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Leonard Beard photo
Cyprus, Nicosia
1 Level
706 Review
39 Karma

Review on Moog K8259 Ball Joint by Leonard Beard

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Fox-body Thunderbirds (1983-1986)

FOX THUNDERBIRD: I have a 1984 Fox TBird. These are the correct ball joints for Fox-Birds. Fox-bird ball joints are slightly larger than some of their Mustang cousins, which can lead to confusion. Do not use ball joints that are different heights and widths than those originally installed with your spindle/hub assembly or you could experience pain both figuratively and literally. Unfortunately, Fox-Bird's higher than stock ball joints mean that the ball joint press you rent from your local parts store won't help you. If you don't have access to bigger abs, it's not worth the time, tears, and fingers to do it yourself. If you're making ball joints, you probably want to be making bushings, which is impossible without a press, a torch, and a fair amount of time. The best you can do is: 1) Return the ball joints and bushings you bought and get a pre-assembled control arm replacement from the late model restoration department (I did). For just $100 more than the bushings and ball joints, you get new control arms for both sides (which may be worn/deformed anyway) with new lubricated ball joints and new pre-pressed bushings. Two screws to remove the old one, two screws to install the new one, compress the spring, attach the luggage rack, done. Worth the money for the time and effort saved. 2) Buy the ball joints and bushings yourself to save some money and take them to your local shop and have them fix it.

Pros
  • New to my collection
Cons
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