Replacing 99 Ford Taurus Ball Joint. 

the rest of the job went fine other side took me 35 minutes and went right together i have come to the conclusion that the driver side was damaged they hit something cause the tire aligns diffrent then the other they were happy costomers its paid for and doesent eat that tire to fast so hey more power to them thanks for the post and vid verry helpfull.

To separate the ball joint from the lower control arm i put a 3/4 inch wrench in the gap where the fork goes and then used the fork to hammer out. because when I hammered the fork in there it just went all the way to the end and there was still play. The 3/4 in. wrench fit it there snug on the plastic washer. Also what I found to be easier is to take the whole strut assembly out by taking the three bolts off the top of the strut.

Omggg thank you bro I had trouble replacing this

@Kyocera234 Another way to test them is to slide a long bar under the wheel while it is raised slightly off the ground and pry upward on the tire. There should be no play of thumping noise as you do this. Finally, if you have a large enough pair of channel locks, you can grip around they ball joint with the car raised and squeeze the ball joint. If loose, you will notice compress and release. cont-

@Kyocera234 Typically a shop will not align a vehicle with bad ball joints bcuz the alignment wont "stick". To check them, raise the wheels about 2" off the ground. Grab the wheel at 3 and 9 o'clock position and attempt to "turn" or twist the wheel. If there is side to side play then lay in front of the wheel and watch the ball joint as someone else "wiggles" the wheel. You will see it "pop" out of place and then back again. Cont-

it was a small fraction not harmfull to the strength of the frame and verry simply slid right in fill me in on something i might have missed but verry unlikely good vid thoe if we all stick together the mechanics life is much simpler.

@AllThingzVideo I could try again on one side, but not the other, One side has to go up on the spindle. Thinking about putting wheel on and lowering car so spindle will go up. On the other gonna try and see if I can take control arm off and backward engineer it.

Jack up the car until the tire is about an inch or tow off the ground. Get a long bar and slide it under the tier and pry up and down. You will hear it popping if really bad. You can also have someone push in and out on the bottom of the tire while you look under the car at the balljoint. You will see it moving in and out independent of the control arm. It usually clunks while driving when bad.

@AllThingzVideo Thanks, didn't to take off yet. I got the same tool kit from Autozone and there is no way to take the ball joint out with that kit. Got to go back to "A" for a different tool. I don't think you video showed that there is 3 bolts that hold the bearing assy. from the back side. I almost screwed that up.

@PeterObi That is the steering knuckle. If it is cracked, do not drive the vehicle! If it fails completely, the tire/ wheel assembly will come lose and cause you to loose control of the vehicle. Not a good situation. Get it replaced asap.

I have a 98 Ford Taurus 3 l motor with all those extra valves in it recently upon doing front axles I figured what the hell I'm here let me put in lower ball joints and I must say they were two of the easiest ball joints I have ever put in and I put in quite a few in my day on other vehicles.

Thanks for taking the time to share this. It is very much appreciated. The neighbor helping neighbor thing in real life! Thanks again.

@wildbaseballplaya The Autozone kit will work but you need to make room to use it by taking the assembly off the car like i did. You dont need to remove the wheel bearing (3 bolts) Just push the drive axle thru the bearing and leave the bearing on. Check my video again and you will see that the bearing is intact while the assembly is in the vice. Just take your time and work consistently.

A pickle fork does not usually work well because the stem is too long. Try this: put a bar in the control arm and apply downward pressure on the ball joint. While applying pressure, give the steering knuckle surrounding the ball joint stem a swift smack with a heavy hammer. The shock from the hammer will jar the joint lose and it should "pop" out. It may take several hits. Quick, sharp strikes are most effective. Let me know how it goes.

I was thinking the same thing. If the first ball joint lasted such a short time, you couldn't give me another of the same manufactures part.

Thanks a lot for the responses, I will check those things this weekend if it cools down a little here in NC, Thanks!

Great video,gonna do my 03 Taurus ballpoint instead of paying a mechanic

i just got done with one side my arm would not go down read my other posts they will explain i had no luck with spring compressor.

In order for me to get the ball joint free from the lower control arm, I had to use a torch to heat the the control arm combined with a Pittman tool. I tried every way possible and heating it was the only way I could get it to pop loose. I was starting to think the ball joint was permanently attached to the control arm...what a pain this job has been......

