Ford Explorer **"LOWER"** Ball Joint Replacement
Vložit
- čas přidán 8. 09. 2024
- Replacing the lower ball joints for beginners, this was the first time I have ever done this. It wasn't all that hard but it was time consuming.
(Torque specs-)
Lower Ball Joint Castle Nut -- (83 - 112 ft/lbs)
Upper Ball Joint Pinch Bolt -- (35 - 46 ft/lbs)
Auto Parts Direct related video's-
• 1997 Ford Explorer Par...
• 2003 Ford Ranger Ball ...
• 2003 Ford Ranger Ball ...
• 1997 Ford Explorer Con...
I’m going to use this and the top comment about not removing the caliper this weekend. Thanks for taking the time.
Master mechanic here. I gave you a thumbs up for your work. I want to point out that I would have done this job and not removed the upper control arm OR the brake caliper. You turn the steering wheel to the right, then separate lower ball joint then push steering knuckle off to the left. Leaving the upper control arm ball joint connected would have actually made the job easier
Good good iam going to try 👍
Kurt Russel narrates Ford Explorer Suspension Work - Exciting!
Old comment, but yeah man! 😁 Like having a suspension tutorial from Stuntman Mike!☠️
Not even going to lie, this was most helpful.
Your video made it look so easy... I tried the Autozone rental ball joint seating tool and had a hell of a time... Next time, it's Harborfreight... But yeah, Your vid helped save a couple of lower income folks about $400.. they paid for parts, no need to pay shop labor. Thanks to videos like this, people can help others out.
the Casel nut wor TRO my wheel now won't hold air!!!!
Great video for the do it yourself kind of people. I'm an ASE master certified mechanic and could point out a few things done incorrectly but You got the job done and have hopefully helped some people out. Never tap a bolt in (upper control arm in video). Reposition the piece you're working on so the bolt doesn't get forced in risking thread distortion. Also, never tighten a suspension or almost any nut bolt combo on just the bolt side. You will not get the proper torque (upper ball joint in video). Those are just a few things I'd do differently but other than that..great video man! I appreciate people making these types of videos to help people do their own automotive repairs..even though it cuts into my profits lol
Thanks a bunch Lee! I certainly do appreciate any constructive help... especially from a master mechanic!!
Lee Shilling Master mechanic here. Job would have been easier had the upper arm ball joint been left connected and brake caliper left connected and knuckle assembly simply pushed to the peft
Thanks Earl...Hopefully some viewers will read the comments before starting and take some great advice from the pro's into consideration before starting. Back when I made this video I had a hard time finding any video's that explained this job in any detail, that's why I made one, the best I could.
Bucket247 You got the job done and I would trust the vehicle to drive with your repair for a good 10 years and coming from me that is a compliment
Earl....I'll take that to the bank buddy!!!
I love this guy!! I feel like we would be good friends!! "If you ever wanna make things harder on yourself get a harbor freight ball joint kit" 🤣🤣
Btw nice dad shoes!! 😆
🍺 Cheers buddy! Glad you appreciate the humor!! 😆
Here in the UK i've just visited two American car 'specialist' garages who won't touch this job! Looks fairly straightforward in this excellent video, so I'm tackling it myself.
Hell yea Andy!!! Those guys suck!! You can do it, I did and with zero experience. Not saying good mechanics couldn’t do it better but if they are not willing to try then they aren’t very good.
Well, got the job done, took about for hours. A decent bearing press is essential and an impact wrench helps a lot. Mine's the 4wd version, once you get the hub assembly off there's enough room (just!) to hammer out the bearing without removing the drive shaft.
@@andypagin8520 I'll bet your pretty satisfied with the money saved and the results even though it took a few hrs to get it done!
Thanks was about to attempt on my 01 explorer and your video gave good direction.
Thank you for such a well made & narated video. This is just what I wanted to find for my Husband's sake. He has no mechanical skills, but I give him credit for wanting to have a crack at replacing the lower ball joints in our '99 Explorer. I myself know how to do the job, and most other mechanics on most vechicles as my first husband before he passed away was a mechanic, and I am a panel beater/spray painter by trade, so I am rather handy around most vechiles, but I wanted to find something that was going to help him out so that he could do the job independantly, and just call on me if he gets in trouble. So thank you very much.
