front end rebuild ???s

[dppowrstroke]

i have a 2000 f250. today i went to schwabs to have my tires rotated and found out i need upper and lower ball joints both sides. driverside real bad. and tie rod ends. schwabs quoted me 650 bucks. napa has all the parts for 150bucks. my question is. do i need any special tools? do the ball joints need pressed in and out? can i do this in my garage? any info will be helpful thanks

[Zaairman]

If a shop will do it for $650, I would question the work they will do, and the quality of the parts. Just simply buying quality ball joints (I used Moog), tie rods, necessary gaskets and seals will set you back $300 - 400 or so. Add in an alignment for $60, and there's not much time left for labor. Yes, you can do it yourself if you're handy with tools, and have big tools. You've got to pull the axle shafts out to do this. You do need a ball joint press (the big C clamp one), but most auto stores have that for loan. You will need a special tool to set the axle seals, but most Ford dealers will loan them out if you ask nicely.


I just typed all of that out and realized, that's for 4x4 only... So if you're 2wd,

[cowens726]

Originally Posted by Zaairman

If a shop will do it for $650, I would question the work they will do, and the quality of the parts. Just simply buying quality ball joints (I used Moog), tie rods, necessary gaskets and seals will set you back $300 - 400 or so. Add in an alignment for $60, and there's not much time left for labor. Yes, you can do it yourself if you're handy with tools, and have big tools. You've got to pull the axle shafts out to do this. You do need a ball joint press (the big C clamp one), but most auto stores have that for loan. You will need a special tool to set the axle seals, but most Ford dealers will loan them out if you ask nicely.


I just typed all of that out and realized, that's for 4x4 only... So if you're 2wd,

X2^^^ I did the ball joints and seals in the 03 that I had and just parts were close to $400 but I paid extra for the good stuff, moog greaseable etc. The seal driver that you need can be easily made from iron plumbing parts on the cheap. I made mine following directions from one the forums pretty easy. You're definitely gonna need a good ball joint press but it can be done pretty easily in the driveway.:

OT: I wounldn't take my wheelbarrow to Schwab's to have them check the air in the tire.

[str8wkd]

mine is in shop now (extended warranty) shop bill is $886.00 jus for the 4 ball joints and labor.

[dppowrstroke]

Wow. Well I can't afford the good stuff right now but it needs done. I wish I could use all moog parts. So now I have settle for the best I can afford. Thanks for the info guy

[Zaairman]

You can't afford $400 in parts to do it yourself, but you can afford $650 to pay Les Schwab for cheap stuff?

I understand saving money and how money is tight, but I'd rather scrape money together and get it done right the first time.

[dppowrstroke]

no i cant afford 650 at schwabs. i priced all the parts at napa and it came to 200 bucks. that is the route i am going but i have to do it my self that is why i was wondering if i needed any special tools or if they needed pressed in and out

[Toms01PSD]

I will tell you from experience to spend the extra up front if you plan on keeping the truck. The last Ranger I had, I paid like $120 shipped off eBay for upper/lower ball joints and tie rod ends. When I was done, the truck only felt slightly tighter and I could tell the quality of the parts was cheap. If I had planned on keeping that truck I would have planned on doing them all over in a year, if that. My advice to you would be to spend an extra $200 and get the quality parts, it will be savings in the long run.

[pablito]

I used a harbor freight press to do mine, it worked fine with the impact, took me 4 hours.

[BigDs_2000]

Why don't you try rockauto and see how much their parts are? I know everything I've priced thru them has always been less expensive.