had to replace the ball joints

[amustangrocks]

had to replace my frt control arms. i could see the frt tires leaning in on the tops, and at 100,000 it was past time. kinda trashed the insides of my tires by not doing it sooner. the rubber bushings seemed really soft and beat too. i got the frpp arms from am. also doing it realized the boots were cracked on each tie rod end so i ordered 2 from rock auto today.

replacing the arms was kinda a pita for just a few bolts. i blasted the nuts off for the rack that you have to move to get the arm bolts out and realized they may have been tack welded to the frame, oops. the new arms and bushings really tightened the frt end back up, but the alignments off, and the wheel is off a little too. guess i`ll wait for the tie rods to get it straightened out. with the rack unit how do you adjust the tierods? i should be able to get it closer than it is right now till i get it to a shop.

 

[Scott]

Mike, you found out the hard way that the rack nuts are spot welded to the K-Member...ouch!

When you say the wheel is off, did you index the steering shift to the knuckle before removing the top bolt?

Good luck on getting it back together and the alignment done.

 

[amustangrocks]

Mike, you found out the hard way that the rack nuts are spot welded to the K-Member...ouch!

When you say the wheel is off, did you index the steering shift to the knuckle before removing the top bolt?

Good luck on getting it back together and the alignment done.

those spot welds were nothing for the impact. i guess when i get it straight i can tack them with the mig.

on the wheel, its at about 1:00 position. i didnt remove the rack or disconnect it, just loosened the bolt on one side and removed it on one side and moved it just enough to slide the arm bolt past the steering boot. tie rods will be here tomorrow so then i`ll see what i can do with it. i guess the inner rods turn, so i`ll get it closer, then replace the tie rods and take it in.

 

[DareDevil]

When exactly do you know your ball joints are ready to be replaced? Im just curious i've recently reached 60k miles and have a suspension setup

 

[amustangrocks]

When exactly do you know your ball joints are ready to be replaced? Im just curious i've recently reached 60k miles and have a suspension setup

thats the tough part, you really dont notice cause these cars ride and handle so good. depend on your roads and how you drive. you can jack it up and move the tires and feel and look for slop in the ball joints or tie rods, but they are shot by the time you notice. a good way is to really monitor your frt tires. i will from now on. by the time i noticed, the inside treads were wore down. i dont know if you could see slop in the arm bushings or not, but they have to wear too.

another example..i had some body noise i thought was coming from the rear chr moly control arms. turned out it was the rt frt wheel bearings. the car still handled well and rode good, but the outside bearing was broken and the inside was trashed too. but its had a 100k of road course roads around here so its all good.

i adjusted the tie rods last night and got the wheel straight and the alignment close. i`ll replace them tomorrow and take it in monday for tires and to have it set up right

 

[DareDevil]

thats the tough part, you really dont notice cause these cars ride and handle so good. depend on your roads and how you drive. you can jack it up and move the tires and feel and look for slop in the ball joints or tie rods, but they are shot by the time you notice. a good way is to really monitor your frt tires. i will from now on. by the time i noticed, the inside treads were wore down. i dont know if you could see slop in the arm bushings or not, but they have to wear too.

another example..i had some body noise i thought was coming from the rear chr moly control arms. turned out it was the rt frt wheel bearings. the car still handled well and rode good, but the outside bearing was broken and the inside was trashed too. but its had a 100k of road course roads around here so its all good.

i adjusted the tie rods last night and got the wheel straight and the alignment close. i`ll replace them tomorrow and take it in monday for tires and to have it set up right

Great info, makes me want to check mine now lol mine has been through hell im not gonna lie...

 

[amustangrocks]

Great info, makes me want to check mine now lol mine has been through hell im not gonna lie...

if you have a helper, jack up the frt and have them grab the tire top and bottom and pull and push while you watch the ball joints real close. by yourself, you can use a pry bar under the tire to move it some. if you see any play at all, they are bad. then try grabbing the sides of the tire and watch the tie rods real close. in my case, the boots on both tie rods are cracked open, that a good sign they are gonna be bad soon if they arent already. the frt bearings i found when i was replacing the frt rotors and pads. had to replace the hubs( so of course i did both sides)

around 50k my frt end rattled going down the road. it was the strut mounts gone bad. replaced the shocks/struts w/gt takeoffs and new oem mounts. it was nice again but the mounts didnt last 30k and started it again. the oem strut mounts are junk and the "weak link" in the frt ends. about 90k i replaced it all again only this time tried the gt500 mounts. its only been 9k so i dont know how long they will last. i also replaced the sway bar end links.


i bought my car used, so now the frt end will be all new and better than it was when i got it. i like that idea.

 

[DareDevil]

Wow thanks! First thing tomorrow im gonna check them out, thanks again and hope all went well with your install!

 

[amustangrocks]

Wow thanks! First thing tomorrow im gonna check them out, thanks again and hope all went well with your install!

the install went great really. the arms were a little bit of a pita, the tie rods were real easy, got it aligned ( the new frt end equipment has really come a long ways, so has the tire equipment). got 2 new frt tires and the latest and greatest hammer head balancer put the weights behind the spokes on the wheels. a couple months back i installed gt takeoff struts and gt500 strut mounts and sway bar links. my frt end feels like a new 05