Well Debbra it was my first time doing lowers myself and I didn't have too many problems so I think he'll be ok!!
Well Bucket247, If that was your first time at tackling the job, you did a 1st class job of it, and as I said very well presented. Credit where credit is due!
Thanks Debbra, glad I could be of so much help to people since I use youtube for DIY stuff myself, it's always great to pass it forward!
real good video,
I'll toss in one tip that caused me to waste money a year ago.
I replaced the lower ball joints pretty much like you did only to find out less than a year later that the bushings on the Lower Control Arms (LCA) were shot. They sell the bushing sepaperate for the LCA but I don't think that I could have ever pressed the old ones out and the new ones in. So I ended up replacing the entire LCAs that had my 6 month old ball joint in them.
So my tip is to check your LCA bushings when it is time to replace the ball joint. If they are shot then do the entire LCA instead. I had not done either of these procedures before and was able to do them myself thanks to UTube.
+Steve Haare Great freekin tip Steve!!! Thanks for posting it buddy!
Great video! You helped me very much!
Your video gave me the confidence to tackle this job on my 2001 Explorer Sport last weekend. Thanks a million!
As an aside; you may want to add torque specs to your video description for other's reference.
Lower Ball Joint Castle Nut -- (83 - 112 ft/lbs)
Upper Ball Joint Pinch Bolt -- (35 - 46 ft/lbs)
+Chris Carby Thanks for the specs Chris, I didn't use a torque wrench...I just cranked em down. Torque wrench is the way to go though!! I added you're specs to the description.
A 1998 Ford Explorer here in the UK is always sodding rusty. You are so lucky in the states! I battled for 3.5 hours installing extended shackles, 1.75 hours was spent removing the initial nuts... then the bolts gave me shit. I had a mate help me so all was sorted! Cheers for the vid, good upload and sweet taste in music ma man!
Thanks LJ!! It definitely helps to have zero rust on your undercarriage, glad you guys got it all sorted buddy!! Thanks for watching.
Nice work
This a awesome video. This guy is good with the instructions and he makes it very clear. He is a great teacher!!!! Looking forward to more of your videos. I'm a woman who want to know more about cars. Some guys just don't want to learn but this lady does. Thank you so much Bucket247
anita washington I’m glad you enjoyed the video! It’s good to know that you are interested in fixing your own stuff, good for you! I think you will be fantastic at it!
Thanks for the refresher it has been 20* years since i last did this on my 1996 Ford Explorer
E H 👍🏻
Thanks man my ball joints are twerkin on my 99 Sport Exploder 😂
🤔...😆😆
Thanks - I need to do it, but have not yet. I just jammed as much grease in as I could to get it to keep quiet for a while. This is very helpful!
Hahaha!! Don't think that I didn't do that with mine too! I think that's the first thought when you realize what your up against...jam it with grease to get by for a while, but my street is chock full of potholes and I finally had to get it done before something more costly got broken. Both sides could be done in one day, the first one will be slow and go but once you get that one done the second one will be a breeze!
Thank you! great video. first timer here ZERO garage experiance but id did replace my rear breakes, rotor and a sezed caliper so if i could figure out all that im sure i can fix that wobbly squeaky balljoint
Waiting for more of your videos
Thanks for this video!! Probably the best one i've seen yet, gotta do both lower ball joint on my 95 explorer.. Thank again bud.
josh82685 No problem buddy! Hope it helps ya out. Definitely worth saving the money by doing it yourself...good luck.
It did, and definitely a money saver. I did both sides yesterday morning, and it was a breeze, even with harbour freight tools.. HaHa. Thanks again. Take care buddy
RIGHT ON BROTHER!!! Yea even with Harbor Freight tools it's do-able! Glad it all worked out.
very interesting guy explains everything clearly....many thanks.......
this helped me out alot and wrote down what tools were needed for replacing lower ball joints looking forward to race them on a 2004 ford explorer
Fantastic Jason!! Thanks for watching buddy!
This guy had me rolling the entire video!
I appreciate the video. I'm working on this today and I'm sure I'll have no problems after watching your video... Thanks!
