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Ball joint?

S

SVTED

Veteran CEG'er
Joined
Jul 21, 2007
Messages
689
Location
Waterloo/Toronto
So today I'm coasting to a stop when I start hearing this weird knocking/cracking/thumping kind of sound from the left front end. I kept trying to recreate the sound in a parking lot coasting and I could get it to come back sometimes and then realized it's not the top hat thing on the strut making the noise but it's rather coming from one of the linkages. So i jack the car up and look at the linkages and they look fine... then my buddy asks what if it's the ball joint? Then I think about it and i keep getting this feeling that's the issue. When I move the steering back and forth, I can definitely feel something scraping which I could only assume is the ball joint. The initial sound is definitely there now when the car goes over a bump.

So I'm definitely thinking ball joint. And talking about the ball joint, I just realized tonight the damn thing is riveted onto the LCA. WTF ford. I looked on rockauto and they have ball joints that use bolts and nuts so can I drill out the rivets or something and just put the new ball joint onto the LCA?
 
if you want to replace the ball joints you are better off replacing the whole arm. I say this because by the time the ball joint is bad the control arm bushings are typically gone also. this way you get everything in one shot.
 
or you can go rockauto and get whole 2 bolt control arms for $40

I would say control arms and tie rod ends on both sides would be a good way to cover 80% of your bases.
 
AliasJerk said:
or you can go rockauto and get whole 2 bolt control arms for $40

I would say control arms and tie rod ends on both sides would be a good way to cover 80% of your bases.
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Shipped to Canada both arms will go for about $110 + duty he's looking at about $140. Same as getting original Motorcraft from dealer.
 
well in that case get the motorcraft part, lol. Didnt notice it was in canada.
 
does what i describe sound like ball joint?

I just read I can jack up the car and then jack up the arm and wiggle the wheel around to see if the joint's done. so i'll try that later
 
called another dealership, same price. Called napa, they have them for $225 WTFLOL.

I guess i'm gonna call thorncrest and see...

*and they want $149. The 4 bolt LCA on the other hand is only like $120. I thought the 2 bolt was supposed to be cheaper
 
Okay i just had the car jacked up, then jacked up the control arm but i had to take the wheel off to do so. After i compressed the spring i tried to wiggle everything around to see if the ball joint was shot and it didn't seem to move much at all (or does this test only work with the wheel on?)
 
Normally I keep the wheel on so that you have something bigger to hold on to while you're pushing and wiggling.
 
A year ago? What are you on dude? It's barely been more than 2 weeks.

Anyway, the sound mysteriously went away so I've been waiting for it to come back... or not :laugh:
 
SVTED said:
called another dealership, same price. Called napa, they have them for $225 WTFLOL.

I guess i'm gonna call thorncrest and see...

*and they want $149. The 4 bolt LCA on the other hand is only like $120. I thought the 2 bolt was supposed to be cheaper
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The 2 bolt LCA Assembly is cheaper in price than the 4 bolt.

Below are BAT's prices for LCA Assemblies that come with the ball joint, bushing & bolts.

Control Arm Horizontal Bush (LH) K428L $194.50
Control Arm Horizontal Bush (RH) K428R $194.50
Control Arm Vertical Bush (LH) K428LA $74.50​
Control Arm Vertical Bush (RH) K428RA $74.50
 
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