How to Replace the LF Lower Ball Joint on a 2000 Ford Ranger 2WD

So you're tooling down your favorite stretch of rutted dirt or Detroit-spec potholed pavement and you start to notice a squeaking coming from the left-front part of your Ranger. It could only be one of a couple of things, and rat infestation falls pretty near the bottom of the list. Ball joint replacement on a Ranger is one of those little things that won't prove difficult as long as you've got the right tools, but will prove nigh-on impossible without them.

Instructions

1

Break the lug nuts loose on the affected wheel and kick a chock in-behind the Ranger's rear wheels. Slide a jack under the truck's frame, lift the truck until the wheel clear the ground by about an inch and insert a jack-stand under the frame. Remove the wheel.

2

Remove the two Allen-head brake caliper bolts and slide the caliper backward off the disc. You may wish to set it on top of a jack-stand or a bucket so that it's not dangling by the brake line.

3

Loosen the upper ball-joint bolt on the upper control arm; you may wish to remove it completely to ensure that the mount is fully loose. Tap the top of the spindle back and forth with a hammer a few times to loosen it. Tap upward on the bottom of the upper control arm while you pull the spindle down and out of its mount.

4

Un-clip the ABS sensor wire from the fender-well. Leave the tie-rod attached and just rotate the whole assembly backward. Remove the cotter pin from the castle nut on the bottom of the lower ball joint, then back the castle nut off to all but about three threads, but do not remove it completely; leaving it on will keep the assembly from falling apart after you remove the ball joint.

5

Separate the lower ball joint from the steering spindle. Tap the bottom of the spindle down with a hammer to break the pressed-in seal. If that doesn't work, you'll need to use a ball-joint separator (aka "pickle fork") to separate the two. Once the spindle drops, remove the castle nut and set the spindle-and-brake assembly to the side.

6

Remove the C-clip in the top of the lower ball joint with a pair of pliers, liberally spray the lower ball joint with penetrating oil and allow the oil about 20 minutes to penetrate the control-arm-ball-joint interface.

7

Break out your ball-joint-removal press. These presses (often available as loaner tools from auto parts stores) look like heavy-duty C-clamps with a large, removable "cup" on the bottom opposite the threaded rod. Install the press vertically so that the cup covers the bottom of the ball joint and the threaded rod pushes down on it from the top.

8

Tighten the press with an impact wrench, and catch the ball joint when it falls out. Switch out the larger cup on your ball joint press for the smaller ring. This ring presses on the bottom of the ball joint and forces it up into the control arm. Install the ball joint in the press' lower ring, and install the press receiving cup on the top of the control arm.

9

Squirt the lower ball joint with penetrating oil, then align the press' threaded rod with the receiver cup on top. Tighten the clamp with the impact wrench, and the ball joint should slide right up into the lower control arm; it should go far enough up into the arm so that the C-clip groove clears the arm.

10

Reassemble everything in the reverse order of removal. First install the C-clip onto the ball joint. Screw the grease fitting into the top of the ball joint, if so equipped. Carefully slide the spindle up onto the lower ball joint stud, install the castle nut until it is tight, then re-install the cotter pin. Push the upper control-arm ball joint down onto the spindle and reinstall the bolt. Install the nut and tighten it to 80 foot-pounds. Reinstall the brakes, clip the ABS wire back to the wheel-well and reinstall the wheel.

11

Take your truck to an alignment shop to have the suspension realigned. The slop in your old ball joint may have thrown your suspension out of alignment, so be sure to have everything checked and re-set, as necessary.