Ball Joint Replacement

[dmh4k4]

Hi!

I'm looking at replacing my suspension on my 88 TC. By that I mean:
back springs
back shocks
possibly back suspension arms, but not sure yet
front springs
front shocks
pitman arm
idler arm (mine is shot bad)
inner and outer tie rod ends
upper and lower ball joints.

My question comes in that my Haynes repair manual says that the upper and lower ball joints are not servicable and the entire control arm should be replaced. I called the dealership because no one has one in my town and they want $250 each. No freakin way.

AutoZone does claim that they carry the ball joints. Has anyone replaced them w/o replacing the control arm? I assume that if they are servicable then they would be the 'push in' type instead of the 'bolt on' type, correct? I'm really stuck on how I'm going to do this one and was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction.

Also, has anyone replaced the bushings on the lower control arm at home? The manual says that this is best done by someone at a shop with the right tools. I know nothing about these.

Thanks!

[Ivan D.]

I rebuilt the whole fron end of my car over the summer, right in the school's parking lot too. You will need ball joint press kit (rent it from a parts store), a ball joint & tie rod pickle fork separator (rent that one too), a nice chiosel, a big hammer, a set of 1/2 drive sockets and breaker bar, a cheater pipe for the breaker bar, an electric sawzall, a MAPP-gas torch, two steel S-hooks (tohang the calipers on then when off the spindles), a floor jack & jackstands... It's fairly easy job if are ready to beat the hell out of some parts to get them to separate. All ball joints can be replaced without removing the control arms from the frame, in fact the only reason to remove the arms is to replace bushings. If you want something that will handle abuse get the NAPA premium BJs (made by DANA) and order the Energy Suspension 4.1350 bushings kit through AutoZone.

[gadget73]

The original Ford authorized way to do upper ball joints on a Panther was to replace the arm. The stock ones are riveted in. The replacements come with bolts. You have to cut the rivets off and use the bolts to secure the new ones. I do suggest new bushings if possible, the stock rubber ones after 20 years are about toast.

RE: rear control arms, they aren't a wear item. The bushings are and should be replaced, but the arms are just stamped steel things. If you can get new arms with bushings already in them for a reasonable price it might be worth it. Oh, the arms changed sometime in the early 90s, at least for the rear lower control arms. They use different bushings. Not 100% sure when this change was, but I'd take a wild guess at 1990 with the floor pan change.

[dmh4k4]

The original Ford authorized way to do upper ball joints on a Panther was to replace the arm. The stock ones are riveted in. The replacements come with bolts. You have to cut the rivets off and use the bolts to secure the new ones. I do suggest new bushings if possible, the stock rubber ones after 20 years are about toast.

RE: rear control arms, they aren't a wear item. The bushings are and should be replaced, but the arms are just stamped steel things. If you can get new arms with bushings already in them for a reasonable price it might be worth it. Oh, the arms changed sometime in the early 90s, at least for the rear lower control arms. They use different bushings. Not 100% sure when this change was, but I'd take a wild guess at 1990 with the floor pan change.
Awesome. Great info. I'll definately look in to the bushings.

Do you know if the lower joints are rivited in? I've never had to replace a ball joint. Is uing the ball joint press something a novice could do?

Thank you!

[gadget73]

They press in. Its not terribly difficult to do really, but I would highly suggest having air tools, namely a heavy duty impact gun to run them in and out. Also, putting a slight bevel on the lower edge of the lower ball joint makes installing them easier since they'll go in straight with the little bevel. Its a real PITA trying to get them perfect otherwise.

Suspension work isn't neccesarily hard, just you're dealing with stuff that requires a lot of torque to install/remove. You also have to be careful while doing the lowers that you support the lower control arm. If there isn't something under it keeping pressure on it, it will slam down when the ball joint is seperated, and the spring will quite probably go flying out with a rather huge amount of force. If you have the proper tools, and ideally the assistance of someone who may have done this before, you should be OK.

[dmh4k4]

Got my suspension done. Wow. That was a job. I had no experience in doing anything of this magnitude and complexity before – not that it was complex, but I was just inexperienced. Of course there was a lot of learning going on and a lot of work getting the old stuff off because it was rusted together.

