How hard is it to change upper and lower ball joints on a 85 ford f-150 4x4, and are there any sites out there that show step by step how to, so i'll see what i'd be getting into if i tried t do it on my own? Thanks!Ball Joints?With a 4 wheel drive assy, there are many parts involved at the wheels. It's probably best to let a knowledgable mechanic do that job. I'd say it would probably take me about 5-6 hours with the proper tools. 10-12 just winging it in my garage. P.S. for little queenie. The thing about giving advice on repairing an automobile is that some people just shouldn't do it. That's just like some people shouldn't....well, they just shouldn't do it!!! LOLBall Joints?There are books and sites out there that will show you, but if you have never done it before, take it somewhere and have it done. You don't want to see the bill for them having to fix what you did originally and fix the ball jointsBall Joints?I agree. If you've never done it before on another vehicle; leave it to a pro. Your life is on the line.Ball Joints?The biggest problem in fixing ball joints is not having a car fall on you. A guy down the street from me just got killed by a tree a couple of weeks back.
The biggest mechanical problem is getting the ball joints out. You need a tool that's like a big two-pronged fork. The prongs are skinny at the front but get fatter toward the back. You have to hit the back end of it with a heavy short-handled hammer to drive the thing into the joint and separate it. Other than that it's just a matter of replacing some parts that aren't hard to figure out.
The thing about fixing cars is that some people just shouldn't try, just like some people should stay out of the kitchen. I had one guy try to help me and he'd do things like just throw the lug nuts in the grass and make wild guesses about what was wrong. Then he moved to Africa and left his car in my yard with no title and parts missing.Ball Joints?It takes special tooks for the ball joints. An you will be dealing with the front spring. Don't even try it if you haven't done it before.
