Worn ball joints on a Ford Exploder

[Reg Evans]

Just a little family drama for a Friday.

When are worn ball joints dangerous ? My stepdaughter is ready to hit the road from Montana and return to the launch pad here in California in her 90 something Ford Exploder and her good for nothing husband (unemployed for years)does not want her to take the car. First he said the transmission was ready to blow so we advised the daughter to take it to the dealership for a diagnosis. The dealership said the transmission was fine but she needed to have all the ball joints replaced to the tune of $1100. We thought that was a bit excessive and said we'd like her to get a second opinion. The second independent mechanic's opinion was that the ball joints were not dangerous but he would replace them for $250. Our other request of the second shop was to rotate the tires before the trip to Ca. He told my daughter that they didn't need rotation.

My question is.........wouldn't the tires show some abnormal wear if the ball joints were dangerously worn?

[JoelOkie]

I can't help you, as I have never had a ball joint wear out on any vehicle I have ever had. I will say that selfish son-in-law sounds like he could use the buckle end of a belt, though. Incredible.

[Reg Evans]

I can't help you, as I have never had a ball joint wear out on any vehicle I have ever had. I will say that selfish son-in-law sounds like he could use the buckle end of a belt, though. Incredible.

Well....I've been wanting to say that for years but didn't want to be politically incorrect. Thanks for expressing that for me Joel !

[Don Coatney]

I agree with Joel on all counts. And I agree with you that tire wear would be the first indication of suspension parts in need of replacement. A dealer is the last place I would take a car for repairs unless it is warrranty work. And even if it is warranty work the dealer will find some way to collect money. Dont get me started on shoddy dealer work as I would use some termonology that would give me a lifetime boot from this forum. Of course there are some who would like that:D

[Robert Horne]

My friend's Ford Sport Trac, had a bad tie rod end with only 60,000 miles on it. Must have been no lube in it from the factory. The tires did not show any kind of odd wear at all.

I took my newer vehicles in to "mister dumbwrench" dealers several times for warranty repairs. Other that that, I would not take my mower in for a free oil change with those guys.

[greg g]

I have a 97 Exploder that I was also told needs an upper right ball joint, at 102K I suppose its likely. The fellow told me about it as it was going through its annual safety inspection. He put a sticker on but said I should have it attended to before the next annual. He showed me that ther was some play and clunk in the upper ball joint. With the uppers being loaded all the time, the noise and slop goes away, with the tires on the ground.

What the problem is, is that they (the dealer) wants to sell you the complete upper control arm, not just the ball joint. And of course with replacing the upper and lower arms, they want to do a full allignment also. That and thier 80 to 90 dollar labor hours repair costs add up quickly.

Of course on the other hand you don't want your daughter to be facing a failure that could cause her loss of vehicle control, especially in a vehicle with a reputation for unintended overturning.

I would let shop 2 do the replacement for safety's sake especially facing a cross country drive.

[Flatie46]

I'd say trade in the ford, throw her hubby in to boot.

[garbagestate 44]

I had an upper ball joint pop once on a 78 El Camino as I was making a slow turn onto a highway. The part itself is pretty cheap but if it pops it tends to damage a bunch of other stuff. Mine needed a new centerlink after that and 1 or 2 other things.

[Guest bewillie]

Have to go along with Joel & Don but a ball joint will have to be very-very loose to be dangerous. I would let her gome and fix it for her. They are not hard to install. Just me. I hate the term STEPDAUGHTER. When a child comes with a wife she is my daughter. I think it makes them feel more a part of a family and not a step something.

Billy

[bamfordsgarage]

If the independent shop felt no urgency to replace the ball joints you are probably fine to have her travel without prior repair. You can then assess the situation yourself after she arrives. I agree with Suesbilly2 that they would have to be pretty loose to be an immediate hazard.

FWIW, I recently had the factory ball joints replaced on my '99 Sable wagon at 245,000 km (152,000 mi) when they were starting to loosen but far from failure.

I am in awe of how well modern vehicles last with little to no maintenance. That Sable has needed only tires, brakes and a radiator since I purchased it new 12 years ago — the engine has never been open, burns very little oil, and acts like it will run forever. There is an electrical glitch with the power door locks/factory alarm, but nothing we can't live with.

[Reg Evans]

Just a little Friday update to this thread. My daughter's Exploder made 950 of the 1000 mile trip here. The transmission started slipping and smoke was billowing out the back.

When the tow truck arrived here with the car and the relatives aboard the transmission was about 2.5 quarts low. The next morning I added 2.5 quarts of tranny fluid and drove it around the yard for a bit before I took it out for a road test. After it reached operating temperature it started slipping again so it's been put out to pasture.

The happy ending to this story is ........she is now driving this little beauty. It runs strong and looks like a new car to me and only has a 200K on the odometer. The exploder died with 134K on the odometer.....RIP

[Don Coatney]

Here is my story. 1997 Ford F-150 with 200,000 miles on the clock. My ball joints have been quacking at me everytime I turned the wheel for a long period of time. Finally the turning pull was so bad the fan belt started squaling and slipping with a full wheel turn. My knees are such that I will no longer attempt such repairs but I have a local shop that I trust to do repairs such as this. When doing the repairs I discovered that the upper ball joints on my truck are not "servicable" and the entire upper "A" frame must be replaced. I told my guy to go for it and he did. Once this repair was done I then went to an alignment shop as my steering wheel was at the 10:00 position when going straight and the steering wheel felt squirley. My truck was on the alignment rack for about 3 hours even though I made multiple attempts to find out why. Finally the counter jockey told me to follow him to the shop. He claimed that my mechanic friend had "forgot to in re-install the camber adjustment cams." I had them tighten everything and remove my truck from the rack.

I drove to my mechanics shop and told him of my plight. He correctly told me that that the alignment jockeys were full of "it" as he had re-installed everything correctly. He suggested I go to a better qualified alignment shop and I did so. My truck was on the rack for about 10 minutes when the alignment guy told me that the drivers side new upper "A" frame was marked as a right side not a left side so I had the wrong parts. A call to my mechainc found that his invoice showed the correct part purchased but the wrong part delivered. I returned to him and he installed the correct part. I then returned to the better qualified alighment shop and they completed the alighnment about an hour ago.

Now I must go to the unqualified alignment shop and tell them the story. I did not pay them anything and I do not plan on doing so.

[Rusty O'Toole]

So the good for nothing bum son in law was right. Ironic.

[Niel Hoback]

"only has a 200K on the odometer". Now thats ironic to me! Only and 200k in the same sentence.