Ford OBS; F350 Dana 60 Ball Joint Replacement

[@diymechanictv1233]

Nice video and a great job showing how to do a job that many people are afraid to tackle. Keep the OBS videos coming!!

[@DPats1228]

Just ordered my XRF ball joints for my truck. Ready for the nightmare to begin soon. 😂 1996 F350 SRW

[@likes2gofast]

Looks like I need to borrow a 3/4 gun. My 1/2” ain’t cuttin it.. oh and MAV Gas! I’ve tried bfh so much too..Thanks for the inside video on this. Gives me a little more hope in my struggle!

[@jeraldpeterson7308]

Great video, question, how did you slide the long side shaft into axle housing without pushing debris in axle housing into diff housing?

[@vintagespeed]

good question! and i really dont have a good answer... most likely the splines will pick up some gunk from inside the tube as you attempt to "find the hole" as you feed in the axle shaft. i suppose best you could do is flush out the tube with water before disassembly to try to get all the loose stuff out of the tube before tearing into it. i've fed alot of axles into front ends, but there's really no good way to do it. it's all by feel. thanks for the reply!

[@racer736]

I see you have new pitman arm and all that I am having a hard time finding the part numbers for the correct ones. Do you happen to remember what you used??

[@justinmerlie5359]

Quick question what size lift and tires and what size garage door do you have i want to lift my truck but it gets cold up here and i want to make sure it will still fit in the garage

[@johnmclaren7059]

Great video! Mine over due! Time to get that BFG swinging! 👍

[@sbennet1447]

Hello. I have a question unrelated to ball joints. I have a 97 F350 pickup OBS and want to put steps/running boards on it (it's very high and I am not as young as I used to be). I saw in the video you had the Bully or Carrs steps. My question is how do you like them. I can see how you use them/step on them getting into the truck, but what about coming out of the truck. My hesitation is that they aren't very wide. A running board would give a lot more space for your foot. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[@thewt]

Aight. So all my friends have dodges. Needless to say I am a Ford guy and have invested in several Chrysler specific tools. On my friend's 96 2500 ram with the "famous" V10 we did his ball joints, front rotors, unit bearings and u joints. After several attempts to load the trailer, a short drive across town, a trip to the tool store for the damn 1 11/16 ths specialized socket, a few heats and a few beats we got the ball joints back in, they press into the c not the knuckle like fords or Chevies. Whole thing cost about 400 bucks, for all the parts. Next day I sent him a quote ticket on the parts to do this job on my ford. Rotors, bearings and all the joints. Cost was around 225 bucks. When the bearings get loose, on the ford, pull em out, grease em and put them back in. Only advantage my dodge friend has over me is that he doesn't have to get out to lock the hubs, and when you're stuck in mud that's a real nice thing.

[@vintagespeed]

they both have their pluses & minuses, manual hubs are great because you're not spinning your front drivetrain in 2wd, and you can run a solid mechanical locker in the front rather than an air or electric one. i think unit bearing hubs are fine, except for the lack of serviceability and the fact you have to replace the whole hub when they fail. but i think i'll keep my old pig of a D60. :) thanks for watching!

[@thewt]

VintageSpeed Garage, I just look for a reason to give my Dodge and Chevy friends a hard time. The guy with the v10 is nicknamed puddles. Cuz his truck leaks. Another guy is named leaks. Cuz his Cummins leaks. The Chevy guy is squeaks. He has the broken power steering bracket squeak.

[@KiyaWarrior]

Good video, thanks, this applies to new body style 7.3s as well. Aslong as its the Dana 60 it'll be the same (should be).

[@0x00zero]

The ball joint press is never big enough. Just my opinion but we still manage to get things done; just takes longer because we have to customize things or find tubes/pipes or wedges to make the do it's job. Author conveniently never showed the press-in operation, which may have been the most impressive/valuable step, haha.

