I had a couple of projects I really wanted to get done around the house during my "gap year" from working. I KNOW you guys are just dying to know how they are going, so I decided to update you.
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| The hub with the ball joints to be replaced |
Back around the first of March, I noticed my truck was making a funny "clunk" every time I stepped on the brakes. I jacked it up, shook the front wheel, and found the whole wheel assembly would wobble just a tiny bit, enough to cause the clunking noise. I traced the movement to the ball joints -- the pivot the front wheels rotate about when steering.
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| Axle, wheel bearings, and protective cover |
Turns out the ball joints are a notable weakness in the turn of the century Super Duties. It is a pretty common problem. There are a hand full of videos on how to do it.
This one is the one I used. I skipped the step of pressing the joints out and brought them to a nearby shop. Since the truck is four wheel drive, there was a fair amount of stuff that had to be removed to get to the ball joints. Once they were out, I deviated from the video and had a shop do the pressing for me. After that I reassembled the the front end.
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| Back in, fitting the axle. |
The whole album.
