Possibly time for ball joints...

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01rangerxl

01rangerxl

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Apr 8, 2006
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My truck has developed a squeaking/scraping noise in the front when I go over large bumps at low speeds. I haven't tracked the noise down, but it sounds just like my friend's Explorer did when it needed ball joints. I was hoping to get more than 90K out of ball joints, but then again this truck has gone over more than its fair share of curbs, ditches, potholes, etc. I'm debating what to do for replacements. I can get Moog parts with grease fittings or go with sealed Motorcraft ones again. I don't mind greasing the suspension every oil change if the Moogs are likely to outlast and outperform the Motorcrafts. Are there any other brands I should consider?

Also, what else should I check before replacing ball joints? I suppose the bushings on the control arms could also cause the noise, but I'm not sure if I should spray anything on them to test that idea?
 
I've taken to using the Dana/Spicer stuff, which is very heavy duty.

The problem is that it is hard to find unless you know where to look. It is sold at NAPA as their premium (and expensive) line, and at RockAuto under the Raybestos premium brand, which is affordable.
 
I'll look into the NAPA and Raybestos stuff. The local independent shop I like uses NAPA parts anyway, and according to the website their stuff has a lifetime warranty.
 
Scraping and crunching sounds can be sway bar bushings. I've never found out what the right lube is for conventional rubber parts. These sounds are worse in the cold...
 
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I'll check those out too. I may go ahead and replace the bushings and end links for the sway bar since that's cheap and easy to do.
 
Check to see if you have any type of stabilizer links. Those can sometimes create the sounds you are talking about.
 
ball joints are super common on Rangers, i sell a fair amount, enough to keep 2 sets of lower ball joints and 2 sets of upper control arms. the uppers are only serviced in a control arm assembly which comes with new bushings. if you use Ford for the uppers, there is an updated design on the upper control arm that eliminated the slider for the caster adjustment, you just adjust with the cam bolts on the bushings.
 
I had a 2000 Ranger and replaced all 4 ball joints by 50,000 miles. I think the previous owner lived a long a bumpy road. Anyway, Moog will be a good replacement. Grease fittings a must. If they don't have um, dont buy um.
 
When the sway bar links went bad on my Dodge Dakota 2 years ago it has a bump-clunk type noise when going over speed breakers and bumps in the road. If you need new ones the Napa Chassis Parts have a lifetime warranty but they cost more. Moog is good for ball joints, I just put a set of TRW lower ball joints on my truck last week. So far they are doing fine. I agree greaseable joints are a much better choice.
 
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
ball joints are super common on Rangers, i sell a fair amount, enough to keep 2 sets of lower ball joints and 2 sets of upper control arms. the uppers are only serviced in a control arm assembly which comes with new bushings. if you use Ford for the uppers, there is an updated design on the upper control arm that eliminated the slider for the caster adjustment, you just adjust with the cam bolts on the bushings.


I have read that some people have pressed out the joints from the uppers and reused the control arm, but I'm just going to replace them. I even saw complete lower control arms with ball joints installed while looking for parts online, but it seems like overkill to replace the whole lower assembly.

I think I will probably go with Moog or NAPA parts. In my case having grease fittings is a good idea. Sealed joints probably last plenty long with mostly highway driving, but I don't do mostly highway driving. I think had I been able to grease the OEM joints they would have made it past 90K miles before making noise.

That said, I still don't know for sure yet what the noise is, I'm just preparing for the worst. The noise is sort of a "crunching" like JHZR2 described, so maybe if I am lucky it's just the sway bar.
 
Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
I have read that some people have pressed out the joints from the uppers and reused the control arm, but I'm just going to replace them. I even saw complete lower control arms with ball joints installed while looking for parts online, but it seems like overkill to replace the whole lower assembly.

I think I will probably go with Moog or NAPA parts. In my case having grease fittings is a good idea. Sealed joints probably last plenty long with mostly highway driving, but I don't do mostly highway driving. I think had I been able to grease the OEM joints they would have made it past 90K miles before making noise.

That said, I still don't know for sure yet what the noise is, I'm just preparing for the worst. The noise is sort of a "crunching" like JHZR2 described, so maybe if I am lucky it's just the sway bar.


Complete assemblies are always a better choice since your arm may be slightly bent from impacts over the years?

If the sealed ball joints gave you 90k of service then why not go for another set? You probably won't own the truck anymore 90k from now and until then, sealed ball joints require no maintenance.
 
Just from a visual inspection, the lower control arms seem to be in good shape. The lower control arms I saw online were not a brand that I recognized, so I'm hesitant to go that route.

This truck probably won't be my daily driver for the next 90K, but I don't think I'll be getting rid of it anytime soon. The OEM ball joints are very hit or miss with longevity. My Explorer made it to 140K on the originals (previous owner replaced them), but then you have trucks like tig's that need them after only 50K. I don't mind greasing the joints if it gets a longer life out of them. Besides, Motorcraft parts are expensive. Even ordering online with a substantial discount from MSRP, they are just as/more expensive than the Moog and NAPA replacements.
 
I've had the exact same problem in my Integra, a squeaking/creaking/rubbing noise whenever I go over bumps. It's mainly prevalent in the winter time. I've had the lower control arms/bushing replaced and I've also replaced the stabilizer bar or sway bar (forget which) bushings & links. Neither of them did anything for the noise and I've learned to live with it. When I had it diagnosed (twice) they said my ball joints were fine... but I suppose it could still be that. It's only on the passenger side.
 
I crawled under the front of the truck a little while ago and shook the [censored] out of it. The only noise I got was definitely coming from the sway bar bushings, so I hope they are the culprit and only source of the noise. It would make sense that they are noisy since the truck spent much of last week being driven through snow/ice/slush/salt/mud.

On the topic of sway bar bushings, what grease should I put on the new ones? The OEM ones have some kind of grease on them, but it's so funky at this point I can't tell what it originally was. Is the Ford/Lincoln/Mercury grease they sell at parts stores the right thing to put on there?
 
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Problem solved!!! It was just the sway bar bushings. I picked up a new pair of Moogs for $16 and put them on...no more noise at all. I drove over every speed bump I could find and got nothing. I'm glad I dodged the ball joint bullet for now.

FWIW, I used dielectric grease on the new bushings. It is silicone based and says it is "good for lubricating rubber o-rings," so I figured it was my best bet for the bushings. So far, so good. The old bushings had no grease left on the inside at all, and the little bit on the outside was caked up and nasty, so this was probably long overdue.
 
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Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Glad it worked. Dielectric grease, eh? Youre sure it was silicone rubber?


I'm not sure what rubber the bushings are, but I figured dielectric grease would be a safer bet than petroleum based grease since silicone is supposed to be good for rubber, and according to the TDS from Permatex it's good for -65* F to 400* F temps. Plus, I already had the dielectric grease in the garage.
http://www.permatex.com/documents/tds/Automotive/22058.pdf
 
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