I agree, you shouldnt have any problems at all except possibly a stuck bolt or two that may need some convincing...good luck!
It's hard to believe how clean the underside of a 98 looks down south. I can see the palm style trees in the background.
My 98 looks like it has 200k more miles on it bc of the road conditions up here in NY.
Thanks for the video! Helpful
The Empowerment Project I lived in Northern Michigan for two yrs... i know exactly what you mean, frozen parking brake cables... rust galore, hard to free up stuck bolts, many many problems up in da cold eh? Cars here and in Arizona are typically real clean underneath.
@Bucket & Boomers,
Great vid bub, you're a natural. You can do the job without removing the caliper and upper arm, but if you prefer to remove them a small, and well placed, scissor jack comes in very handy for reassembly...
Thanks KC, any ideas to make things easier or faster are always welcome buddy! 👍🏽
I hit the like button as soon as I saw the tube sock grease rag!!! I have used many of them myself!!
Hahahaha!!! Can't let an otherwise perfectly good sock go to waste! Thanks Motecalevol...had a great laugh on that comment!
Hello! Just found your video. Thanks for crediting our video, we're glad to help.
+Auto Parts Direct To You (No problem at all, you guys rock with some great video's that have helped me out substantially!!)
Thanks. Others took the rotor off. Great tip
Great video bud! I learn all my stuff off youtube as well. The bucket and lower castle nut trick were lifesavers.
great vid. i understood 99.99% of every thing you did and said. there was only one tiny bit of the video that was dark and couldn't see but it wasn't important so 100% after all. thanks for the upload.
+crinklyten Hope it helped out...thanks for watching buddy!!
Excellent first time, never been there before CZcams! You are very easy to follow and understand. After watching Auto Parts Direct To You and your vid, I'm ready to tackle the passenger side ball joints on my newly aquired 99 Ford Ranger. Thanks a lot!
Thanks for watching Geno! I hope it helped out and I'm sure you'll get it done on your Ranger with no problems!
Thanks for the Video! You certainly helped me out! I just replaced wheel bearings on my daughter's 1999 Ford Explorer. As I had wheel hub off, I noticed the upper ball and lower ball joints needed replacement. Now, I have to go in again!!! I will have to gather more toy tools anyway !!
yogiberra47 Yes...mine was a 98, so I guess since yours is 99 that it's about that time!!
@@Bucket247 Was symptom making a loud clunking noise when you would put on the brakes? or other noise...
EXCELLENT video my friend. You helped me out big time. One of the best how to videos ive ever seen. Thank you!
Thanks buddy! glad to be able to help out!!
Seeing you do this I can do it to I'm gonna put my mind to it and get it done now
You definitely can!!! 👍🏽
im about to do this myself. thank you for the help
I use a similar type of C-clamp press to remove and replace valve spring retainers. I found that lubing up the threads on the clamp with a thin coating of general purpose grease makes the turning much easier. I was surprised what a difference it made compared to using it dry. Great video BTW.
Towards the end of the video when u were putting assembly back on u said "thats a bitch,"....priceless.👍👍
+skorpyo33 Hahah! watched the vid again for myself and you're right! at roughly 19:02 I dropped the B-Bomb, but it was well earned Skorpyo! ;)
A 98 Ford that doesn't have a lot of rust? Either it's from the southern States or it's some kind of flippin magic! Also a little tip for opening up your bottom ball joint.... Put another Jack or something solid underneath the ball joint and lower the car back on it before you loosen the upper ball joint
Yea it’s southern taxifornia, where the gas prices are too high to drive em anywhere!
I did the uppers with controls arms and lowers a few years back on my 99. Was almost an all day project but I also did the front bearings, and had a couple of beer breaks :O. Always good to have the right tools... in my case I was loaned the ball joint kit from Autozone..no charge only a refundable deposit. 7 years later, alas, the lowers on the front are needing replacement..boots gave out and won't contain the grease as they used to. Oh well, have to schedule a Sunday for lower ball joint work. Good vid btw. Thanks
+Kalspeed ...I hear ya buddy, I usually schedule a Saturday just in case I bungle something, then I have one extra day to fix it.