I did both sides today on a 97 taurus. If I had to do it again I would get a spring compressor and compress the spring 1 inch. Then it would be easier. Interesting design. How do they do alignments on these cars? It looks like the only adjustments are toe in.

I tore into my sister's 98's Taurus with 150k. We ended up needing to replace the coils springs, struts, ball joints, stabilizer links, and even the strut mount bushings!!! This video certainly was a great help. Thanks buddy. PS, if you are ever replacing ball joints and struts yourself, make sure you have plenty of depression pills prescribed by your family doctor.

@PimpinKicks09 Yes, I have experienced that in the past too where the ball joint is really wore out. The gap is too large for the pickle fork alone to pop it free. People have different ways of doing this job. I did this job 3 times on this car and learned it was easiest to get the steering knuckle up in the bench. It only adds a small amount of time to the repair but saves a ton of frustration and swearing. LOL

You pointed out the ABS assembly, that's something no one else did, that helped me. Thanks for taking the time.

Good shit...helped alot. My tire came off in the driveway today. On the holiday( independence day). If it aint one thang, its another.

@AllThingzVideo I can't see how cvilla198 did it either without taking out drive shaft first.

Your instructions were spot on for getting the ball joints replaced on my 1999 Taurus. I didn't have a vice, but I was able to rent the proper tools from our local O’Reily’s, even a special set of ball joint press adapters for Taurus vehicles. I also changed the upper and lower tie rods at the same time. Total parts cost less than $130. The tool rental was a deposit of more than $270, but I got all that refunded. I don't have any air tools, so it was a little tough for me at first.

@wildbaseballplaya Well the rotor has no torque spec. Are you referring to the spindle nut? The spindle nut torgue is quite high, 200Lbft or more, just run it in with a good impact. The wheel bearing bolts I would gues are around 80lbft or so. Once again, snug them up tight with a 1/2" drive ratchet or air gun.

Did some searching had same problem needed about a inch clearance, found out that you need to put jack on main support, and jack on sub frame, release sub frame bolt to the end but don't take out, then remove jack on sub frame and it drops 1 to 2 inches. Real easy once I foundit

I wanna know, how long did that duralast ball joint last? Everything that i got that said duralast didn't last long. Limited lifetime warranties aint shit if you have 2 times to return it and all of that is within 2 years.

Great video . I'm starting my 2002 FT project in 30 minutes. This Video will help. Thanks.

You really need to shoot that POS air compressor you own! But thanks for showing the steps.

He said lifetime warranty, 1 year old part. Considering the labor, it doesn't make sense to buy duralast because of the warranty. "It is the cheap man who spends the most"-someone

@wc4pwned You're right. They suck. But as far as I know mazda designed the suspension components on the taurus. Could be BS but I would believe it. I live in Ohio, also. There are heavy duty ball joints and tie rods available on the internet, but they're expensive. Moog would be the lowest-grade part I'd put on there.

i come to the conclsusion all cars ar not same even if year and model is this was a 24 v dohc not sure if that was reason but after 10 hours on 1 side not cause i ma bad mechanic but because i tested everything to try and help people out here that have same problem i even rented a spring compressor to get that little extra lift i needed and it will not work doesent fit well so the problem i found was the square opening in frame for a arm leg the bottom needed grinded un nessesary lip

very good mi friend thank you, about assembly clean the parts dont forget toque ok

I did that job 3 times, twice on one side. After the first time, it was easier to remove just one more bolt and put it up in the vice where it was solid to work on. It was just better not to have to fight for room trying to get the press in around all the stuff. Thanks for the comment

Thank you foe the video. It has been a huge help to me in fixing my lady's Sable. Wasn't sure on everything since i mainly drive rr cars. lol.

Thanks for the video. Great job. I believe that the reason for the multiple time to replace this part is due to lack of greasing of it? Some ball joints have to be periodically greased. This will prevent it from wearing out.

thank you for doing this. I hate this car. hate it. if the GD ball joint was the only thing wrong with it I would be happy. great job again thank you.

