don't neglect your EXPY!!!

[walnuts4x4]

dont be like me... lol so since last Septemebr I knew my brakes were getting low but I pushed it through hunting season.... then started to hear the famous squeak of ball joints.... so long story short I finally got around to some repairs.... put slotted cross drilled rotors with ceramic pads on (love them) all four ball joints replaced with new ones with grease fittings.... well then putting front end back together checked wheel bearings and drivers side was shot... metal on metal screaching.... so replaced that..... then checked tires and worst result of neglect they are beginning to cup.... so rotated them and got an alignment.... now got a great vibration from back tires (cupped front ones) until they wear smoother..... lucky me though got good friends one that owns body shop and another great mechanic that helped me and saved me an @$$ load of cash... so if you have a problem be nice to your expy and fix it ASAP.... just felt like sharing my story lol

 

[smo0othride]

Yeah I'm big on preventive maintenance, and so far it has paid off. Keeping a close eye on tire pressure will not only improve tread wear, but will improve gas mileage as well.

 

[AaronLG]

dont be like me... lol so since last Septemebr I knew my brakes were getting low but I pushed it through hunting season.... then started to hear the famous squeak of ball joints.... so long story short I finally got around to some repairs.... put slotted cross drilled rotors with ceramic pads on (love them) all four ball joints replaced with new ones with grease fittings.... well then putting front end back together checked wheel bearings and drivers side was shot... metal on metal screaching.... so replaced that..... then checked tires and worst result of neglect they are beginning to cup.... so rotated them and got an alignment.... now got a great vibration from back tires (cupped front ones) until they wear smoother..... lucky me though got good friends one that owns body shop and another great mechanic that helped me and saved me an @$$ load of cash... so if you have a problem be nice to your expy and fix it ASAP.... just felt like sharing my story lol

Did you replace the ball joints on your own. Was it a big deal. Took mine in for an alignment today and they said they need to be replaced. Quoted me over $1000.

 

[smo0othride]

Also, are there any symptoms of bad balls joints? I have over 120k miles on mine and am wondering what kind of shape they are in.

 

[walnuts4x4]

some signs of bad ball joints are squeaking or creaking front end when you turn or go over bumps.... also if you look at your tread of your tires if you see the tires "chopping" or wearing weird it can be ball joints or any other things too but I noticed by the squeaking and finally doing a once over on the truck found everything else...
changing ball joints isn't too bad if you have knowledge and the right tools (in my case good friends with both) the uppers you have to replace the entire control arm while the bottoms can be presses in. So if you have ball joint pullers and press can be accomplished pretty easily... biggest thing is just having the time because your basically taking apart the entire front end.... we took like 5-6 hours but also had to run to autozone to buy wheel bearings and that was 30 min... but we also putted around and really didn't rush it either