage the seal. Also, make sure you install a new yellow "o" ring on the hub. The seals are very inexpensive so, I would just replace them all.

As far as the grease fitting on the upper balljoint clearing the universal joint, I understand that there is a company that makes a low profile grease fitting that will clear the joint. Do not leave that 90 degree zerk in the top balljoint. Install it, grease the joint, remove the zerk, and reinstall the plug that is provided. If you don't, it will be history the first time you use your ESOF. Good luck and let us know how it turns out. Craig. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]