cstarbard
Member
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2017
- Messages
- 225
- Reaction score
- 4
- Points
- 18
- Age
- 30
- Location
- Oakham, MA
- Vehicle Year
- 1996
- Make / Model
- Ford
- Engine Size
- 2.3
- Transmission
- Manual
- My credo
- It do like it be
Hey guys,
When I aligned my truck (1996 2.3 4x4) I noticed one of the upper ball joints is quite loose. Once the camber caster bushing was removed, I could move the stud with literally no effort at all. I wasn't able to see any play in the ball joint before disassembly, but the other ball joint was stiff to move as I would expect and I don't feel great about how loose this one is, so I'd like to replace the loose one.
From what I understand, the lower ball joint has to be removed in order to get the upper one out. Is that correct? If that's the case, I'd like to replace the lower one as well since it will already be coming out.
My other questions are:
Is a standard ball joint press kit all that's needed for this job? (other than impact, jack, wrenches, sockets and other obvious tools... all of which I have). I just want to make sure I won't need any specialty tools to do this.
Looking up Moog ball joints for my application, I see that they specify different ball joints for the Dana 28 vs. the Dana 35. I have the hybrid axle on my truck, but my understanding is that on the hybrid axle, at least for my era Ranger, all the front end parts are the same as a D35 except that I have the special diff housing and smaller shafts going into the differential. And a slightly different front driveshaft. But the ball joints should be the same as used on a Dana 35, correct? Was there another era Ranger with the D28 that used different ball joints for some reason?
Thanks.
When I aligned my truck (1996 2.3 4x4) I noticed one of the upper ball joints is quite loose. Once the camber caster bushing was removed, I could move the stud with literally no effort at all. I wasn't able to see any play in the ball joint before disassembly, but the other ball joint was stiff to move as I would expect and I don't feel great about how loose this one is, so I'd like to replace the loose one.
From what I understand, the lower ball joint has to be removed in order to get the upper one out. Is that correct? If that's the case, I'd like to replace the lower one as well since it will already be coming out.
My other questions are:
Is a standard ball joint press kit all that's needed for this job? (other than impact, jack, wrenches, sockets and other obvious tools... all of which I have). I just want to make sure I won't need any specialty tools to do this.
Looking up Moog ball joints for my application, I see that they specify different ball joints for the Dana 28 vs. the Dana 35. I have the hybrid axle on my truck, but my understanding is that on the hybrid axle, at least for my era Ranger, all the front end parts are the same as a D35 except that I have the special diff housing and smaller shafts going into the differential. And a slightly different front driveshaft. But the ball joints should be the same as used on a Dana 35, correct? Was there another era Ranger with the D28 that used different ball joints for some reason?
Thanks.