F150 3.5L Front Repair Information

F150 3.5L Front Repair Information

Here you can find information regarding the assembly of the F150 front end. In this guide we will cover the essential repairs for the front end of this vehicle. Included within these repairs is the inner and outer tie rod removal and change, the front wheel hubs installation, ball joint removal and installation, the upper and lower control arms, and the front shock installation. Along with the repair procedures we also include the corresponding bolt torque specs for each fastener involved. These guides are intended to assist in each procedure to help diyers with the job.

F150 Tie Rod Change/Removal

To install a new tie rod on a F150 you must first remove the old one from the vehicle. This can be done by raising the vehicle up by either the use of a floor jack or a vehicle hoist. Once the vehicle is in the air you can remove the corresponding tire for the side that you want to change the tie rod on. Once the tire is off you can now access the old tie rod and remove it for replacement. The inner part of the tie rod uses a 13/16 nut that will need to be removed along with a cotter pin holding the nut from spinning, this nut may spin along with the tie rod joint depending on how rusty it is. I suggest using a pair of vice grips to hold the portion of the bolt to prevent it from spinning. You may also use a wire brush to clean off the threads prior to removal and or use penatrating oil to aid in the removal. Once removed you can now tap out the tie rod from the spindle and start to remove it completely. If you want to replace just the outer portion of the tie rod you can use a wrench to hold the inner tie rod and spin off the outer tie rod. I usually count how many turns it takes to come off so that I can then use the same number when installing the new part. This helps to avoid alignment costs and hassles, although you may still want to get your vehicle realigned. Once the outer tie rod is off you can now screw on the new part and reinstall it the same way it had been removed. Once you get the nut back in place you can torque it to 85 ft-lbs. Be sure to tighten back up the nut on the middle of the tie rod to ensure it does not move your alignment. If you happen to be installing the inner tie rod as well you will need a special tool to loosen and tighten the inner part. The torque specs for the inner tie rod are 70 ft-lbs.

F150 Outer Tie Rod Torque Spec : 85 ft-lbs

F150 Inner Tie Rod Torque Spec : 70 ft-lbs

 

2WD/RWD Front Wheel Hub Installation

To install the new wheel hub you must first remove the old hub from the vehicle. To do this you must first jack up the vehicle and remove the lugnuts from the side of the vehicle that you want to replace the part on. Once the tire is off you will need to remove the bolts from the brake bracket on the steering knuckle. These bolts will be rather tight so you may want to use an impact or find some leverage. Once removed you can move the brake assembly out of the way to allow room for the rotor to be removed. With the brake assembly off the rotor can now be taken off of the vehicles hub and placed aside. We now have to remove the bolts on the rear side of the hub. These bolts hold the actual hub onto the steering knuckle and are also tight. An easy way to access these bolts is to turn the steering wheel to allow more access at them. There are 4 of them once all are removed you can then push the axle through the hub and pound the hub off of the vehicle. Depending on how old the hub is there may be more or less corrosion holding it in place. Be careful when pounding or prying it off as you don't want to damage anything needed on the vehicle. If your vehicle has an abs sensor be sure to unplug it before pulling the hub away from the vehicle. With the old hub off we can clean up the hub area and then install the new hub onto the vehicle. The new hub can be lightly pressed into the place of the old one and then tightened down by the same 3 bolts. These bolts torque to 129 ft-lbs. Once all 4 bolts are installed you can then reinstall the center wheel nut with some loctite and hand tighten it down for now. Next the brakes need to be reassembled starting with putting the brake rotor back into place and then installing the brake bracket back onto the vehicle. The bracket can be torque down to 184 ft-lbs, if the caliper was removed the caliper slide bolts can be torqued to 27 ft-lbs. The wheel can then be installed onto the vehicle and the lugnuts torqued to 125 ft-lbs.