@AllThingzVideo Excellent clip. The guy where I bought my pitman puller told me that you need to put a big hammer on one side of the control arm next to the ball joint and strike a hammer hard on the other side of the control arm to loosen the ball joint before pulling it, because it's a 'Bear.' I did, and it came out easier than 'Windsor358'.

Another thought of mine... When you're successful in disassembly and you're to the point of placing the knuckle in the strut and control arm... Those parts are tight fitting before you have fastened anything. I had to get a loaner spring compressor and compress the spring/strut... This reduced the prying forces on the control arm I needed to put it back together. Of course I removed the strut/spring compressed it and then put everything together.

@wildbaseballplaya You need a long bar and a second person if avail. You should disconnect one end of the sway bar link to allow a little more travel. You cant use a jack on the rotor. Make sure the spindle nut and axle is seated all the way. Push the shaft of the ball joint toward the car, pry down hard with the bar on A arm and guide it in. I did it myself but had to sit on the bar while I wiggled the ball joint shaft back in. Take a break & then try again.

On the other side I couldn't push spindle in while holding down a arm. I ended up tearing boot on new ball joint. It's back at Napa to get replaced Monday. Any tips? PLEASE!!! I am going crazy. I had so many roadblocks while doing this, but I have learned a l

@AddToDiscussion Yeah I agree that the 27170 from AutoZone worked excellent. I used it today after my pickle fork got frigging nowhere. Loaner tool worked perfect in about 1 minute. And also that Pitman arm does not annihilate the ball joint boot.

Thank You Man, It Helped me A Lot

On my 99 Ford Taurus my hub assembly cam off when I used the puller. I wish you would let us see the ball joint coming out of the controller arm. Seems as though I am a inch or two short of getting the ball joint out. Any advice on how to get the hub assembly back on and the ball joint off.

Thanks for that. My front end makes noise whenever I hit the tiniest bump, like a metal on metal sound....not good! :) I will test using your method.

If u simply hit the end of the cv with a 5lb sledge works twice as fast as ur puller

The first one I did was an e250 , no air tools , it was like wrestling an alligator to get the new balljoint pressed in . From there on out the next few I did , I placed the ballljoint in the icebox , warmed the hole with a torch , sprayed with lube and it slid in nice and easy with the press.

You have to remove the pinch bolt all the way. It gets corroded. Just loosen the nut and back it off till its even with the end of the treads, then pound it out with a hammer. There is a C shaped retainer that is part of the strut where the bolt runs through. Soak it down with PB Blaster and tap down to free from strut end.

@windsor358 I describe the process at 3:20 where I use the pickle fork to separate the ball joint and the tie rod end. That sounds extreme as to what you had to do. I am not saying its not possible for them to be that stuck but I have had some original ones need heating with a torch to help loosen them Typically a pickle fork and a big hammer is all that is needed. Wedge forces it out....

Honda's have ball joints too. Anything mechanical will break sooner or later.

You definitely had your issues with this job. I had the same issue doing the pass side ball joint both times. The first time I actually cut the stem of the new ball joint off about 1/8" and re-threaded it. 2nd time I removed the front most A arm bolt from the frame and slid the lower control arm out and down to get the ball joint to pop in. I never had that problem on the drivers side, just pryed down and it popped in.

Good video let me say thanks for cutting the only part of the video that had me click on it in the first place.

My Haynes book does not show torque specs for rotor or wheel bear reassembly. Do you know them? I'm in the middle of doing it... Help !!!

Thought I used a vid for some order of operations.. reference tool. That's what's these videos are. A tool to assist.. can't sue bc then every thing you bought that you be angry about, ppl would try to sue.. anywho... rant...but yes everything on point. Renting tool doesn't always have everything you need. Improvising is always suggested..bc Murphy's law is freaking real.. and on the end. Use leverage. Your your breaker bar and and body weight as leverage. Putting the breaker bar in the hole in the lower control arm and strong left arm put the strut tower threw the top spindle hole. Smack it a couple time with the hammer it stand straight, be sure to hit in a solid location..common sense here..and allighn the tower and tap tap till you put the locking bolt etc...then done.. and yaàaas..not a first timer thing here

Nice video!

Found I couldn't seperate lower a-arm from ball joint.

