Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 07-31-2013, 10:57 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: San Diego
Posts: 527
New Tie Rod Ends, Drag LInk Ends and Ball Joints @ 65K Miles

I had a surprise when I went in for an alignment yesterday. Everything was scary shot. It gradually snuck up on me but the mechanic immediately noticed the play on his pre-alignment test drive. It does seem premature but I'm not really complaining thinking of the washboard and rough roads in a heavy vehicle with big tires. I'm mostly just alerting people to be checking their front end suspension parts a bit more frequently than they would in a regular vehicle. My Jeep 4x4 Comanche has 165K on the original suspension. This is one of the early SMB 4x4's and everything sources to 95-99 F-350 components. I guess this could go in the what did I do to my SMB today topic - oh about $1600!

Leaving for Bishop, Ca. on Friday for Lake Sabrina and some very easy camping. I hope all those new nuts are tight.

Pat

__________________
2004 SMB 4x4 RB 6.0 PSD; ARP Head Studs, Gen 3 Cylinder Heads, BPD Oil Cooler connected to AMSOil Bypass, a whistling Wicked Wheel Turbo, Coolant Filter, Upgraded alternator, ScanGauge, SCT custom and SMB Fox shocks.
BFG 285/75 R16 KM3 Mud Terrains on ProComp 7069's
PatO is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-01-2013, 01:38 PM   #2
Site Team
 
daveb's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Turlock Ca
Posts: 10,407
Garage
Re: New Tie Rod Ends, Drag LInk Ends and Ball Joints @ 65K M

My last ball joint replacement lasted about 30K miles. I got tired of it and had 4-wheel parts do the Pro Steer Ball Joint Kit replacement. Hopefully it will go longer; time will tell but looks good.
http://www.4wheelparts.com/Drivetrain-D ... QgoduFEA0A
About 900 bucks OTD and they even re-packed the wheel bearing one of which had to be replaced. They did it in about 6 hours and I thought it was a reasonable deal considering the kit cost over 650.
__________________
2006 Ford 6.0PSD EB-50/E-PH SMB 4X4 Rock Crawler Trailer

Sportsmobile 4X4 Adventures..........On and off road adventures
daveb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-01-2013, 02:12 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Flagstaff, AZ
Posts: 1,995
Re: New Tie Rod Ends, Drag LInk Ends and Ball Joints @ 65K M

I'm about ready to do the Pro Steer ball joint install as well. This is an awesome thread on the install. http://sportsmobileforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=8174
__________________
2005 E350 RB 6.0 PSD for extended fun
1989 Landcruiser FJ62 for local fun
2011 VW TDI Golf for hwy fun
JoeH is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-01-2013, 05:38 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: San Diego
Posts: 527
Re: New Tie Rod Ends, Drag LInk Ends and Ball Joints @ 65K M

Quote:
Originally Posted by JoeH
I'm about ready to do the Pro Steer ball joint install as well. This is an awesome thread on the install. http://sportsmobileforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=8174
Somehow I had missed that thread. So 50-60K miles seems to be more the norm or even the outer limit! Anyway for just the ball joints it also was 6 hrs labor but at $80/ hr. Also there were 4 very profitable for them Moog ball joints which they charged me $300 for, which is over double any price you see on Google for K0026 & K8607T. I was in a bind and had to get it done ASAP so couldn't shop around. Nice and tight again - now to add suspension parts to the 10K mile super check.

Pat
__________________
2004 SMB 4x4 RB 6.0 PSD; ARP Head Studs, Gen 3 Cylinder Heads, BPD Oil Cooler connected to AMSOil Bypass, a whistling Wicked Wheel Turbo, Coolant Filter, Upgraded alternator, ScanGauge, SCT custom and SMB Fox shocks.
BFG 285/75 R16 KM3 Mud Terrains on ProComp 7069's
PatO is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-01-2013, 06:58 PM   #5
Site Team
 
daveb's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Turlock Ca
Posts: 10,407
Garage
Re: New Tie Rod Ends, Drag LInk Ends and Ball Joints @ 65K M

I think most depends on the weight of the van and where you take it. My first set lasted just over 40K and the second set about 30K miles but I do travel some rough stuff at times. At +/-12.2K lbs depending what's in the van, I think the overall weight matters more than the terrain.

The first job set me back about 1200 bucks but the installer didn't get the inner axle clean and the seal leaked. Three times back and I finally gave up, then took it to a different shop. Those guys did a good enough job that I returned for the second time around but being the 2nd set of ball joints only lasted 30K miles I made the switch to the Dyna Trac kit.

I didn't have a clue what 4-Wheel Parts were going to charge me but being they had to order the kit I figured I'd give em a chance. When I was told the charge for the parts and labor I thought they forgot to bill me for the kit...maybe they did
BTW, they did it on a Saturday...no vacation day required like before.
__________________
2006 Ford 6.0PSD EB-50/E-PH SMB 4X4 Rock Crawler Trailer

Sportsmobile 4X4 Adventures..........On and off road adventures
daveb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-01-2013, 08:15 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Flagstaff, AZ
Posts: 1,995
Re: New Tie Rod Ends, Drag LInk Ends and Ball Joints @ 65K M

Quote:
Originally Posted by PatO
Quote:
Originally Posted by JoeH
I'm about ready to do the Pro Steer ball joint install as well. This is an awesome thread on the install. http://sportsmobileforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=8174
Somehow I had missed that thread. So 50-60K miles seems to be more the norm or even the outer limit! Anyway for just the ball joints it also was 6 hrs labor but at $80/ hr. Also there were 4 very profitable for them Moog ball joints which they charged me $300 for, which is over double any price you see on Google for K0026 & K8607T. I was in a bind and had to get it done ASAP so couldn't shop around. Nice and tight again - now to add suspension parts to the 10K mile super check.

