Ive got a 93 f-150 4x4 and its time for ball joint replacement. the driver side upper and lower joints seem fine, but the passenger side upper joint is worn out. the lower didnt show signs of wear, but since im replacing the upper, should i just go ahead and replace the lower too? does anyone know about how much the parts might cost?? thanks

YES! Replace both on each side while you're in there. Ball joints are usually $17-30 each depending upon upper/lower and manufacturer. Get TRW or Moog or you'll be doing it again in 6 mos. If you get the better brands you won't have to do it for 1 to 1.5 years :rolleyes:

http://www.off-road.com/ford/bigbroncos/tech/balljoint.html

well i figure that if im going to replace 2, then i might as well replace 4, seeing as how none have ever been replaced. i noticed that jc whitney has them for $16.95 each. but i didnt see a brand name anywhere on them. any info on those? what is the one brand would you recommend over the others? keep in mind that i am in college and have a very limited budget. would auto zone stock something that you would recommend? or would i have to look in a more part-specific store? and in the pictures it shows manual hubs. what about auto hubs? i know they are a little different when it comes to removal.
as you can probably tell, im new to this stuff. ive owned a 4x4 for just over a year now and im still trying to learn everything.
thanks for the info.

call around, i use moog and they last for a little while. Depending how much wheelin you do. Do all 4 at once, you don't have to but geez if your getting that dirty just do it all and call it done. I just bought my 4 balljoints, i'm just waiting till i feel like wasting a day to do it. Have some knucklebusting fun!

not shure if this is a given but you guys really have to get the right tool for the job. they are about $99 nad will save MANY HOURS of frustration and tool throw'in anger!!!! you buy the kit and you can press almost anything out, even ujoints
i'm sure that we have all used the vice to do the u-joints and that sucks, this tool makes fats work of any of the stuff and is realtively cheap, But WAY worth money in the long run, no to mention it all fits into a handy carring case the size of a crafstman 100 piece tool box, perfect for the trails.......... i know.........:mad: :mad:

ohhh and heck ya man just replace them all and save your self headache!!!

Originally posted by fox
not shure if this is a given but you guys really have to get the right tool for the job. they are about $99 nad will save MANY HOURS of frustration and tool throw'in anger!!!!

You can get the whole cheap-ass (always worked for me) kit from Harbor Freight for like $40-50. You can also rent it FOR FREE dollars at Autozone. Get the press, put it on your CC, do the job, return it, get your $$ back. :smokin:

the bad thing about auto zone is that they make you leave a $100 deposite. yes i know it is 100% refundable, but its one thing if you dont have an extra $100 laying around (im poor and in college) and its another thing that if youre going to spend the money you might as well buy it and get to keep it. and who knows, maybe a friend might be in need of it some time. but anyway, thanks for the info.

Originally posted by tmillspaw
the bad thing about auto zone is that they make you leave a $100 deposite. yes i know it is 100% refundable, but its one thing if you dont have an extra $100 laying around (im poor and in college) and its another thing that if youre going to spend the money you might as well buy it and get to keep it. and who knows, maybe a friend might be in need of it some time. but anyway, thanks for the info.

You can charge it if you have room on a credit card. MY problem w/Autozone is that they insist upon refunding in cash, so if you wanna offset that $100 you've gotta mail it off to your cc company. At least that's how my local Autozone operates.