2006 F250 Ball Joint Replacement

[w_huisman]

I am getting new tires put on the truck today. Along with that, I was going to have the alignment checked.

Well, the tire place just called and said I need a ball joint replaced on the left side. They quoted me $275 for parts, $210 for labor, and $55 for an alignment.

How much shopping around should I do, or is that decent price for the work?

I called my brother-in-law, who runs a shop that specializes in tranny rebuilding, and he said that replacing a ball joint in my truck requires a few tools that he doesn't have. So, since he can't do the work for me, I'm likely to let the tire place (also a repair shop) do the work for me, unless you folks think the quote is ridiculous.

[corey.beggs]

i dunno about just a ball joint replacement but my front end is being worked on this weeken for a dust seal that went bad and i was told there just gonna do the ball joints as well for 70 for each side.

[bondsman]

That is pretty high. The special tool can be made for less than $20. There was a thread somewhere. Get some moog ball joints and the dust seal for the axle as well as the seal in the hub that requires that special tool. You can just call around and get quotes from different shops, but u better do all 4 ball joints. Or you can spend a day and give it a shot yourself. Not too bad a job... But if you don't like wrenching, take it in..

[w_huisman]

I'm not bad at turning a wrench and figuring things out myself, so I might just give it a try.

However, I'm looking at my Ford Workshop manual and I can't find a ball joint repair detail for a 4wd truck. The 4wd ball joint replacement detail simply refers me to the 2wd ball joint replacement detail.

Is the ball joint replacement procedure the same for 2wd and 4wd vehicles?

[Rob]

That is way high. I had both sides, upper and lower done for just over $400. Look elsewhere or buy the parts yourself and see if they will install them for you.

[bondsman]

Replacing ball joints and seals on 01 F250

Try that link. You can also search the forums and you will find tons of tips/tricks and a few good writeups. You do need a good set of heavy duty snapring pliers. The cheapies at advance and sears won't reach in there far enough.

[scotty2280]

moog ball joints run about a hundred a side' installing them aint that bad with air tools, i did mine in 2.5 hours.

[Countryboy07]

I did mine about a month ago and it took me about 8 hrs to do. I had about 6 hrs in the drivers side and about 2hrs in the passenger side. I did it outside and the bugs were horrible, I looked like I had some kind of infection or something because of all the bumps on my skin from the bites.

-French

[w_huisman]

The shop has agreed to let me supply the ball joints. I think I'm going to let them do the one wheel that needs to be replaced now, and I'll worry about doing the other wheel sometime in the near future. I presume I'll need another alignment after i do the other wheel, but I'll worry about that when the time comes.

I've rounded up a couple of Moog K8607T ball joints for $60 each.
And I've also ordered a couple of Moog K80026 ball joints for $41 each.

The shop mentioned about $130 worth of other parts that they plan to replace while they're in there, and I told them to plan on supplying and replacing whatever else they want to do on top of the ball joint parts. Any idea what all these parts might be? I should probably get them on order for when I do the other wheel.

This tire/alignment shop has an excellent reputation around these parts. So although I'm somewhat concerned at how fast the bill is adding up, I'm confident that the job is being done right. After all, doing a good job is in their best interest too because they have to warranty the tires.

[scotty2280]

its not a good idea to just do the one side at a time, you will be paying more down the road!