Replacing upper ball joints - what should I get?

[NMerenda]

The time has come, getting sick of the rattles lol. Going to replace upper joints before winter. My question is, what's a good brand to get? Something reliable and serviceable i.e. greaseable?

[FordMan77]

I'd say Moog if you can get them with the zerk fittings.

[chitownvic]

Moog or Raybestos


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[SVT98t]

+1 on Moog.
You can use the RockAuto discount code and save some cash.


-ryan s.

[slack]

I used Moog on my box and they seem to be pretty good. I would think the aero/whale ones would be similar.

[porschpow]

Yes, MOOG, Raybestos (prof grade), But don't get ACDelco, they suck!

[NMerenda]

Will check up reviews on the moog and raybestos. Thanks alot everyone? How easy/hard is replacment....it looks pretty straight forward but what are, if any problems I may run into?

[turbo2256b]

Raybestos ball joints are made by Mckay Norris and are standard duty, McKay Norris also makes heavy duty line Raybestos dont handle but either are the best out there. purcase mine through these guys as well as all my brake and suspension parts.

http://www.rokbrothers.com/police_fleets.php

[NMerenda]

I'm going to be going with the Raybestos standard grade for the time being. #500-1088B. I don't beat my merc too hard so I can save some more dough for a few other things lol. Thanks everyone for your help!

[IPreferDIY]

Will check up reviews on the moog and raybestos. Thanks alot everyone? How easy/hard is replacment....it looks pretty straight forward but what are, if any problems I may run into?

If you're at the point of needing upper ball joints, you should give some thought to all the other suspension and steering joints, and bushings too. If they're all original, I think it would be best to replace everything at the same time if you can manage it. They would all pretty much reach the end of their lifespan around the same time. Also, you need an alignment after certain things, and you'd end up needing multiple alignments if you did things on a piecemeal basis.

I did the various joints and bushings on my car some months ago and put some links covering my experiences in the following thread:

http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthread.php?51216-Front-Suspension-Rattling-Feels-Loose

At the least, you should consider replacing the entire upper control arms since the bushings are probably done if the joints are.

As I recall, you have a 2002 Grand Marquis, which I believe still has the same setup as my 2000 Grand Marquis. If you replace the entire upper control arms, you have to take the fender liners out to get the rearward bolts out. If you manage that, you can turn those bolts around when you put them back so you won't have this problem again.

As for the upper ball joints specifically, I had a heck of time getting the spindle bolts out. It took a lot of whacks with a mini-sledge hammer to get them out. Fortunately, I don't think I bent anything. If I had to do it again, I would hold something against the backside of the spindle while I'm using the hammer in order to reduce the possibility of bending the spindle.

The only other thing I can think of at the moment is to mark the alignment cams so you can put them back in the same position to ensure the alignment ends up close to what it was. This will allow you to drive to an alignment shop without much fuss.

[sly]

The uppers are pretty easy to replace. Other than needing a pickle fork to get the old joint out of the knuckle... a socket set of size will work fine. Mark the position of the nuts in relation to the bolts they are on... those are alignment nuts as well. You might need an alignment after replacing those anyhow depending on a lot of factors. Also, you may need to replace more than just the uppers as stated above.

[NMerenda]

I just had a trusted mechanic give everything a look over. He said all the bushing and all other steering components look fine, and showed me that it was just the upper ball joints that needed replacement. I had planned on an alignment anyway, but figured I'd wait until I replace the ball joints.

[IPreferDIY]

Mileage would be a big factor. How many miles you got on it?

[Smithsonite]

I threw Moogs in my '86 GM back in '05 - they've got about 140k miles on them. Still going strong, except had a premature failure of the passenger side lower last year. Probably failed to clean the grease fitting ...

[gadget73]

I put McQuay-Norris parts on my car years ago and have had no problems with them.