[@vintagespeed]

determination makes things happen, thanks for watching! i did recently buy a GIANT ball joint press from Alpha tools, it's easily twice as big as the standard duty press frame. twice as heavy too

[@hectorramos627]

I would like to remove the 4 wheel to q 2 wheel . My truck it’s a 1994 f350 diesel and of course Dana 60 . Can I use the parts of a f250 ? Thanks

[@einarreitz3571]

Job well done and great explanation on how to tackle this...I'm getting ready to do my F250 4WD and i know I can handle it...I do have a couple questions... 1. When you reinstalled the axles back in the front diff...was there seals that go in that tube side that need to be replaced. Any how hard was it to get those in? 2. Also do you just tighten your wheel bearing nuts by feel...I kind of just have always used common sense..I pack the bearings and hubs with a good quality grease and then tighten the nut up good and snug the first time to seat the hub on the spindle,...then I back off the nut were it's loose...then I just take up all the slack with the nut to just where there's no more bearing play....Then the lock nut is secured. I've never lost a bearing doing it this way. I want to thank you for posting this excellent video...Kudos

[@vintagespeed]

thanks man! yes, there are axle seals at the differential. if you're leaking gear oil then you should look to replace them as well. you'll need to remove the diff carrier, tap out the seals and replace them. you'll need a long piece of tubing to slide in the end of the axle tube to drive in the new seals. as for the hub nut install., you're right on the money and will have no issues doing it the way you describe. good luck with your project, and thanks for the positive feedback!

[@vintagespeed]

normally, i will tighten the inner axle nut until the hub stops turning, then back it off about a 1/4 turn (or until the hub turns freely) and install the outer lock nut.

[@Golgi-Gyges]

What are your thoughts on the "ball joint delete" kits?

[@vintagespeed]

for a hardcore off-road front axle, i think they're awesome! for a daily driver....not so much. the reason that kingpins went the way of the dodo is that they dont like axial loads. the force pushing up/down along the pin axis beats the hell out of the shims/bushings which causes play and wears out the kingpin. the same goes for these radial bearing type ball joint delete kits. those bearings are not made to carry a load in this direction. and if you've ever driven the 5 fwy over the grapevine in the trucklanes, then you know how much beating those joints have to endure. a balljoint was chosen for this application because the ball & socket configuration can support loads from all directions and still provide steering rotation. good balljoints last a hundred thousand miles....my suggestion, get good balljoints. the delete kits have their place, just depends on your application. thanks for asking!

[@Golgi-Gyges]

@@vintagespeed a very detailed explanation from your perspective that I appreciate. Many won't respond with such detail and that's good. I understood the point you were making, yet I'm not sure it applies for all of the products out there.

[@nebtwins505]

Thanks for the video I'm in the process right now doing the same thing but I can't find the right spindle socket do you happen to know what size it is

[@vintagespeed]

the front spindle socket on a Dana60 is a 6 point 1ton socket, they carry these at most automotive stores. thanks for watching!

[@97delkron]

do you have any videos on reverse shackel kit with super duty springs install on obs? i have a 97 f350 that is in desperate need of this.

[@vintagespeed]

hi Delkron, we have not yet installed SD leafs on the front of one of our trucks....but we may be doing that! and you must have been reading my mind because I just installed my SD rear leafs yesterday, vid has been posted of that swap. Thanks for watching!

[@jessepitt]

I got a superduty spring RSK kit from PMF that bolted straight in and is awesome. It has a built in cross member with an optional front receiver hitch.

[@henrydillard6217]

I am trying to replace axleshaft ujoints and seals on a 97 f350 dana 60 but the axleshafts and stubshafts will not come off the knuckles for some reason. Already took the hubs, bearings, calipers, and stubshaft studs out. Beat on the thing with a hammer and chisel for hours, beat on the stubshaft with a deadblow hammer. Im stumped, help. Can i press the lower balljoints up with the axleshafts still in place and take the whole mess out together?

