Hey guys. Ive recently been told that my upper and lower ball joints are shot (which i already knew) so here in about a month i will be tackling that job with a buddy. While i had the front end ripped apart i was going to go ahead and replace the cv half shafts on both sides. Everytime im in 4x4(Mostly when im more than 50% turning in either direction) i hear this horrible popping noise like something is snapping so i reseached it a bit here and it seems like most people are saying its the CV's. Is this a good assumption? I was also going to go ahead and replace the tie rod ends while i was in there. What else should i go ahead and do? Is there anything i can do to verify that my CVs are bad before i replace them?

My truck is a 2007 f150 XLT 5.4L 4x4 with a 9 inch lift in the front and a 6 in the back. Does the lift affect the procedure or parts for changing the balljoints, cv, tie rod ends?

I was quoted around 600 to do just the balljoints but looking at some videos, it doesnt seem like that involved of a job for two people with decent mechanical knowledge. Just time consuming. Correct?

 

Depends on if you have other than stock lower and upper control arms on the ball joints, which you probably do with that lift, so cant say for sure on those. If they are similar to stock they are no problem, also on you cv axles I would say it is the hubs and actuatorse before the cvs.

 

Ive been trying to find a part list for the lift that i have to see if the upper and lower control arms were changed but i cant seem to find one. I honestly dont think they were though.

You are the first person to tell me it could be the hubs and/or actuators. Why do you say that instead of the CVs?

 

These trucks are KNOWN for the actuators going bad. I just replaced mine a couple of months ago. The lower ball joints are pretty easy to change, just need a ball joint remover that can be borrowed from Autozone. To replace the uppers, I believe you just replace the upper control arms, and that is no biggie either. All pretty basic with some basic mechanical skills.

 

The hubs and actuators can make a pretty good pop or clunk somethimes when they are bad. and if your cv joints are bad you can or should be able to turn shake or feel the bad joint. Check your actuatorsby trying to turn the cv shafts withe the truck running in park and not in 4x4, you should be able to turn either dise by hand and see your front d.s. turn going into the transfer case if not you have either bad actuators or a vacum leak, this is just a starting point.

 

Could be a vacuum leak or a bad IWE solenoid...IWE trying to stay dis-engauged while in 2WD... and with a 9 inch lift...I assume your running at least 37's...so I would go with some beefed up tie rods...

 

I just posted a lower ball joint replacement procedure on this forum a couple of days ago. Follow it and you'll be able to remove your CV axle and replace your wheel hubs, IWE, tie rods, etc. if necessary. You will need a 12mm 12-point 1/2-inch drive shallow socket for the bolts that hold the inner CV shaft flange to the front differential. You will also need a powerful impact wrench to zip those bolts off. Use medium threadlocker when reinstalling them, and I would personally recommend replacing those bolts with new ones while you're at it. Just search under my username for "Lower Ball Joint Replacement" and you'll see with pics. You'll need a ball joint press for the lower ball joints as well.

 

I will definitely look at that. Thank you!!

 

Anyone got any ideas for me to see if the upper control arm was replaced with a different one when the lift was installed? I cant find the parts list for the lift to see if thats on there. Hate to order a UCA that wont work.

 

I am not 100% sure but to my knowledge the factory upper control arms do not have grease fittings. Also, just look to see if they have a Ford stamp or part numbers on them. Considering you have a lift higher than 2 inches, I would recommend aftermarket upper control arms that are meant for stock to lifted vehicles. ReadyLift and Icon Vehicle Dynamics are two manufacturers that build these, but I know of a couple more that I can't think of off the top of my head.