Better to buy knuckle assembly instead of ball joints 2002 F350?

[GON]

Looking at replacing ball joints on a 2002 F350 V10 with 170k miles. Prior owner (he did not disclose) had a snow plow on the truck. The truck also has the 4wd on the fly which does not work, but the manual hubs do.

New Motorcraft knuckles with ball joints installed, and associated vacuum hub items, are about $600 (300 each) on rockauto. New motocraft ball joints on Rockauto is about $250.

I do not have a press, if I purchase just the ball joints I will have to find a shop to press out the old ball joints out and new ball joints in. Looking for thoughts on spending the extra $350, and having all new from knuckle, ball joint, vacuum stuff, etc. New knuckle may also aide in getting the 4wd shift on the fly working again.

Here is a video on replacing the ball joints using the existing knucle.

 

[Kruse]

Just yesterday, I installed a new transmission filter and new fluid in my brother's 2004 F250 auto, V10 4WD truck. He farms with it and uses it hard and the transmission fluid had never been changed with 165K on the clock. Fluid was dark and definitely needed it. Anyway, we got to talking about the front end on his truck. At 165K, he's had the front end rebuilt twice. The trouble with his truck is that he takes it to the local indy shop where they use the cheapest pieces available and that's why he's going through front end parts. While this truck has been a very good truck (except for the maintenance parts), he recently bought a 2021 GMC diesel with the Duramax because (get this), "he's tired of replacing front end parts". I didn't have time yesterday to explain it to him that he needs to stop using the crappy parts that the local shop is putting on, but today I might.
Ironic that the cheapie replacement parts probably caused him to switch brands, but it is what it is.
Getting back to the video you have posted, I took the time to watch all of it. The guy explains everything down to a kindergarten level, but I guess that's what makes it a thorough video. When I was a Ford tech, I did a lot of front-end rebuilding on larger trucks and it's nice that the guy in the video takes the time to clean everything up and paint it, something we couldn't do at the dealership because you had to "beat the book" on everything. This is just me, but I would take your existing knuckles and have new parts pressed in by a local shop. Again, that's just me.

 

[wpod]

I would have the complete job done at a competent shop and while there have them inspect and repair the front end and alignment as needed if you are planning on keeping the vehicle for a longish term. .

 

[Chris142]

Save a bunch of money and do it yourself. I did my Jeep and the FJ ball joints with the $70 ball joint press from Harbor Freight.

 

[AutoMechanic]

Just rent a ball joint press from the parts store or buy one from Harbor Freight they aren’t bad. And yes use OEM ball joints.

 

[2EHA]

sometimes ball joints on aluminum knuckles are a real ball buster. this is easy peasy. get spicer ball joints and pocket the extra cash

 

[mattd]

the truck doesn’t have aluminum knuckles. It’s a 1 ton pickup.

have you actually diagnosed the ESOF system? It’s not hard to figure out what is wrong. Start at the PVH solenoid and work your way down to the knuckles. I would not buy rock auto aftermarket knuckles. Use the ford knuckles and replace the ball joints. Be prepared to buy the seal driver to press the knuckle seal onto the axle stub shafts and into the knuckle. I would also invest in the FHP1 snap on hub press to get the bearings out without destroying them.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Fords seem to eat alot of suspensions. My gf's 07 Mustang has got through three complete front sets. I've never had suspension work done on any car I've owned.

 

[mattd]

Fords seem to eat alot of suspensions. My gf's 07 Mustang has got through three complete front sets. I've never had suspension work done on any car I've owned.

you must live where there is no snow.

 

[Kruse]

you must live where there is no snow.

I would agree (somewhat) to what aquariuscsm said. We used to do a lot of ball joint replacements at the dealership. My son has a Navigator with 105K miles that came out of California (no snow) and I replaced all ball joints and steering components last fall. My other son lives in south Texas and had the whole front end replaced on his Explorer with under 100K miles about a year ago.
It does help to use the absolute best parts you can still find. I looked up my brother's 2005 F250 V10 on RockAuto yesterday and the prices for replacement ball joints start at $3.65. Why anybody would put that junk on any vehicle (unless they are driving it straight to the salvage yard) is beyond me.

 

[GON]

Gents, thanks so much for the replies.

Is Motocraft not OEM? I know AC DELCO may not be geniune GM OEM, but not aware Motorcraft is using less than OEM quality for their part sales.

 

[AutoMechanic]

Gents, thanks so much for the replies.

Is Motocraft not OEM? I know AC DELCO may not be geniune GM OEM, but not aware Motorcraft is using less than OEM quality for their part sales.

Motorcraft will be fine. I believe they are OEM I’m not sure. I bet @bdcardinal would be able to answer that for you or tell you the difference.

 

[Kruse]

Is Motocraft not OEM? I know AC DELCO may not be geniune GM OEM, but not aware Motorcraft is using less than OEM quality for their part sales.

Agreed that bdcardinal should be the final say here, but Motorcraft can have at least two different grades. Purchasing from the dealer will probably get you a replacement with 10-12 digits. The other Motorcraft might be (quick looking at RockAuto here) MCF2223. These two different lines could have different countries of origin and different levels of quality. I remember once at the dealership where we did ball joints on a 3/4 ton truck and one part came with the original Ford part number and no zerk. The other side had a shorter part number and DID have a zerk. The parts man was not happy. Another aftermarket line to consider would be Dana-Spicer.

 

[GON]

Agreed that bdcardinal should be the final say here, but Motorcraft can have at least two different grades. Purchasing from the dealer will probably get you a replacement with 10-12 digits. The other Motorcraft might be (quick looking at RockAuto here) MCF2223. These two different lines could have different countries of origin and different levels of quality. I remember once at the dealership where we did ball joints on a 3/4 ton truck and one part came with the original Ford part number and no zerk. The other side had a shorter part number and DID have a zerk. The parts man was not happy. Another aftermarket line to consider would be Dana-Spicer.

These were the two I was looking at from Rockauto:

MOTORCRAFT MEOE10 {#4C3Z3131AA} Info Left; 4WD; w/ Pulse Hub Lock Replacing the Steering Knuckle typically requires removal of the Wheel Bearing & Hub Assembly.	[IMG alt="/www.rockauto.com/catalog/images/prevIMGbig.png[/IMG]	$307.79		$307.79
MOTORCRAFT MEOE6 {#4C3Z3130AA} Info Right; 4WD; w/ Pulse Hub Lock 1 Day Delay Replacing the Steering Knuckle typically requires removal of the Wheel Bearing & Hub Assembly.	[IMG alt="/www.rockauto.com/catalog/images/prevIMGbig.png[/IMG]	$307.79		$307.79