[@vintagespeed]

yes, if that's your only option. i'm not sure what you mean by "stubshaft studs", do you mean spindle studs? did you remove the spindle from the knuckle?

[@henrydillard6217]

@@vintagespeed yup, i figured out its just rust holding them on now, thoght they were a press fit. Cut with a 4.5 cutoff wheel where dust shield used to be, then smacked them out with a heavy drift (mines an old 10.25 cross pin)and 5lb sledge.

[@theprostipimp]

great work its very detailed 👍👍

[@magnificentshine1]

I wish you could do a 05+coil spring conversion, that would be awesome!

[@vintagespeed]

thanks man! ...i just happen to have the whole front susp setup from an '06 sitting here in the shop....if i can ever get finished up with the mustang i think that's the way to go.... thanks for watching!

[@magnificentshine1]

@@vintagespeed I bought a 4door 95 dually powerstroke 5spd, I plan on taking on the challenge and doing that swap to it! Maybe making a 6x6 with a divorced np205😯😯😯👍👍👍

[@Cfass1]

What size tubing did you use to install the ball joints. I know you said you didn’t replace any of the bearings because you’re going to swap axles but have you ever removed the needle bearing that sits inside the spindle. Do you need a puller to remove this one. Keep up the good videos. 👍🏼

[@vintagespeed]

thanks man! for the bj press cups, i used some 3" (IIRC) muffler tubing i had laying around. if you get a 4x4 press kit, it should have the right length spacers for the cups. you'll need a puller or make a hooked tool from an old screw driver and tap around the perimeter a few times to tap it out of there. thanks for the question & for watching!

[@mattburkett1619]

What’s the part # for the ball joints that you used? Having trouble finding them

[@rogerlowe1000]

Was there any seals you would advise changing out?

[@vintagespeed]

seals are a whole 'nother animal....i'd recommend changing the rear hub seal at the same time you change bearings, if that's when you do ball joints, then +1. thanks for watching!

[@filibertolopez8628]

How many hours .. i changed today driver side ball joints it tool 6 hours really hard

[@thomasclolinger3083]

Did your upper ball jointer have a snap ring

[@vintagespeed]

IIRC, just the lower.

[@thomasclolinger3083]

Thanks I didn't believe it did shop said I needed clip

[@USFREEDOMU]

Thanks for pointing out inspection process . It seems tobe Murphy's law there always one small item that takes only a minute and turns into one hour long civil war between you and it. You knowing you win in the end or your not going to work the next day.. So the question is why does the part decide now WOULD be a good time tobe your worse enemy. So tell me What was it that I did wrong to you. so I don't have to go through it again.. How come iam the only one doing the talking in this relationship TRUCK...

[@isurfnak3d]

Thanks! That’s great!

[@magnificentshine1]

What axle do you plan on swapping in and why?

[@vintagespeed]

I'm going to swap in SD radius arms & D50 + metric 10.25 rear. This truck will do mostly road duty so I dont feel that I need the strength of the D60, plus I can probably fund the whole axle & suspension swap with selling the current axles. Thanks for the question!

[@samanthasims6736]

How much for the Dana 60 axle

[@carlossaldua5298]

Torque specs anyone? Ball joint upper and lower. And everything else?!

[@idahoducker]

How do you get the spindle off?

[@vintagespeed]

remove the lockout, the hub & rotor, spindle has 5 nuts remove them and knock spindle loose. if you want to pull the axleshaft & do ujoints, that would be a good time to do so. thanks for watching!

[@idahoducker]

Well I've been heatin' and beatin' til I'm worried I'm going to break it. Had to order a spindle puller since no part store here rents it so hopefully that does it.

[@zachodi6618]

That fast forward made this look far too simple 😂

[@wyliefiutak4155]

Bro why you make a 18 minute video and not show us how you took it apart

[@montyshelby]

Damn about 5mins off talking not enough doing getting bored