Do NOT use a pickle fork or pry bar to remove the tie rod end nor anything with a boot like the tie rod end. It can and probably will damage or reduce the service life of that joint. For the tie rod, hit on the side where the tie rod goes through the hub assembly, NOT the actual tie rod end. Don't mean to step on toes, just some friendly advice.

@cvilla198 What year is your Taurus? You cannot remove the ball joint w/o getting the CV joint & drive axle out of the way. Is your ball joint part of the lower control arm and not the spindle? There is little to no room for the press with the unit still on the car. Pictures or videos would have been nice, did you take any?

Thank a million ... you did a great video!!

Removing the control arm from the ball joint was easy with a Pittman control arm/tie rod end separator. Works great on the tie rod also... The tool costs about $15... Or you can get a loaner front end service tool kit from autozone.

@Kyocera234 Pulling and drifting can be caused by an improper alignment, worn tie rod ends, broken belts in the tires, worn ball joints, worn rack and pinion (usually leaks), or even improper rear wheel alignment. Just because it was aligned, doesnt mean it was performed correctly. Take it back and tell them that it still drifts and pulls and that you want the alignment checked again, no charge! If there are other front end problems, they will hopefully discover them this time around & tell you.

Thanks. Now I got a sign hanging in front of my shop that says "We now do ball joints".

Ok 3 things, first of all, how did you clearance the ball joint from the lower control arm? I have had to use great force and felt like I was bending the arm? Second: never use air tools on rental tools! They are cheaply made and don't stand up to the extra pressure! They even say that on the sticker inside the tool's box. And 3rd and final, why did you throw away the old ball joint? Didn't autozone want that back for warranty? I worked at O'Reilly auto for ten years and we always wanted the old ones back lol

Thanks,for the video, very well done.

Had to replace lower ball on wife's 2000 Taurus and while installing new Auto Zone ball joint and hearing you saying they don't last long. I pulled off the grease boot and there was hardly any grease in it at all. I packed the boot with grease, don't know if by doing that will it work it's way into the joint, there's no Zerk fitting to grease other side of ball joint. I hope this helps prolong it life, I'm not looking forward to doing this job again. For any first timers, when you rent this tool make sure its in good shape and not worn out. My rental unit, the edges were all rounded off, it's important that they are not so to push the edge of the old ball joint out, I had to use a short piece of tubular steel to push it the last 1/4" out. If I have to do this again the replacement ball joint will have to be grease-able, Maybe Moog makes a grease-able ball joint Auto zone doesn't.

A long breaker bar 19 mm socket I think removes the bolt securing the steering knuckle to the strut (the steel bolt could be fused in the aluminum hole). I had to hit the bolt with a hammer to push it out of the hole.

This ball joint was a sealed assembly with no grease zerk. The issue is that the CV boot is so close to the ball joint that there is no room for a zerk and if there was a zerk, there is almost no way to get the grease gun on it.

@AllThingzVideo Thanks for the reply. I ended up taking the spindles to Napa to replace the ball joints. Now I am having the worst time trying to get the a arm and ball joint back together on both sides. I'm in the middle of putting two back together. I can't get on one side the a arm low enough. I tried to raise the rotor with a jack, but it lifts and pulls away from the car and I can't push it back in. ???

I have to question why you would go with the same part that failed after 2 years, warranty or not I doubt they've changed their design. Other than that very informative video, thank you very much for taking the time. Your assembly of the press tool alone will save me a lot of time. Id rather be under a nissan.

excellent. thank you

How can you tell if the ball joint needs replacing?

@wildbaseballplaya I would NOT recommend putting the tire on and lowering the car! The Strut will kick out and cause the car to shift & fall inward, damaging a ton of stuff. Remove the front bolt from the A arm and it will slide / swing back and give you a little more room. Getting it lined back up is tricky tho because the whole assembly will have to come forward. Did you remove the sway bar link? Sometimes turning the wheel all the way one way or the other will give you clearance too.

@cvilla198 Still trying to visualize it, sounds too tight. Besides, 3 more bolts and you would have the spindle on bench as I did. I changed the driver's side with it on the car and decided it wasn't worth the hassle this time around. Putting it in the vise was so much nicer. Besides the press I rented was exactly made to work with this car (too big)

Why not press it out, with everything still attached

how bout rear struts n springs,just found both springs are broke. any video on that? 2000 taurus.

