So I jacked my truck up today in school and sure enough all 4 ball joints need replaced. My teacher said they would probably pass inspection but barely. There is play. It's a 2wd so how hard are they to do? Any help is appreciated.
ball joints on the 93 f150
- Thread starter Dakota1820
- Start date
- Status
Originally Posted By: Gabe
They are actually easy to do. The hardest part is grinding or drilling out the rivets.
You might want to replace the upper control arm bushing as well.
Huh? There are no rivets to remove. Control arm bushings? Are you remotely familiar with the Twin I-Beam suspension? There are no control arms.
They are actually easy to do. The hardest part is grinding or drilling out the rivets.
You might want to replace the upper control arm bushing as well.
Huh? There are no rivets to remove. Control arm bushings? Are you remotely familiar with the Twin I-Beam suspension? There are no control arms.
I've only replaced ball joints on the 4wd version of these trucks, which is a little more involved. For 2wd models, I believe all you need to do is remove the wheel, unbolt the caliper, and remove the rotor. Disconnect the tie rod from the spindle. Remove the nut on the lower ball joint. Remove the pinch bolt and the snap ring on the upper ball joint. Then you should be able to knock the spindle loose from the axle beam. Once you get the spindle off, you just press the ball joints out, and press the new ones in. They're held in with snap rings, not rivets.
Yea it looks easy. The hardest part will be just getting everything loose probably. Do you know what size wrenches and sockets its requires
Originally Posted By: exranger06
Originally Posted By: Gabe
They are actually easy to do. The hardest part is grinding or drilling out the rivets.
You might want to replace the upper control arm bushing as well.
Huh? There are no rivets to remove. Control arm bushings? Are you remotely familiar with the Twin I-Beam suspension? There are no control arms.
Sorry about that. I saw the OP name and assumed it was a GM he was talking about...
Originally Posted By: Gabe
They are actually easy to do. The hardest part is grinding or drilling out the rivets.
You might want to replace the upper control arm bushing as well.
Huh? There are no rivets to remove. Control arm bushings? Are you remotely familiar with the Twin I-Beam suspension? There are no control arms.
Sorry about that. I saw the OP name and assumed it was a GM he was talking about...
Originally Posted By: chevyboy14
Yea it looks easy. The hardest part will be just getting everything loose probably. Do you know what size wrenches and sockets its requires
Not off the top of my head, no. They're all common sizes though, all metric.
Does your truck have front ABS? Once again, I'm mostly familiar with the 4wd models, so the 2wd setup may be different, but on the 4wds the sensor gets rusted to the spindle and is almost impossible to remove without breaking it. The best thing to do it just leave it on the spindle, and just disconnect the wire at the framerail.
Yea it looks easy. The hardest part will be just getting everything loose probably. Do you know what size wrenches and sockets its requires
Not off the top of my head, no. They're all common sizes though, all metric.
Does your truck have front ABS? Once again, I'm mostly familiar with the 4wd models, so the 2wd setup may be different, but on the 4wds the sensor gets rusted to the spindle and is almost impossible to remove without breaking it. The best thing to do it just leave it on the spindle, and just disconnect the wire at the framerail.
nope just the rear anti lock.
Easy to do, it's almost fun.
Yeah, if this is going to be your first ball joint replacement you couldn't have picked an easier truck to work on. As a bounus, the generic 7-piece ball joint press kit you can find anywhere even fits this truck!
Whether you decide to hammer or press, keep in mind where you're pushing and where you're holding. Never press on the ball stud. If you're using the press tool and the old joint doesn't want to budge, rap the knuckle (not the tool) with a hammer to jar it. When installing, always be sure your new joint is going in perfectly straight. If it goes cocked at all, stop and straighten it. Straighten with a hammer, not the press tool. If you want to make it extra easy, put the new ball joints in your freezer to chill for a while before you get started.
Whether you decide to hammer or press, keep in mind where you're pushing and where you're holding. Never press on the ball stud. If you're using the press tool and the old joint doesn't want to budge, rap the knuckle (not the tool) with a hammer to jar it. When installing, always be sure your new joint is going in perfectly straight. If it goes cocked at all, stop and straighten it. Straighten with a hammer, not the press tool. If you want to make it extra easy, put the new ball joints in your freezer to chill for a while before you get started.
yonyon can you explain the putting the new ball joints in the freezer thing? i have done them before. every time i've either ended and said that was easy or @$%^%&##%^&#$%^&%^$#$$%%^!@!@#$%%^^$#) short breath and then AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! LOL no spaces either its just one long curse word lol
it might not even be a word. its jumbled up frustration. the dodge ram sucked because it was so rusted and the cavalier joints i did sucked because the stupid rivets. all the rest have been ok.
well the job itself wasnt bad but the cheap press napa had sucked majorly.
The twin i beam suspension has the upper ball joint pinch bolted in, and the lower has a a nut with a specific torque when bolted to the axle. If you exceed the torque value, then it will pull the ball up further into its socket were it cannot turn freely (basically stretching the socket). It will cause a "tight" feel when trying to move the knuckle back and forth even after 'setting' the lower joint. It should spin freely to have proper steering wheel return and to prevent memory steer.
Last edited:
I still don't understand this. I'm not trying to say it isn't true, I just don't grasp it yet.
The way I'm picturing this making the nut tighter would pull the stud up into the axle but the socket & knuckle should just come along for the ride, right? What makes the socket stay down when the overtightened nut pulls the stud up?
The way I'm picturing this making the nut tighter would pull the stud up into the axle but the socket & knuckle should just come along for the ride, right? What makes the socket stay down when the overtightened nut pulls the stud up?
There's a spring in the socket that pushes the ball up against the top of the socket. The base of the socket pulls up into the control arm. If you pull on the stud hard enough that the ball is pulling up against the top of its socket with much more force than the spring is giving, then it gets tight.
When mating parts are worn enough that the spring has expanded about as far as it'll go, then the joint gets noticeably loose.
When mating parts are worn enough that the spring has expanded about as far as it'll go, then the joint gets noticeably loose.
Originally Posted By: eljefino
There's a spring in the socket that pushes the ball up against the top of the socket. The base of the socket pulls up into the control arm. If you pull on the stud hard enough that the ball is pulling up against the top of its socket with much more force than the spring is giving, then it gets tight.
What you're saying would make sense if the knuckle were jammed tight up against the axle beam. If that were the case, you'd already have a problem of the steering being jammed.
At this point I'm pretty much convinced this is just an old fish story. If I overtighten my lugs that somehow make the wheel bearing stiff and give me bad fuel economy?
There's a spring in the socket that pushes the ball up against the top of the socket. The base of the socket pulls up into the control arm. If you pull on the stud hard enough that the ball is pulling up against the top of its socket with much more force than the spring is giving, then it gets tight.
What you're saying would make sense if the knuckle were jammed tight up against the axle beam. If that were the case, you'd already have a problem of the steering being jammed.
At this point I'm pretty much convinced this is just an old fish story. If I overtighten my lugs that somehow make the wheel bearing stiff and give me bad fuel economy?
- Status
Similar threads