Pat
The Moogs go for $45 to $70 ea. depending on their supplier. That, and probably 30% markup and parts quickly add up. Hopefully, they stand by their work.
__________________
2005 E350 RB 6.0 PSD for extended fun
1989 Landcruiser FJ62 for local fun
2011 VW TDI Golf for hwy fun
JoeH is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-02-2013, 07:06 AM   #7
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 45
Re: New Tie Rod Ends, Drag LInk Ends and Ball Joints @ 65K M

Nice thread and posts.....Is the pro steer kit that is linked above compatible with the quigley front end? Looks like the link is showing jeep parts....if this kit is not compatible does anyone know which quality ball joints work on a quigley? Looking to do everything on the front end soon....
Ajamboree1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-02-2013, 07:32 AM   #8
Senior Member
 
BajaSportsmobile's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Rancho Nuevo (Cabo/Todos Santos) B.C.S. and San Diego, CA
Posts: 1,952
Re: New Tie Rod Ends, Drag LInk Ends and Ball Joints @ 65K M

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ajamboree1
Nice thread and posts.....Is the pro steer kit that is linked above compatible with the quigley front end? Looks like the link is showing jeep parts....if this kit is not compatible does anyone know which quality ball joints work on a quigley? Looking to do everything on the front end soon....
Some of the Quigleys don't have Ball Joints and have King Pin front axles - you really have to know what axle Quigley used in your application. Surest method is to contact Quigley and find out what you have and then check Dynatrac's application guide.

When it comes to factory style Ball Joint selection in desert racing, the consensus is that Napa Premium Ball Joints (the one's with the blue dust cover) are the best and outlast Ford and Moog units.
__________________
Four time Baja 1000 winner, four time Baja 500 winner. Solo'ed the Baja 1000 to LaPaz/Cabo twice.
4-Wheeling since 1972, Desert Racing since 1989.

AgileOffRoad.com
BajaSportsmobile is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-02-2013, 08:17 AM   #9
Site Team
 
daveb's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Turlock Ca
Posts: 10,407
Garage
Re: New Tie Rod Ends, Drag LInk Ends and Ball Joints @ 65K M

Quote:
Originally Posted by BajaSportsmobile
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ajamboree1
Nice thread and posts.....Is the pro steer kit that is linked above compatible with the quigley front end? Looks like the link is showing jeep parts....if this kit is not compatible does anyone know which quality ball joints work on a quigley? Looking to do everything on the front end soon....
Some of the Quigleys don't have Ball Joints and have King Pin front axles - you really have to know what axle Quigley used in your application. Surest method is to contact Quigley and find out what you have and then check Dynatrac's application guide.

When it comes to factory style Ball Joint selection in desert racing, the consensus is that Napa Premium Ball Joints (the one's with the blue dust cover) are the best and outlast Ford and Moog units.
Nice tip. That is a great part of this forum.
__________________
2006 Ford 6.0PSD EB-50/E-PH SMB 4X4 Rock Crawler Trailer

Sportsmobile 4X4 Adventures..........On and off road adventures
daveb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-02-2013, 10:01 AM   #10
Senior Member
 
E350's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Sacramento Delta, CA
Posts: 1,024
Re: New Tie Rod Ends, Drag LInk Ends and Ball Joints @ 65K M

Quote:
Originally Posted by BajaSportsmobile
When it comes to factory style Ball Joint selection in desert racing, the consensus is that Napa Premium Ball Joints (the one's with the blue dust cover) are the best and outlast Ford and Moog units.
I was planning on asking you about this eventually, so this thread is probably as good a time as any. There seems to be quite a following on ford-trucks.com using XRF ball joints:

http://www.xrfchassis.com/

Baja and other SMB'ers: What have you heard/experienced with xrf ball joints and would you select Napa Premium over XRF?

Eh?

[BTW: jwintersteller your thread rocks! Thank you for posting it, it probably should be made a sticky.]
__________________
2002 E350 ext.; 160K; 7.3L; 4R100 (w/4x4 deep pan & filter); 4x4 conv. w/2007 F250/F350 coil frnt axle (oppos. dual Bilstein press. shocks cured DW) diff chg from 3.55 to 3.73 (bad!); BW1356 t.c. (bad!); LT265/70R17/E Michelin LTX M/S2; Engel MT60 Combi Fridge-Freezer; 4 BP 380J pv panels; Auragen 5kw AC gen. in top alt. position; Webasto Dual-Top; Voyager top. 1995 5.8L EB Bronco, bone stock.
E350 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off

» Sportsmobile Registry

"Campy"

campy

Ann the Van

Bongo
Add your Sportsmobile
» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sportsmobile SIP or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:56 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.