Ball joints

[Bucket2]

I find it really hard to believe. The price and the wear.

[fast_st]

Well, most OEM are sealed joints, usually if 1 fails all 4 get replaced as the others may not be far behind, new ones are often greasable so keep them lubed

[serfas01]

I would definitely get a 2nd opinion. As previously mentioned, they don't wear out not being driven. I had Sears pull that on me many years ago. Said they had to be replaced or they couldn't align the front end and balance my new tires. Said it would be a lifetime warranty on the repair. Took a trip right afterwards and had tire hop so I took it back to Sears. They told me my ball joints were shot and needed replacing. When I told them they had just replaced them 2500 miles ago they said maybe they were okay after all. I made them replace them again just because they were damn liars.

[Scoutr2]

I think I would find another Ford dealership. I don't care how old the vehicle is. Ball joints are wear items and should last 100,000 miles or more. They don't go bad with age. If they are bad, you need to get a Chevy!

[bap]

I am not sure what Ford used for ball joints on your vehicle, but a lot of times, manufacturers put in Non-Adjustable ball joints in. Then as the vehicle wears and needs alignment, the ball joints need to be replaced with ones that have bushings that allows for adjusting to adjust the camber. Not being a Ford person I don’t know what they use.

[Bucket2]

Sad to say but maybe they never changed them the first time, I certainly hope so. This kind of stuff is what makes the motoring public dubious. There are some great technicians out there but it only takes a few. If you doubt something make them show you how they determined their diagnosis!

[fast_st]

A quick question, why do you need an alignment?

[EvilDoer]

Originally Posted by fast_st

A quick question, why do you need an alignment?

I think this question gets to the heart of the matter. Alignment doesn't just change, something caused it to. If you feel an alignment is needed it's because a component is failing. Did it wear prematurely, did it hit a pothole or curb or other obstruction, or is the alignment fine and the shop is trying to sell you additional parts and labor?

Get an opinion from another shop, or two. Insist on seeing any parts that are removed and replaced, and ask if the failure is due to wear or damage.

[fast_st]

We used to have customers come into the shop asking for shocks brakes and alignment, I would ask why they thought such, well the commercials on TV said they need to be done every year. I would offer the wiggle test for free as well as looking for tire wear. 90 percent of the time, nothing was needed. Early unibody cars could get alignment tweaked by a pothole or curb thump but if a truck chassis has regular tire wear, does not pull or wander, wheel is centered, it's likely just dandy. Inner tire wear one side, ball joint possible

[in the wind]

Originally Posted by EvilDoer

I think this question gets to the heart of the matter. Alignment doesn't just change, something caused it to. If you feel an alignment is needed it's because a component is failing. Did it wear prematurely, did it hit a pothole or curb or other obstruction, or is the alignment fine and the shop is trying to sell you additional parts and labor?

Get an opinion from another shop, or two. Insist on seeing any parts that are removed and replaced, and ask if the failure is due to wear or damage.

When Jayco gets the bare chassis, then sets a house on it, it needs an alignment, like it or not.

[EvilDoer]

Originally Posted by in the wind

When Jayco gets the bare chassis, then sets a house on it, it needs an alignment, like it or not.

Are you suggesting the OP has been driving an 09 Greyhawk that's never been aligned?
I got the impression it's been driven for a while and now has alignment problems.

[in the wind]

Originally Posted by EvilDoer

Are you suggesting the OP has been driving an 09 Greyhawk that's never been aligned?
I got the impression it's been driven for a while and now has alignment problems.

I bought a 2005 that had never been aligned.
30K miles.
Front tire wear proved it.
Drives much better now.

[Bucket2]

You have to pay attention to the tire wear and the way it drives no matter the mileage!

[Finrol]

Thanks for everyone's input here. I am seeking a second opinion.

I have owned the motorhome for about 18 months. During that time we have put about 10k miles on her. The front tires are wearing very much the same on both sides with more wear on the insides, what I believe is toe out.

[oldmanAZ]

Wear on the inside edges generally indicates the tire is tipped in at the top - either a camber or ball joint issue, IMO.

Usually toe in or out will wear across the entire tire tread if it has been inflated properly. If you pull & push your hand across the tire tread, it will feel 'smooth' in one direction but 'grabby' in the other.

A second opinion is almost always a good thing.

[foglght]

Originally Posted by oldmanAZ

Wear on the inside edges generally indicates the tire is tipped in at the top - either a camber or ball joint issue, IMO.

Usually toe in or out will wear across the entire tire tread if it has been inflated properly. If you pull & push your hand across the tire tread, it will feel 'smooth' in one direction but 'grabby' in the other.

A second opinion is almost always a good thing.

If it is just scrub wear and not an angled tread issue, it is probably excessive toe that is causing the issue.

It could be ball joints if you see an angled wear across the tire.

Toe should be no more than 0.2 deg toe in sitting on the rack. Past that you will have inside tire wear.

[rickemo]

Ditto on the zerk fittings...my mechanic did the same thing. I don’t understand why Ford wouldn’t put the zerk fittings in from new.

[rosedan]

Same here ... Got a 2009 with 29,000mi and it drove fine but noticed the wear on side of front tire and brought in for alignment and needed upper and lowers replaced .. this is a trusted shop that does city buses, vans, ambulances. it was $1800 total .. told that the chassis on these put a lot of stress on the front end components.

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by rickemo

Ditto on the zerk fittings...my mechanic did the same thing. I don’t understand why Ford wouldn’t put the zerk fittings in from new.

Do you guys know what size zerks fit? I looked at the store the other day, and there were TONS of different sizes and styles.