Hey this was a huge help!! Thank you! I've been building muscle cars and off-road trucks all my life and somehow I've never had to do this. But it's my wife's truck, so I'm doing it ALL NEW. You know the saying- Happy Wife, Anal Delight! I just wanted to comment, you can "buy specialty tools at any auto parts shop like AutoZone or advance Auto parts, and they cost the exact same as if you were buying the pardon new, but the difference is there rentals. As in you use it for the one job you need it and then you take it back to the store that you got it from and they give you back a 100% of the money you spent in the first place even if you break the tool. That way you don't have to debate between buying a junker harbor freight tool or spending the big box on a quality tool from someplace. Just go to AutoZone tell him what you need still and they'll get it right to you right off the shelf and that becomes the new rental. And you still get 100% of your money back! How awesome is that!!??
😆😆 never quite thought of it (anal delight) like that... guess i'll be talking the wife into ball joints this weekend!!
Awesome video. I feel like I’m listening to Kurt Russell. 😂
You would not believe how many people say that!!! 😆
Thank you for the video. I have a 89 chevy stepside that just collapsed on me (JUST now) and I'm trying to see if I can fix it myself. This video really helps me out.
Random:You really, REALLY sound like Kurt Russell. I was waiting to see your face to make sure lol
so that is the use of old socks lol.
very helpfull video. thumbs up
I just replaced a couple lower ball joint in my 2001 Ranger last year. I only use Moog BJ's because I trust their quality. When I opened the box I couldnt find the boot. I looked in the other box and no boot there either. I was like what the heck? Then I read the instruction sheet and found out they changed the design and the boot is now built into the ball joint and you can see it around the metal shaft where it sticks out of the larger round part. We'll see how long the new "improved" version holds up.
Nice informative video, what got me was when he got the sock out! Lolz Thumbs up!
atown7714 hahaha!! That was pretty funny! Don’t worry I put it back on after the job was done!
Not bad,..I dd my 98' explorer upper and lowers,...about the same for me,..first time and learned from youtube,..only autozone will loan you the balljoint press for free,..hahaha,..but at least you got it cheap !!! Nice vid !!
Thanks SilkySlim! I just finished checking the brakes on it about 5 min ago and those were fine so i pumped the balljoints with grease while i was at it. so far so good👍🏽👍🏽
AWESOME JOB!!! THANX FOR THE VIDEO GONNA TACKLE THIS JOB MYSELF!
No problem Jim, you won't regret it. I started out just planning on doing the uppers, but after taking it apart I realized without doing the lowers...I'm really only doing half the job, but I couldn't find any video's on it so I made one and I think it shows that for the average guy that can turn a wrench... that this half of the job is totally do-able as well.
Nice thank you my 98 is such a piece of junk and I’m always using CZcams to fix it. I can’t see spending more than it’s worth to have someone else do it 👍
I bought my 98 4×4 in May last year from 82 year old guy that owned it for 20 years, he was the second owner. The first owner had it for a year doing runs between Sudbury, ON to Toronto, ON. It was in immaculate condition and it had 218,000 kms on it when I bought it, it now has 270,000 kms. He was asking $4000 CAN and I got it for $3500 CAN. For the safety, it only needed rear shocks (which, the owner disclosed) and a small front brake line. Oh, and it's a U.S. made truck that was imported into Canada from the factory.
I absolutely love my truck and the few repairs I've had to make have been easy peasy compared to the 3 Dodge Grand Caravans that I've had over the last 9 years. The only 2 things that I wish were different about it is 1) The 4×4 is: Auto/4-HI/4-LOW, I wish I could have 4×2 mode as the 4×4 sometimes kicks in when I front want it to, and 2) I wish I had the 5.0L-V8 in it. I find the 4.0L-V6, a little underpowered for my liking. All in all though I love my truck!
good video, the only thing i would suggest is to spray some lube in the removal and the pressin of the new ball joint, it would help
never done it before I keep watching this video over and over...
Hopefully you just fricken nailed it Noel!!!
2001 thru 2005 Explorer Sport Trac uses the same front lower arms as the 1995 thru 2001 Explorer and Mountaineer.
