SUPERDUTY BALL JOINT HACK - How to fix memory steer and super tight ball joints
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- Опубликовано: 12 сен 2024
- If your new ball joints are super tight or you have memory steer…then watch this video and fix it before it’s too late and you wear them out prematurely! Everyone with a Superduty axle needs to know this!
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***Disclaimer*** This video is just meant to show how I do it. Injury may occur by trying to replicate what is in this video. Attempt at your own risk, with proper equipment and training.
Best video I’ve found on the subject! Had a shop do mine ~300 miles ago and the memory steer is annoying but the change in stability is terrifying at highway speed.
I appreciate the support! Hope it helps you!
I just my E350 back from the shop Wednesday and you are correct, highway speeds are truly terrifying. Also driving down bumpy back roads are equally scary. I used to really like driving my van, now I get stressed out just thinking about it.
Thanks for taking the time to make this video, made a world of difference. Another issue I ran into was that I got greaseable ball joints and the instructions said not to grease as they are pre greased from the manufacture. After following the steps in your video my ball joints loosened up a bit but still felt a little tight. One pump from the grease gun and they are smooth. Made a big difference.
Awesome! I’m glad you had such good luck with them!
I just did this, and you were right!
I have a 2005 F-250 4x4..
My truck would drive straight down the road but as soon as the tires went over any road imperfections, the steering would turn on its own.. potholes would make my truck change lanes unexpectedly..
Crazy thing is, I had just installed new ball joints a few months ago and they already failed!
Hubs were so stiff I could hardly turn them, even without any steering attached…
Found this video and I figured it should probably try to redo it..
The torque sequence worked for me 👍🏼 I used MOOG K8607T
I made sure that the hubs were free before I put the steering back together and tires back on.. Cause there’s NO way I’m doing that shit again lol
Glad it helped you!
Finally, no one talked about it - it already made me crazy. One side was fine, and the other barely moved !!!! AWESOME
Woohoo! I hope it helps you!
@@WarPaintOffroad oh yes , like new 🏆
You are my new hero! I was able to get my Super Duty steering back in good shape. This after being told that a new front differential./axle was needed by a local repair shop.
Awesome! It’s kind of surprised how they assemble them wrong and don’t know being “professionals”. I’m happy it helped you!
Just did this. Factory spec on the initial lower preload is 35 ft-lbs. You should still be fine with the insert in the knuckle first as long as it can move up as you do the initial torque step on the lower. I forgot to torque the bottom initially on the one side and it did bind up, so I backed off both nuts until that upper moved freely then torqued the lower to preload spec before resuming. The upper bushing moved fine like that and there was no binding in the knuckle after the final torque. I thought it was funny that they spec'd the upper to 69 and didn't round to 70. All you're doing in that upper torque step is engaging the taper which then puts outward pressure on the bushing and holds it all in place before the final torque on the lower. The pre-torque on the lower is to set the height of that upper bushing properly. I'm sure you understood, but this is for anyone else who may be confused about what's happening.
True. But at the same time there are variables. Such as how worn the hole in the C is and how worn the insert is. The way I do it in this video will work for a axle that is fresher like yours or an axle that is slightly more hogged out. Thanks for the insight. I’m sure someone here will benefit.
Great info man, thank you. I just replaced the ball joints on my OBS F250 and couldn’t figure out why the knuckle was so danged tight, even when following the torque sequence. This solved the issue! 👍🏻
Awesome! I’m glad you found this video and caught it before it got worse!
Did you have to take it apart and re torque everything to solve it, or did you let it break in?
I'm extremely glad I found this video! I just did ball joints on dana 60 and damn are the knuckles hard to move. Thank you very much for doing this video, especially since you explained why it happens. very nice brother! keep on keeping on
Thanks for the support! Give this a shot and you won’t have a problem.
Most excellent timing! Doing the balljoints on my Super Duty tow pig soon. Enjoying the content 🤙
Thanks for that! And have fun with it! More coming soon! Still a new channel. But I really appreciate the support!
Excellent job describing the process. I have made those mistakes I learned the hard way how to resolve this issue. Now I only use OEM Spicer parts no Moog for me they have became junk. As far as the torque spec you can be a little shy of the spec Step #1, 44 bottom, Step #2, 59 top (NO MORE) Step #3 bottom 98. If not conferrable play with the spec. BTW I think most think the top camber/caster bushing should bottom out nope it does not work that way. Thanks again great job.
