2004 F-250

[Scott Hilton]

HI,every one I know 15 PEOPLE WHO HAVE ford 04 to08 has ball joint problens,turbo problems,rea rmain seals leaking,crank problems,I have heard thare is A class action law sute obout cranK shafts going out and ford is not honering thease problems under warrenty,IS this true,I just did brakes and upper &lower ball joints on m brothers f-250 thare are no grease zerks aneywhare on the just the drag link,and after looking under A 08 f-350 no zerks eather,Most of my frends who have owened fords are byeing chevs,6.6L WITH ALLISON what A combo this truck has varry BIG balls,and greasr zerks everywhare,it all coms down to putting 200lbs of crap into A 50lb bag,WHAT DO YOU THING?????,Scott Hilton,LOWRIDER,AMSOIL USER 7+YEAES.:AND ALL THEASE FORDS HAVE HAD REAE MAIN SEALS REPLACED AROUND 60,OOO,MI 15 TOTAL TRUCKS,04,05 06.WHAT IS YOUR INPUT???????

[Diesel Engineer]

Most new pickup trucks including Ford, Dodge and GM do not come with greaseable ball or U joints. The OEM ones will be ok for a period of time and then when they do need replacing NAPA and Dana/Spicer makes U joints and ball joints that you can replace with that have grease fittings and when properly greased and maintained will provide exceptional service life and durability.

There was a time when they did have grease fittings as supplied by the OEM but they have been removed primarily for cost savings and the claim now is that the OEM units are "greased and sealed for life".

They are only greased for life as long as dirt, water, sand, road contaminants, etc does not get by the seal which in my experience has occurred. I've had to replace ball and u joints on every one of my "greased and sealed for life" u joints, ball joints and steering components on my trucks.

As for rear main seals the Ford seals are of no different material and manufacturer than GM and Dodge use and I have not seen premature issues with them, however a rear main seal is a replaceable wear item. You have a rotating crankshaft journal on a V lip seal and over time that V lip will wear down and become less effective at sealing. That is just the nature of the design of a rear main seal. Dave

[powershooter]

i had a lower ball joint put in under warrenty at 30,000 . i cant wait to put greasable joints allround .