balljoints?

[cabinfevrr]

so, my 89 e-350 has balljoints, correct? like an upper, and a lower on each side, right>? i'm driving my cube van across canada, so i figured i'd replace a few things. doing some reading online, i discovered that the balljoints commonly fail on these beasts, so i thought i'd pre-emptively change them. i called 3 parts houses, and they all told me my vehicle doesn't have balljoints.

I'm storing it at a friends house, so i can't just go outside and look.

the funny part is that my haynes manual i just bought doesn't cover anything about balljoints, or the steering knuckles at all. whiskey tango foxtrot????

[crcraig]

your van has king pins not ball joints they are a nightmare to do i brought my e250 to a truck repair shop to have them done it took them 7 hours i wuold not reccomend you doing this as you need torches and a press

[cabinfevrr]

ohhh, snap!

[zagrad]

you dont need a torch or press, just a big hammer. I did few kingpins in my time and every time I do it it gets easier. you do need another set of hands to help you. if you do take it anywhere to get done it will probably cost more than the van is worth. if you think you can do it yourself then go for it. they probably need to be greased otherwise they will fail. most common kingpin failure is not greasing it. does it have those grease nipples?
does it make noise when you hit bumps? Best way to check if they are bad is to lift the front and use a pry bar or something simmilar to yank the wheel up and down. stick in the wheel and try to lift it. someone should watch if the whole hub moves then yeah hey are bad. if the wheel only moves then its bearings. if youre alone lift the front and watch the wheels movement. when they get of the ground look at the bottom of the tire. if they move inwards then something is not right.

[9050lx]

Never had a problem with 2 vans and kingpins,just keep them greased.

[jonmark1985]

Originally Posted by crcraig

your van has king pins not ball joints they are a nightmare to do i brought my e250 to a truck repair shop to have them done it took them 7 hours i wuold not reccomend you doing this as you need torches and a press

Is the E351 a solid axle or a twin I beam design, cause Ford did away with King Pins a long time ago, except on solid front axles.

ah... terms

Kingpins are actually pins then run through the spindle, ball joints feature a ball and socket design