My 2000 5.4l Eddie Bauer 4x4

U Joint??


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hammerg26 said:

U Joint??

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Checked using every method I know how: pry bar between the ears, shaking, pulling...... No movement.

I wish it was. U-joints are inexpensive.

Too bad you don't have a spare driveshaft to try. Most of the times they klink, but they do sometimes clunk. Sounds like you've eliminated movement. Why not rack it somewhere to be safe and put it through it's rear paces. Safer than jack stands.

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Have you checked the clutch packs in the rear differential? I had an issue with them and ended replacing with a LSD from Eaton.


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ExplorerTom said:

Sorry for the super late reply. I initially got this while on business travel and haven't been back into my thread since.

Front: 23.75"
Rear: 23"

I guess the front is a little higher. I thought it was all about the same height when I did the torsion twist.

Click to expand...

No worries, thanks for the reply!

I cranked my stock keys all the way this afternoon to see where that would get me. 23.5"

My stock rear is currently sitting at 21". I have 1" or 2.5" spacers I can put in, along with new coils and isolators. I figure after 20+ years my coils are sagging a tad, so I'll probably start with the 1" spacers and coils and see where that gets me. I worry that the 2.5" + new coils would give me too much of a rake with stock keys maxed out. I'm only putting on 305/70R17s, so I don't need to go super high.

I've had my eyes on this steering stabilizer kit from Rancho for a long time. I finally decided to pull the trigger on it. And I'm glad I did. Hitting a bump now, nothing is transferred to the steering wheel.

Install was pretty easy.

However, I went I for a alignment today and I was told that because my lower left ball joint was so bad, the alignment wouldn't stick. I picked up the truck and ordered 2 new ball joints from Mevotech. Supposed to be bigger, badder, beefier. Heard good things about it.
http://www.mevotech.com/mevotech-moment-ttx-terrain-tough-ball-joint-txk8695t/

Stay tuned.

I installed the same kit with the upgraded stabilizer a couple of months ago and I love it. Helps keep the 35s in check.

Well I got my money's worth out of the EBC Orangestuff brake pads in the front. Ah, maybe their time was cut a little short due to goobed up pad sliders. The inside driver side pad was metal on metal. Oops.



The new pads that I selected, as you can maybe guess, are EBC Yellowstuff. The Orangestuff were great, but they were classified as a track pad. I thought that was surprising because of how could the cold bite was. And by good, I really mean GREAT. Usually track pads require a little bit of heat to get them work. The Orangestuff were grippy from the get-go. After comparing the different pad compounds on EBC's website, I decided to give the Yellowstuff a try. I've also used Greenstuff on multiple other vehicles, but the Expedition is a little heavy, in my opinion, for the Greenstuff.

I also decided to pair them with EBC USR Sport Slotted rotor. Mostly because they look cool.



So far so good. Only installed them today and only have about 25 miles on them. Seem to grip as good as the Orangestuff- but maybe it's the break-in compound.

Also installed some Mevotech TTX lower ball joints. I tried to get an alignment a week or so ago and they said it wouldn't take because of a bad lower ball joint.

I've been having an issue with my grease zerks lately. When I go a pump some grease in, the grease goes anywhere but through the zerk. If I remove the zerk, I find it caked full of dried up....... looks more like dirt than grease. Heating up the zerk with a torch clears it out, but the grease inside the ball joint or tie rod or whatever, can't be in very good shape either.

I picked up some stuff called Green Grease at Advance Auto. I checked out reviews on Amazon and it seems to score well.
https://www.amazon.com/Green-Grease-101-Waterproof-Temperature/dp/B004Y06YT8

First impressions: this stuff is not like the old grease I was using. Green Grease (which is about the color of baby poop if the baby was on a steady diet of peas) is much tackier. I got it all over the outside of my grease gun. And it pretty much laughed at the Gojo Hand Cleaner I used to wash my hands- I had to wash twice. Time will tell how it holds up.

Hey Tom, why not screw in a regular small bolt after you grease the items, especially the lower ball joints. It's probably a common size bolt like 5 or 6mmx10mm length.

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