I bought used lower arms off Ebay in mid 2016. I drilled the rubber control arm bushings out leaving the metal sleeves in. I pressed in Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings and installed new Moog greaseable all joints identical to those in this video. It made for quick swapping of the arms and greatly minimizes down time. My front suspension is quiet again and steering is nice'n'tight like my ex Puerto Rican girlfriend. When replacing the bushing regardless if rubber or polyurethane you want to use liberal amounts of silicone grease, not regular lube grease. If you're on Facebook you can look up HELMUT RONER POLYURETHANE CONTROL ARM BUSHINGS in the Ford Explorer Sport Trac Owners group. You'll see the many pics I took of my control arm rebuild and install.
Just found your video.Thanks so much for the video. It was a giant
help
Great video. You sound like Kurt Russell
Funny you mention that, I’ve had people tell me that often then when i mention it to someone else they say no way... not even close. 🤷♂️
Thanks man.. Just did mine.. Pain in the ass but you're video helped a bunch.. The other side will be much easier.. Bitch doing this stuff on the ground but beats paying almost 700 bucks for a 4 new ball joint install.. Thank God for Beer..
michael hutchings Amen brother!! I’m getting tired of working down low as well! Glad it worked out for you!
Thanks man! Just starting this with new upper and lower control arms with bushings and ball joints already installed! Tell me what the torsion arm procedure was???
Turns quite easy, you knocked your ball joint with a hammer, I had to use the same HF tool you have. My ball joint is 10,000s larger than the hole in the spindle, good luck to me, yeah.
😆 yea sometimes ya get lucky... this is not one of those times!
Thank you
Some people say you can't hammer them out, you just proved them wrong.
I haven't heard that and I guess that's a good thing because maybe I might not have tried it...scratch that...I always try hammers!!
He didnt just hammer it out. He used a pickle fork
The pickle fork was used to drop the hub, a hammer just wouldn't do it. ;)
T, Skipwadoo i hammered both of mine out
This helped me tons. Thank you for your video and explanation.
+ronopotomus jones ...No problem buddy, glad to help out!!
Good job my friend
Thanks Jose 👍🏻!
@@Bucket247 ok friend
My lower ball joint just broke apart yesterday. Yea, my tire fell off too.
It's a B to remove. The knuckle is what came out of the control arm and I can my seem to remove the old ball joint. It's threaded but I think it slides out of the control arm and doesn't unwind
This repair came as a shock. Luckily I was only going 5-10mph when it broke.
Had I been on the expressway like I was just an hour before, I would have been killed.
+MotorCityPlayer Yes it presses out of the control arm, do both sides upper and lower.
Just wanted to say a big thank you for this video. I just finished replacing my lower ball joints. You could hear me coming down the street with a really loud squeak. Now silent, I love it. Mine is a 2001 pretty much the same as the 98 the castle nut size was different though mine was a 26mm. Open the ball joint when you pick it up and check it for size against the store's sockets or have them find the size. Oh, you must get the press kit and make sure to get the forks 6:05 because getting it to drop onto the castle nut was tough. I paid 140 for the press kit and 60 for the forks kit at Autozone they give you back the money when you return it. If you have a front wheel drive or 4 wheel then you will need another video for that. Try this one. czcams.com/video/E9O_cOB2MTI/video.html
Thanks Man for the comprehensive video. I wonder if you could have used the same tool you used to drive in the new ball joint to drive out the old one. Thanks.
Thank for the information
Great video. Thanks for posting!
Excellent video! Thanks!
Thanks for video doing my tomorrow !
Good luck Mikey!! You'll find it's not bad at all, takes some time but not very hard.
Thanks bro. That really helped me out.
L3T13 Excellent! Glad to be of help.
very helpful thank you for takeing the time to make this video
No problem Hailey...I hope it helps you out.
Hailey 0920 no problem Hailey I would like to take you out some time maybe we can make a video!!!!
sorry have a boyfriend
Hailey 0920 its ok I'm not jealous
Thank you very much appreciated your help, very helpful.
You are lucky to not have much rust. I'm in wisconsin and it's a curse. Many times I need the press just to get them out.
If you do need to do it again, advance auto rents tools. You essentially buy it, but get your money back when you return it unbroken.
My lower control arm won't budge from the threads of the control arm. I think the threads got bent or something when I went over an ice boulder.
