Suspension renewal?

[Fun2Bee]

I have a 2000 xlt with 106,000 miles. Mostly the vehicle has been very good to me. I have many rattle noises from underneath when driving over road imprefections. I suspect that the bushings and ball joints have worn and need replacement. Maybe there are some body mounts that would benefit from replacment as well.

Is there a standard protocol for R&R of these systems? Any recomendations for parts or procedures that will save time/money?

Thanks,
David

 

[FordandPolaris]

Well lower ball joints are pressed out, while the upper ball joints are replaced by replacing the entire control arm. Jack the front wheel up off the ground and wiggle it 12-6 (think a clock, its hard to indicate through typing). If lots of play, one of the ball joints on that side is bad. Next 9-3, lots of play there means bad tie rod ends.

You can replace the lowers without doing an alignment, but if you replace the uppers or tie rod ends, you will need to have an alignment done.

Here is a youtube that describes the process:

PART 1 How To Install Replace Lower Ball Joint 97-03 Ford F-150 Expedition 1AAuto.com - YouTube

I would recommend changing all of it at once if you have a free weekend. As far as parts, I recommend Moog suspension. I have had bad luck with generic tie rod ends, but my Moog ball joints have held up very well through quite a bit of abuse. Make sure that the parts you are getting come with a grease zerk, and are not sealed units. Keeping them greased will keep them good forever.

 

[tonydiv]

Energy suspension makes a kit that has all the bushings in it for the front and rear. Doing this in addition to the ball joints will really help take the slop out of the suspension.

You can also get a knocking noise from worn unit bearings (wheel bearings) in the front. If these haven't been done on the truck, it's probably time. And since you're tearing in to the front end, there's no better time to do them.

 

[KWT2000]

i would normally agree with using moog components how ever they have moved south of the border which was not always the case and i have come to learn about XRF suspension components and they are even more superior than the moog stuff it would be worth while checking them out..

i agree with energy suspension i have been using their stuff for a couple years now and am very happy with it

 

[toms89]

Did you check your front sway bar end links? Fairly common for them to break.

 

[Fun2Bee]

@FordandPolaris:

I'm curious: on what width rims did you put those 285/75r16 tire?

I have 16" rims and I think they are 7" wide. Tire rack says that these tires need a minimum 7.5" rim.

 

[splintrcel]

i snapped my front sway bar links so all the clunking came from my free floating sway bar, it turned a hell of a lot better once i fixed them.