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ball joints on 95 explorer, plz help a girl

2K views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  351w 
#1 ·
hi y'all,

ok, so my 95 explorer has been making a squeaking noise for about a year now, it only makes a noise when i drive over bumps, or a rough road. i was told it was my ball joints(2003), and it would cost $350 to fix it. i just recently found out there are 2 different sets of ball joints. i wasn't told at the time which set was bad. now a new mechanic (who i kind of don't trust) told me it was both upper and lower ball joints and that its pretty costly (around $1,000) to get it fixed. i know there is a big price difference between the two joints, but i'm wondering if i really need both or just one set. i've been driving on it for a year so i know that if you don't get something fixed it can just cause more problems, but i'm a full time student and i didn't have the money to fix it at the time. should i get a second opinion? what exactly do bad ball joints look like? both upper and lower? how much should it cost for it to be fixed? if anyone could help me i'd greatly appreciate it. i just don't want to get screwed, and have to pay out the a** for something i don't really need. if anyone knows a good-honest mechanic in the houston (texas) area please pass the number by.

thanks for reading, hopefully someone can help me

kristin alise
 
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#3 ·
We have a 97 exploder, same problem.
Can't see anything wrong with the ball joints on ours, it's basically just the suspension rubbers. A bit of high-temp grease fixed it for a while, but it's come back now so we'll have to do it again. Bloody things weren't really built for off-road conditions, all the dust off our roads keeps causing is major issues with the bloody thing :(
 
#4 ·
the problem with these damn balljoints on the explorers is that they have no grease fittings and as soon as a little water or dirt gets past the seal your joint starts to go bad and start squeaking and making noises.
i have replaced several of them on the 5 work trucks that i maintain !
here is a tip for you guys from experience !
if you drill a small hole in the top of the joints and tap a 1/4x20 thread into it you can install a grease fitting on them and take care of most of your problems.
remember that adding grease to a ball joint will stop noises and make them last alot longer but it doesnt fix an already bad or worn balljoint.

some of the replacement parts that i have used did have grease fittings and the parts that didnt now do because i wont put the new parts on until i can grease them properly !
 
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