Front Sway Bar Stabilizer or possible ball joint issue .

[sgtsandman]

I was able to squeeze under the truck..actually there was plenty of room even parked on the street.
Had medical appts today so I haven't yet had a chance to tighten everything down. I am still going to take it n to have an inspection on the suspension and steering.

Good thing i replaced the stabilizer bushings becasue I was able to move the bar up and down while taking out the old sway bar rods .

will it tighten firm even with the silicon grease? sorry for so many questions.
you all are lifesavers! Much appreciation!

The excess grease will just squeeze out while you tighten the bolts.

 

[qkcam]

if you need a bit more oomph! behind some of those bolts put a cheater pipe onto your ratchet. Here's one I use in my yard bag, not sure where it came from, I flattened one end a bit

Actually that was an extra extension for a ceiling fan

Thats great a ceiling fan extension!! perfect fit! I have a pipe from a workout bench that fits. it works in a pinch!

How do I measure the torque when tightening those stabilizer bar bushings? I am looking forward to finishing up today!
thanks everyone!

 

[superj]

without a torque wrench, you cannot measure torque. but since they are not a bolt that will cause you to crash, i would just do them hand tight and then a bit more so they don't fall out.

or, run over and get an inexpensive torque wrench from somewhere. maybe even drive hte truck to your local autopart store and see if they will let you use one in their parking lot for a second, from their loaner pile

 

[sgtsandman]

Thats great a ceiling fan extension!! perfect fit! I have a pipe from a workout bench that fits. it works in a pinch!

How do I measure the torque when tightening those stabilizer bar bushings? I am looking forward to finishing up today!
thanks everyone!

The torque is more critical for the end links for proper bushing compression than the bar mounts to the frame but they can be torqued by eye balling how much the bushings are compressed.

Since I used a torque wrench, I can’t give you a precise measurement but somewhere between 1/4” and 3/8” should get you in the ball park. Probably closer to 3/8”.

 

[qkcam]

I got everything all tightened up! I used a breaker bar on the stability bar bushings and that bar is NOT moving . crunched down on the sway bar end bushings..(it did feel like forever ) and I used the breaker bar on those too.

I gave it a few drives around the block..
1. The clunk is gone!! yay!
2. it is alot smoother !! yay!
3. I saved some money thanks to everyone's help and encouragment here! yay!

4. It didn't resolve the steering issue. It is better however what I thought was ball joints I am not wondering if it might be power steering pump or power steering. I am in way over my head on this. : )

it has a little bit of a "shudder" on the turning of the wheel. I noticed it on a corner as well as when I was parked and turned the wheel. it isn't smooth it's like little studder/ shudder .

front end inspections are around $150 but that beats my previous mechanic at $250 for an inspection.. and the two places I am looking at both have good recommendations.

poor ole truck.
before and after pictures.

 

[Josh B]

Foot pounds are not complicated
If you have a bolt that needs say ten foot pounds, put a one foot wrench on it and a ten pound bag of taters.
If it needs 20 ft lbs give it a 20 lb bag

If it gets to a point where you need more weight get a 2 ft wrench, that makes a 20 lb pull into 40 pounds

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Foot pounds are not complicated
If you have a bolt that needs say ten foot pounds, put a one foot wrench on it and a ten pound bag of taters.
If it needs 20 ft lbs give it a 20 lb bag

If it gets to a point where you need more weight get a 2 ft wrench, that makes a 20 lb pull into 40 pounds

And you don't necessarily have to use taters. Ten lbs of feathers will work too.

 

[sgtsandman]

And you don't necessarily have to use taters. Ten lbs of feathers will work too.

Though the container will be much larger.

 

[qkcam]

Hopefully I was able to get those sway bar ends on tight enough..they didnt' really squish down alot .. they did a little.

~~~~~~~~~~~~ the Shudder is still in the steering with turning the wheel

It didn't resolve the steering issue. It is better however what I thought was ball joints I am not wondering if it might be power steering pump or power steering. I am in way over my head on this. : )

it has a little bit of a "shudder" on the turning of the wheel. I noticed it on a corner as well as when I was parked and turned the wheel. it isn't smooth it's like little studder/ shudder .

 

[Josh B]

Careful taking it somewhere, some might impound it
be very careful driving it

You will need some help with it, most likely from a shop, or maybe a weekend mechanic, if you know of one you can trust

 

[sgtsandman]

Hopefully I was able to get those sway bar ends on tight enough..they didnt' really squish down alot .. they did a little.

~~~~~~~~~~~~ the Shudder is still in the steering with turning the wheel

It didn't resolve the steering issue. It is better however what I thought was ball joints I am not wondering if it might be power steering pump or power steering. I am in way over my head on this. : )

it has a little bit of a "shudder" on the turning of the wheel. I noticed it on a corner as well as when I was parked and turned the wheel. it isn't smooth it's like little studder/ shudder .

That may be an issue with the power steering pump. If you decide to have it changed, only get a Motorcraft one. I replaced the one on my 1998 with and aftermarket one and it whined louder the the old one! The Motorcraft one fixed the issue and was quiet.

If it isn’t the pump (which it likely is) then it is the rack and pinion unit. Not a common thing on Fords though.

 

[Fast Eddie]

+1 ^^^^^
That's exactly where I was going to go with the shudder and increased resistance (drag) on the front wheels while turning - still or otherwise. I'd go after the pump first. The rack is a less pleasant thing to tackle and can make a hell of a mess.

 

[qkcam]

Careful taking it somewhere, some might impound it
be very careful driving it

You will need some help with it, most likely from a shop, or maybe a weekend mechanic, if you know of one you can trust

I will be careful. Maybe I will have it towed in . Better safe than sorry. Or I drive surface streets slowly.

I dont know a weekend mechanic.. but wondering if I can do it myself.

 

[qkcam]

Question:
is there any easy basic way I might be able to separate out if it is a ball joint , tie-rod or power steering pump ?

it seemed to be more of an issue going to the left side than the right, ( I might be wrong about that ) I was really nervous to drive it much. it was fine going straight.. the streets here have really really bad craters ..it's like driving on the moon .

looks like I can get a motorola pump at O'Reilly for about $140 with tax..40 for core but I can take them the old one.

just need to manage my limited energy & time.

thanks again !

 

[sgtsandman]

Question:
is there any easy basic way I might be able to separate out if it is a ball joint , tie-rod or power steering pump ?

it seemed to be more of an issue going to the left side than the right, ( I might be wrong about that ) I was really nervous to drive it much. it was fine going straight.. the streets here have really really bad craters ..it's like driving on the moon .

looks like I can get a motorola pump at O'Reilly for about $140 with tax..40 for core but I can take them the old one.

just need to manage my limited energy & time.

thanks again !

It’s going to require line wrench tools for the high pressure line. Plus maybe some other specialty tools if the hose breaks. If I remember correctly. All well and good for an inexperienced mechanic if all goes well but not so much if things start going wrong. Better to pay someone for this one.