Fyi if you rent the balljoint press tool from ORieleys it will not allow you to press the lower ball joint fully into place. Better luck with autozone or biy the tool from Harbour Freight. I did the upper and lower on a 2004 explorer today took all 4 hours to complete. I took off caliper and rotor to leave extra room ans decrease ammount of weight on hub assembly. Definately nees the ball joint fork or what I call a pickle fork!!! Must of smacked that thing 50timea before it dropped like it did in this video. Great video and thanks!!!!
Thanks for the info TexasYankee!! I agree...a picklefork is a must!
Good video great tutorial thank you sir.
Good video, thanks for the help.
MrJoseph1157 Glad I could be of some help!
Brother you rock awsome .Your video was a great help.Thank you
Glad to help out my brother!!!!!!!
thanks for the video i am working on my big van too
great video very helpful
Thanks Wally!! I was hoping the vid would be useful.
Thanks the Video.....Awesome Job....!
Thanks Joe...much appreciated buddy!!!
Helped alot thanks, thanks.
Good video thanks for the info.
Thanks vosotelo, hopefully it helped.
Good shocks!!
Excelent video! Thanks!!!
+Dieguito9137 ......No problem Dieguito, Thanks for watching, hope it helped!
Did you notice that some ball joints have a notice saying install this side towards rear ......
Don't foget to wash your sock after cleaning the grease before you wear it again
+mike r ....Hahahaha!!! That was so damn funny I had to watch the video again to see if I really did use a sock, I didn't remember...yep I did! What a crack up Mike!!
Nice Bilsteins!
Thanks Connor, They are not all that much more than a regular shock so why not spend the extra for some killer shocks!
The harbor freight ball joint press is no different then the loaner from autozone the one from OTC, Snap On, Mac etc.
Except for the number of pieces, their sizes, the quality of the metal, the price, etc etc. Hmm, guess maybe the HF ball joint press IS different. Why did you even bother making a false statement. If all you meant to say was that the job can be done with a HF press, okay then, but saying they're no different is like saying a Ford is no different than a Toyota or Jeep.
Nice job!!
Will the ball joints make a loud knocking when driving forward because my car sounds bad replaced tie rods and sway bar end link so far
Definitely! Thats the noise i heard.
that was a great job bro, ive been lookin for a vid showing how 2 replace just the lower ball joint. the only question is how tight do you tighten the king nut ?
Thanks Motmot, the only specs I have are posted up in the summary and it's been a while so I can't really remember.
Helped me out .....thanks
Very cool wsvitak, I couldn't find much on "Lower" ball joints, so I made one...glad it helped.
thanx man
+David Blackwell No problem buddy, thanks for watching!
Did you remove the axle nut or left that all intact? I recently replaced my bearing hubs on a 2000 ford explorer and dealing with the axle nut was a huge pain in the ass.
Another great tip is to put some penetrating oil on the nuts to make it easier to remove.
I would never unscrew a castle nut without spraying the threads with penetrating oil FIRST! Nor would I use a wrench in place of a deep socket.
😲 uh oh... looks like I really botched that up. Glad to know Jay is out there giving advice... for free.
Hi man. Will the 3 in 1 press work on a 2001 explorer? I kno 98 ans 01 are pretty much the same.
Rather than buying the ball joint tool (or any expensive tool) Advance Auto lets you borrow them for "free". Free is in quotes because they charge your credit card until you return it. All they ask is that if you plan on keeping the tool you should call them so they can order a replacement.
That's a great point John, tool rental is always an option. We don't have any Advance Auto stores here in San Diego that I know of but most auto parts store have tool rentals.
Bucket247 Free rental is the key. If you have to pay to rent, you might as well buy it.
Indeed...free is always good!
In So Cal, O'reilly, Pep Boys, and AutoZone, all loan out tools for free. They do require a deposit to cover the cost of the tool in case you decide to keep it. The deposit can be placed on a credit card but you can also use cash which is refunded when you return the tool. If you use a credit card your bank will show it as a pending transaction which will be not be charged when you return the tool.
Good info DG, alot of folks might not know that they can "borrow" tools from the auto parts stores you mentioned.