'99 Ranger 4x4 4.0L - Ball joint questions

[sgoff61]

Good morning all. I really don't know what I'm talking about regarding ball joints, so please bear with me and let me know if I need to clarify something. I've searched this forum and read everything I could find, but I still have some questions and will try to explain as best I can.

My husband has a very well-maintained '99 Ranger 4x4 4.0L with 140K miles and the original ball joints need to be replaced. My husband pretty much knows his way around a vehicle but has never done this, and his son is a mechanic but is still learning. They were planning to do it this weekend, but we had to deal with a problem with my Windstar and they had to replace the brakes on the Ranger yesterday (plus his son forgot to bring the ball joint press home from work), so they decided to put it off until next weekend, so I thought I would try to get some more info for them in the meantime.

So here we go...

Initially, we knew that both lower ball joints needed to be replaced, but we got conflicting information from various sources (mechanics, dealerships, parts stores, etc.) as to whether or not the ball joints could be replaced without also replacing the lower control arms. Since I was searching for parts online and found the ball joints listed both separately and together with the lower control arm (both in stores and in the Motorcraft parts list), my theory was that the ball joints COULD be replaced separately and, finally, we decided that was the way to go and that is the current plan. Now, after reading this forum, it seems that this is correct so, if it is not a good idea, please let me know.

Now, while replacing the brake pads yesterday, they noticed that the upper ball joint on one side also needs to be replaced (the other side was replaced about 2 years ago after an accident). However, from the looks of it (according to my husband and his son), it appears that the upper control arm DOES need to be replaced along with the ball joint. According to alldata.com, it DOES, but alldata says the exact same thing about the lower ball joint/control arm, so I don't particularly trust them now. The Motorcraft catalog does NOT list them separately, so that makes it appear that they DO have to be replaced together. Autozone lists the ball joints and control arms separately, but when you look at the details, they only sell them together as a complete unit, so that also makes it appear that they cannot be replaced separately, and Autozone does not have repair info for this particular truck. So, can anyone confirm whether or not the upper ball joint (driver's side, by the way) and control arm have to be replaced together, and if they are only sold together? Also, are they going to need any special tools other than the ball joint press that they need for the lower ones?

Finally, a question just for me. Whenever anything needs to be replaced on his precious truck, my husband insists on OE parts if they are available. I realize that this can be a good thing in some cases, but it is sore subject for me right now because he paid twice the price for the lower ball joints because he bought Motorcraft from the dealer. Personally, I didn't think it was necessary, especially considering the current economy and our own finances at the moment. So, just out of curiosity, what do you think about always insisting on OE parts? Is he really going overboard and wasting money, or should I give him a break and let him do whatever he wants with his baby?

Thanks in advance for your help. And I apologize for making this so long, but I was trying to make sure I explained everything clearly to avoid confusion.