After working on this for 4 days over last weekend and most of the afternoon this past Saturday I finally have everything back together and working. I ended up outsourcing my bushings and lower ball joints to a machine shop because I was so physically exhausted and did not have to time to deal with learning how to do those on my own.

Now my car rides like a champ. It is flat out amazing how much difference everything makes when it is new.

I just wanted to thank everyone for the pointers and tips. One additional tip I have for anyone that is trying to do something like this for the first time - There is a wonderful post on removing the front springs here: http://www.lincolnsonline.com/forum/showthread.php?t=49133&highlight=coil+spring, but just be forewarned that if your springs are really, really bad then they could be stretched too far to just fall out and you'll have to install a compressor anyhow. I ordered the exact same spring that was originally put on my car and the old spring was so warn that it was about 4 inches taller than the new ones so it wouldn't just fall out. My back springs were even worse.

Thanks again everyone!

[gadget73]

Brand new front suspension is quite possibly the single biggest improvement to driving experience possible. I was extremely pleased when I did mine too. Mine is all changed to 98-02 front parts but just making it all nice and tight did wonders. I can barely drive my truck now because after driving the towncar that tracks perfectly straight, driving the truck with the worn out steering box is tedious.

[OVERKILL]

Brand new front suspension is quite possibly the single biggest improvement to driving experience possible. I was extremely pleased when I did mine too. Mine is all changed to 98-02 front parts but just making it all nice and tight did wonders. I can barely drive my truck now because after driving the towncar that tracks perfectly straight, driving the truck with the worn out steering box is tedious.

Agreed completely. I'm a "do it once" type of guy too, so when it comes to parts like ball joints and tie-rods, I use Moog parts because of the lifetime warranty and the absolutely insane amount of re-engineering that goes into the parts themselves. My psychotic mechanic buddy also recommends them over all others so his opinion definitely counts as well.

I have been really impressed with the PI suspension as well. Monroe shocks and Moog springs, go figure :)

[Nathan in MN]

Do Moog front end parts have grease fittings on them so you can keep 'em lubed properly?

[OVERKILL]

Do Moog front end parts have grease fittings on them so you can keep 'em lubed properly?

Yes they do.

[Nathan in MN]

Sweet. :D How do their prices compare to other brands of the same type of stuff?

[OVERKILL]

Sweet. :D How do their prices compare to other brands of the same type of stuff?

They are typically a bit more expensive. Example: A white box ball-joint that is $20.00, the Moog would be like $45.00.

[Sysanalyst]

Even the cheapie Chinese ones have the zerk (grease) fittings. I've had luck with the cheapies, 25K miles on them without a problem and the vehicle actually holds an alignment! The Chinese sway bar end links are like the stock and have no zerk fittings,but seem to do quite well also.

[gadget73]

I'm using McQuay-Norris stuff, and its loaded with grease fittings. Fit was fine too. Moog is probably somewhat better quality but if you keep it lubricated, even a less expensive part will last a very long time.

Interestingly, if you get lifetime warranty TRW, there are no grease fittings. Cheapie 1 year warranty Tread-Saver or whatever the parts house brand is often will have a grease fitting. OEM ball joints are sealed TRW, at least on the 90s models. I have had in my hand recently a new old stock 96-02 Ford upper arm with ball joint, arm and ball joint had TRW on them.

[OVERKILL]

I'm using McQuay-Norris stuff, and its loaded with grease fittings. Fit was fine too. Moog is probably somewhat better quality but if you keep it lubricated, even a less expensive part will last a very long time.

Interestingly, if you get lifetime warranty TRW, there are no grease fittings. Cheapie 1 year warranty Tread-Saver or whatever the parts house brand is often will have a grease fitting. OEM ball joints are sealed TRW, at least on the 90s models. I have had in my hand recently a new old stock 96-02 Ford upper arm with ball joint, arm and ball joint had TRW on them.

Ford and TRW are VERY close. Mustang seatbelts (and possibly our TC ones) say TRW right on the back of the buckle. The pistons in the HO motors, and possibly the cast ones in the other engines are all made by TRW. The HO ones have TRW stamped right in them.

[gadget73]

Yeah I knew about the pistons in the HO motors. Didn't realize the belt latches were as well.