Thanks Larry really appreciate you showing this. Just learned that I'm gonna need ball joint and sway bar (link) replace on my 2005 ford freestyle, which is really a sort of all wheel drive taurus suv. Verbal estimate from dealer $900.00. Does that mean they are going to replace all ball joints or just 1? Does that quote sound right to you? Thanks again, whether these questions get answered or not.

I tried to take my upper ball joints off.but the bolts wouldn't come off with a 14mm, they seem they are rounded and the bolt on the right side of the spring is too close to th spring so how would I go about to remove it

wow, that's a lot of work! I have replaced the struts on my taurus myself so I kind of know a little bit of what you are doing. What were the symptoms in the front end that you noticed so you were able to diagnose down to the ball joint. After I put on the struts I had the front end aligned but I still can feel some pulling or drifting, would that possibly be a ball joint?

@wildbaseballplaya How long is the bar you are using? It needs to be 6 feet or so or youll never get the leverage you need. Is there someone there that can run the bar for you?

NEVER Hold the weight of the vehicle on a floor jack while performing repair work. Always use floor jack only as a back-up for Jack stands. The technician in this video either forgot or does not have proper training.. (I am not sure you can forget something like this is you have proper training)

quick question, i need to replace my wheel hub/bearing. Would that puller tool, at 4:40,be all i need to remove hub after unbolting the 3 bolts that holds the hub onto the assembly? I'm hesitant on this job because the hub are known to be seized to the car and i rather have all the needed tools.

By far the hardest part is getting the damn steering knuckle off and back on with the new ball joint and you didn't show either one getting it off or putting it back on

Ok dude i got beef with wgen you said it goes together the way it came apart thats some bull you cant tell me it went together right back in mine lacked a hair the whole time wile fighting the cv chaft and trying to keep the lower a arm from killing the boot on the ball joint the easiest thing about this was pressing the joint on and off ... continued

Interesting on my 1993 Ford Taurus the ball joint is attached to the control arm.

how did u disconnect the ball joint? u just took the nut out?

What made your ball joint go bad in a year? That's crazy.

jey what's that thing you called a retaining cover really called?

It's hard to see from the video, but why are you not able to press the ball joint out without removing it from the strut? It looks like there's enough clearance after you pushed out the joint.

this is the same for the lincoln cont.

But u did not show what tool to use or the process when removing the control arm from the steering knuckle!

Good job on the video and procedure with one exception. PLEASE DO NOT USE Autozone or any other cheap Chinese parts such as from Parts Warehouse, Prime Choice or even AC Delco Advantage level(OE Level Delco is good) on Amazon, etc. You will be doing the job over and over. Lifetime guarantee notwithstanding, do you really have the time to do this job every year? What about if the cheap ball joint or tie rod end or other important part breaks while driving and some report that they do. Always use a good American brand like MOOG which comes with a zerk fitting for greasing if applicable. On this particular ball joint, no zerk fitting would fit in the tight space of this design so it's imperative to buy a Ford Motorcraft or Moog Ball joint either of which is available at Advance Auto Parts for about $60-$65 or from Amazon for roughly $30. Do it once properly and it's good and safe for years.

@windsor358 i ended up doing the same thing

Still driving a POS 2001 lol she still go’s I guess 😂😂😊

U forget ruver in d boljoin how u taketh off

I'M SORRY I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THE AIR COMPRESSOR. WHAT?

Should have started with O'REILLY parts and saved a lot of time and aggravation.

just did mine saterday, it wasnt to bad except the kid didnt put the bolt i needed for hub puller in box, always check!!!!!! hub comes off with 3 bolts anyway. on other side im using my spring compressors to get it back together, that was a bitch, and the press is not designed for fords, balljoint stud did not fit thru the "washer"! had to cut a piece of heavy fence pipe an grind inside with a diegrinder to make it work, to fit over the base of the BJ , it was a bitch now i think about it. had to cut an inch off the stud also for press to push it out.

ford taurus ball joints don't seem to last long... nor the tie rod ends... must not have designed the suspension connections to the ball joints very well at ford. Or it could just be all the deep potholes up here in northern ohio