Going to try this on 2 of my trucks tomorrow when I get to the shop because something feels wrong after they installed new moog on both trucks.
It makes a big difference. I’m sure it’s memory steer.
@@WarPaintOffroad unfortunately I don't think that's going to work because mine are rear-wheel drive and I don't have. I have the i-beams on both of the trucks so I'm not sure what the problem is
Excellent information! Couldn't find this anywhere else! Thank you so much!
Finally found this video again Thank you. Great video
Thanks for the support! I’m glad it helps! I’ll be building a superduty Dana 60 next month. Truss, gears, locker, etc. here we go again. 😂
GREAT vid, and great info. THANK YOU!
Heck yea man! Thanks for the support!
another killer video! at the point im deciding on regular bjs or eliminators.
Yea..I personally like ball joints. They are way cheaper and if you buy the right ones…they’ll last. I’m. It say that the eliminators aren’t good. It when you go on the internet everyone makes it sound like they are the only option. I have always ran ball joints in my rigs…you see the stuff I wheel, I have never had a problem with one wearing super super early. And when they do, I swap them out. It’s very rare that someone gets a set and breaks them or wears them out or breaks them super early.
*note to viewers: playback speed at 1.5x is still perfectly clear.
It always would be.
So the top ball joint doesn't get the supply retainer clip?
If you are talking about the correct pin…..it definitely does. But that doesn’t affect the memory steer. This was about fixing memory steer…not a complete how to install ball joints.
So what exactly do you mean by memory steer? I just had the whole front end redone on my ‘06 Super Duty. The steering is super tight, doesn’t return to center willingly, and is very erratic at higher speeds. The shop said it had to break in like you said. My wife won’t even drive it because it takes so much input to keep it on the road!
That is memory steer. And it will “break in” but like I said in the video…it will only be because the joints are worn. That isn’t the way it should be. This video is how to do it so it doesn’t happen and they are installed properly.
@@WarPaintOffroad thanks for the quick reply! I was certainly hoping that I didn’t have to have it redone or adjust anything, being I just spent a butt load of money on it….
thank you very much, epic video
No problem! Hope it helps you!
Thanks for the vid, but I could use some advice. I think I’m having the same issue with my truck. It’s a twin I beam 2wd and has a pinch bolt for the top ball joint that squeezes the camber sleeve and upper ball joint (no nut or threads for upper joint). Seems like it requires me to tap the sleeve in with a mallet as even with the bolt removed it’s a very tight fit. and I guess that’s leading to the extra tension that you’re describing. Any advice?
Thank you!
Heck yea! Hope it helps you!
Yes it did! Mine were so tight had to use a bar to move the knuckle. Took it back apart followed your directions. Works like new! Thanks again!
I have a 2008 dodge avenger I have had my subframe replaced as well as sway bar link,lower ball joints, control arms, wheel bearing, front cv axle. I'm having "memory steer" .. every time I turn either a hard left or right it's like my steering wants to stay the way that I'm turning.. idk what to do. My mechanic feels like it's my pump or rack and pinion .. but it wasn't doing the memory steer until after all these new parts were put on.. what do you think
Your issue is probably different. The balljoints on an avenger are installed differently. So I doubt this is your problem. This issue is kind of specific to the solid front axle of the Ford. I can’t say it’s your rack…but the rack may be causing it for sure.
Working on a ford e350 super duty. Replaced ball joints on the first side and even just the pre torque on the bottom is too much for it to move. What gives? Guess ill have to take the knuckle off tomorrow and make sure everythings cleaned
Jeep Baby is all over the garage. now it is sitting on the hydraulic press
Haha. You noticed! I stuck it back there to keep it somewhat clean. I’m sure you noticed how nasty my work bench was. 😂
@@WarPaintOffroad yeah, baby was up high on the opposite side, then jumped down to the work bench when you started the axel gear build
@@TwoFeatherChannel exactly. It will move again. Haha. People seem to really love that little guy.
I got a question for you in putting in that lower ball joint I go to Tighten the nut on the lower ball the ball joint turns on my moog lower. How do you keep that from turning so you can run that nut all the way?
So sometimes that happens. Be 100% sure that there is no grease on the tapered area of the ball joint and in the hole in the C. After it’s super clean (like with brake cleaner) put it together. Sometimes even the. It still happens. If that’s the case, I use a long pry bar. And I put that between the C and the knuckle and I put a little sideways pressure on it as I tighten it. And that gets it to stop spinning. But making sure it’s clean is the biggest thing. A little grease and it’s almost impossible to get it to stop rotating.
