Ball Joints

[Ford4Life]

Hey all, havn't been here since the old TRS (used to be OldRedd). Anyway, I have a 1998 Ranger with 4" Trailmaster lift running 33"s. I recently had to replace the upper and lower balljoints again for the second time in a year (thank god they were 'lifetime' guarantee). I realize that the big tires contribute to this, but what can I do, short of a SAS, to make these buggers last longer? I don't do extreme hardcore wheeling, but the truck does see offroad almost every weekend. BTW, the drivers side was always worse so I now have a grease fitting on the upper ball joint that I grease every other week. Will this grease really help? Thanks a lot!

 

[samsonitesamsonite]

making sure they are properly lubed will go a very long way

 

[4x4RangerGuy]

Honestly, I wonder if it's the lift itself. The spacers on the Trailmaster lift put extra strain on the ball joints, where as the superlift kit just uses new extended knuckles.

Beyond that, keep them lubed. Constantly.

 

[hitech_hick]

What size of rims are you running and what is you backspacing? I Trashed a set of ball joints within a month of putting my 35x12.5x15's with 15x10 inch rims with 3 5/8th backspacing on my '94. 3 years and 12,000 miles later they have still held up.



hick

 

[Ford4Life]

I'm running 15x10 Wheels. They are American Racing Bajas. Not sure on the backspacing..

Honestly, I wonder if it's the lift itself. The spacers on the Trailmaster lift put extra strain on the ball joints, where as the superlift kit just uses new extended knuckles.

I have had the mechanic who replaced my ball joints say something along those lines of "a goofy design" in referring to that part of the kit. It's been a few months, and it's still holding up it seems. My only concern is the grease fitting is only for the driver's side, but that is the side that is always worse for some reason? Considering going with smaller tires after these 33s wear out. Possibly 31's and smaller rims to help with this problem? What do you guys think?