Review on 🔧 Enhanced Stability: MOOG K8695T Ball Joint for Ultimate Control and Durability by Shawn Quick

I bought a pair of these Lower Ball Joints for a 2000 Ford F-150 Pickup Truck with 150,000 miles. The OEM hinges were sealed and unusable, but after all these years and miles the boots have torn and peeled and any grease in the hinge has dried to the consistency of wax. The old connections had at least 1/8 inch play. These new Moog ball joints fit perfectly and streamlined my front end nicely. I like that these replacement joints can be lubricated and that should offer longer life (assuming you actually add a squirt or two of grease with every oil change). Begin by applying a liberal amount of penetrating oil to the threads and around the base of the ball joint. Let it soak for at least a few hours, preferably overnight if you can. I did all the work on the car and since I have a 4WD truck I didn't have to loosen the tie rod end. I used a heavy-duty Craftsman two-jaw puller (part number: 9_46903) to pry the old ball-joint pin out of the steering knuckle. You then have to use locking ring pliers to remove the locking ring, although in my case there was enough clearance to just pry it off with a screwdriver. I used an OTC Ball Joint Press PN: 7249 plus a set of Astro Pneumatic Ball Joint Adapters PN: 7868 to press out the old joint and press in the new one. You'll have to spend a little time figuring out which adapters are used to remove and install. The smaller adapter is used to push out the old joint (inside the 'hole' of the wishbone) and the larger adapter is used to install the new joint (slips on the flange of the new ball joint). If you bend your ball joint press when removing old ball joints, you are probably making a mistake. The trick is to tighten the bolt just below the point where it could be damaged, and then hit the hex end of the ball joint retaining bolt with a hammer. You should be able to hear the metal "sing" or ring like a bell because all this mess is under a lot of stress. Shock waves propagating through the steel "break" the bond. After a few more hits, you may hear a thump as the joint yields, or you may find that you can tighten the ball joint hold-down screw a little. Repeat this process until you can turn the wrench and push out the old hinge. Choose a larger adapter and slide in a new ball joint. New ones go in much easier than old ones get out. Using snap ring pliers, install a new snap ring, then install the ball joint stud into the knuckle and tighten the castle nut to specification and install the new cotter pin. When installing a grease fitting into a ball joint, DO NOT attempt to force the fitting hex all the way in. you will cut it off (See other negative comments from people who have tried this.) The threads appear to be tapered like a pipe thread so you can screw it in and out and screw it in a little deeper, but don't try to screw it all the way in if it seems not wanting to go. A few tricks I learned along the way. To install the new ball joint stud into the steering knuckle without removing the caliper or tie rod end I did a few things. First I drove the front wheels of the truck onto the ramps. I then used a jack under the shock mounting point on the lower arm to raise the wheel without the ramp and then placed jack stands under the frame. I removed the wheel and continued working. The idea is to use the weight of the truck to compress the spring to get clearance. When using the jack to support the control arm, be careful not to pinch any part of your body if the jack fails. You can use a jack to support the forearm if you have a jack with enough lift. The reason for having the other wheel on the ramp is to compress the other side as well so the anti-roll bar (anti-roll bar) doesn't work against you when you try to lengthen the suspension. The last trick I found was that when trying to insert a new ball joint stud into the steering knuckle, squeezing the upper arm helps. If you have a 4WD truck then all bets are off. You have to pull on the end of the tie rod because you have to pull the drive axle. My nut and tie rod end threads were rusty so I didn't want to push my luck and replace the tie rod ends and ball joints.