Yeah , I changed them. Im not real familiar with your super duty but on my yota with the independent front end you just bust them loose with a joint fork,and tork the new ones down.Probably not that simple on your one ton.
With all the video's I've been watching it seems that it would be as simple as your toyota just bigger parts. I think the next time I'm try to tackle this myself. It looks like I'd have to buy some tools I don't have, but other then that it shouldn't be to big of a deal.
You can rent a press, puller, torque wrench, etc (basically any tool you'll need for suspension work) from Advanced or Autozone. It's free to rent but you pay full price as a deposit, get it back when you bring it back. Pay cash for them so you get cash back, they sometimes take awhile to put money back on your card. With a truck like yours, the lower ball joints can probably be pressed in using a socket and a floor jack. Find a buddy with an impact gun or check pawn shops for a cheap electric one. I got a nice electric one for $40.
My advice, is if you are going to do ball joints, do everything else in there too. Sway bar links, shocks, CVs, tie-rod ends, bearings, brakes, rotors and/or brake calipers if they need it. You will be taking all of that stuff off to do the ball joints, and popping the ball joints off isn't great for them.
I just did the ball joints on an F150 and I tried talking the guy into replacing everything while I was in there. He wanted to do it as cheap as possible. 3 months later and he has a CV throwing grease...
Thanks.
Another question after I've been doing some more reading. Can a sway bar link even go "bad"? It seems to me the bushings would go bad but, not the bar itself
The link is what holds the sway bar to the control arm. Generally, yes, the bushings go bad rather than the bar connecting the two. They are cheap though, so the whole thing is usually replaced. In the case of severe neglect and wear, they could probably go bad themselves.
Oh, DISCLAIMER: I'm not a mechanic.
I'm a lab nerd. I've just always drove beaters and had to fix my own junk cause I couldn't afford to pay someone else to do it. Now I pick up side jobs here and there and help friends out.