@@WarPaintOffroad Thank you for the advice. I called Moog tech support and they had me put a small bottle jack under the steering knuckle and force it up and forcing the lower ball joint into the taper joint which kept it from spinning. All good advice I'm going to make sure this next ball joint is squeaky clean. Learning a lot from you guys, thanks for taking the time to reply.
I’m rebuilding my axle off the truck. I installed new Spicer ball joints on the knuckles. When I tried fastening the bottom balljoint nut it kept spinning so I had to tighten the top ball joint nut to prevent the bottom ball joint from spinning. As a result, my top knuckle bushing pressed down flat on the axle inner C. After I torqued it to spec the knuckle rotates pretty easily but the bushing is flat (no gap). Is the busing not supposed to be perfectly flat?
Every axle is slightly different. The spinning problem in the bottom is a major pain. I have had it happen before. In that situation what I like to do is put a little sideways pressure on the lower using a pry bar on the C and the knuckle. That usually stops it from spinning. Then you can use the torque sequence. I have never seen the gap at the top completely disappear on joints that were installed correctly. So it’s not an emergency..but it might not be a bad idea to adjust it. Worst case scenario the joints wear prematurely. Maybe in 20k miles…maybe in 40k, maybe in 10k…but you have time for sure.
@@WarPaintOffroad imagine this, I’m there by my axle watching your video and then as I start torquing the bottom ball joint nut, it starts spinning and I cant even get 50 ft lbs of torque on the bolt. I tried the pry bar trick and even jacked up the knuckle so the weight was on the knuckle and not on the jackstand but that still wasn’t enough. The knuckle is moving pretty smoothly with the bushing completely flat but I just want to make sure I’m not going to have any camber issues?
If stud turns during initial tightening you need to put a box end on the nut and an Allen wrench into the top of stud to hold it. That is why that feature is put there in the first place. Tighten nut until stud grabs and then use torque wrench to reach ‘step 1’ torque.
@@mattbrown9484 I can’t say that I saw an allen fitting on the ball Spicer ball joint stud. I will confirm tomorrow for anyone interested in the Spicer ball joints. I ended up just tight ending the top ball joint fastener first to around 50 ft lbs then tight te being the bottom to thirty and completely loosening the top bj. Thereafter, I started the correct sequence
What ball joints do you recommend for a 8” lifted Excursion on 37x12.5” tires? I’m considering the Kryptonite ball joints. Thanks
Tbh, depending on how hard you drive it…you may want to look into ball joint deletes. If the rod is only in road…the. A spicer ball joint will be fine. None of the big stuff lasts as long as factory when it’s modified. But a good name brand joint will work a good long time.
@@WarPaintOffroad I ordered Spicer ball joints. Hopefully they’ll last
@@WarPaintOffroad Did you install your crossover/high steer bracket on the knuckle yourself?
How screwed am I if I did 150 lbs on the upper. Can I just remove the sleeve and retorque?
For sure!
@@WarPaintOffroad I did, but worried I stretched the upper part of the cup out. Good thing they weren't new, just added some camber sleeves. Kryptonite ball joints in my future... Lol
so how do you fix if one side is too tight? take all apart and start over or??
Yea sir. It’s the only way. You don’t have to remove the ball joints from the knuckle, but take it apart and try again. It should work just fine. Be sure the inside of everything is clean. Torque it correctly and it should work just fine. If it doesn’t you might need to replace the bushing.
@@WarPaintOffroad thank you,, great video by the way
Why not go with ball joint deletes?
Just not necessary. A set of Superduty ball joints installed properly are very very strong. Maybe not as strong as deletes…but way cheaper and still get the job done. The deletes are the trendy thing and people jump to them when doing one tons because of bad experiences with them on smaller axles running big tires. But they are very strong when you upgrade to a 1 ton axle. So I’ll replace them when needed and just run ball joints for $200.
@@WarPaintOffroad I suppose, I agree that one ton axles take all the abuse and the balljoints work good, only failures that occur are when people get really gnarly with 40”+ tires and sticky situations. I’m personally intrigued by deletes because of the idea of never pressing in another set and burning in the cup to the deletes to the c
My truck would wobble tightening loose like that.
Well…it’s not loose at all. It’s tight. So either the torque settings, alignment, balance or some other component is worn.