F150 Front Wheel Hub Torque Specs : 129 ft-lbs

F150 Front Brake Bracket Torque Specs : 184 ft-lbs

F150 Front Caliper Slide Bolts Torque Spec : 27 ft-lbs

F150 Lugnuts Torque Spec : 125 ft-lbs

 

4WD Front Wheel Hub Installation

To install the new wheel hub you must first remove the old hub from the vehicle. To do this you must first jack up the vehicle and remove the lugnuts from the side of the vehicle that you want to replace the part on. Once the tire is off you will need to remove the bolts from the brake bracket on the steering knuckle. These bolts will be rather tight so you may want to use an impact or find some leverage. Once removed you can move the brake assembly out of the way to allow room for the rotor to be removed. With the brake assembly off the rotor can now be taken off of the vehicles hub and placed aside. The next stage is to remove the hub itself from the vehicle, to start with we need to remove the axle nut by removing the cotter pin and castle nut retaining it in. The nut itself is 35mm and is very tight, I recommend spraying some penetration oil onto the nut before attempting removal of the nut and if available use an impact to make the job faster. With the nut removed we now have to remove the bolts on the rear side of the hub. These bolts hold the actual hub onto the steering knuckle and are also tight. An easy way to access these bolts is to turn the steering wheel to allow more access at them. There are 4 of them once all are removed you can then push the axle through the hub and pound the hub off of the vehicle. Depending on how old the hub is there may be more or less corrosion holding it in place. Be careful when pounding or prying it off as you don't want to damage anything needed on the vehicle. If your vehicle has an abs sensor be sure to unplug it before pulling the hub away from the vehicle. With the old hub off we can clean up the hub area and then install the new hub onto the vehicle. The new hub can be lightly pressed into the place of the old one and then tightened down by the same 3 bolts. These bolts torque to 129 ft-lbs. Once all 4 bolts are installed you can then reinstall the center wheel nut with some loctite and hand tighten it down for now. Next the brakes need to be reassembled starting with putting the brake rotor back into place and then installing the brake bracket back onto the vehicle. The bracket can be torque down to 184 ft-lbs, if the caliper was removed the caliper slide bolts can be torqued to 27 ft-lbs. Now we can move back to the center axle nut and torque it down to 30 ft-lbs, you may need someone to hold down the brake inside the vehicle in order to prevent the rotor from turning. Another method is to use a screwdriver and insert it into the rotors grooves. Once the nut is torqued properly you can reinstall the castle cover and cotter pin. The wheel can then be installed onto the vehicle and the lugnuts torqued to 125 ft-lbs.

F150 Front Wheel Axle Nut Torque Spec : 30 ft-lbs

F150 Front Wheel Hub Torque Specs : 129 ft-lbs

F150 Front Brake Bracket Torque Specs : 184 ft-lbs

F150 Front Caliper Slide Bolts Torque Spec : 27 ft-lbs

F150 Lugnuts Torque Spec : 125 ft-lbs

 

---

Front Ball Joints Installation

The F150 has two sets of front ball joints being the upper and lower ball joints. The most common one for replacement is the lower ball joint which is apart of the lower control arm. Although it is apart of the control arm it can be pressed out and a new one can be pressed in. This is a pretty involving job which includes several tools that may not be available to the average person. These include a ball joint press, 2 jacks or a hoist and a jack, and typically an impact or large breaker bar for the larger bolts and nuts. To start with the job you will need to remove the wheel from the vehicle and disassemble the brake system so that the rotor can be taken off. With the brake rotor off you now can remove the center axle nut and lower ball joint nut. Before removing the ball joint nut you should have a jack underneath the lower control arm to support the torsion and aid in disassembly. This should not be holding the vehicle up! Another jack or a car hoist should be used to support the vehicle, this jack is just to keep the lower arm in place and to use for up and down movement. With the lower ball joint nut off and the axle nut removed you can move the steering knuckle away from the vehicle and then access the ball joint more directly. Here is where you will need the ball joint press to press the joint out of the lower control arm. The same press can also be used to press a new joint in. with the new ball joint in place you can then put the axle back into the knuckle while also realigning the ball joint into the knuckle. The lower ball joint nut can be torqued down to 85 ft-lbs. And then the axle nut can be tightened down to its proper specs depending on whether it is a 2x4 or 4x4 model. With the axle and lower control arm back in place you can reassemble the braking system and reinstall the wheel. Most of this is explained in other sections of this page and can be followed based on them.

 

F150 Front Lower Ball Joint Torque Spec : 85 ft-lbs

F150 Front Upper Ball Joint Torque Spec : 85 ft-lbs

 

Front Control arms Installation

The front control arms consist of two portions per side, these are the upper and lower control arms. I'm going to start from the lower control arm and then move to the upper one. There are two main fasteners that hold in the lower control arm. They are both located in the rear part of the control arm and are fastened to the frame by a series of bolts and nuts. There is also the ball joint nut towards the outer part of the vehicle which will need to be removed in order to uninstall the control arm. During assembly the rear bolts/nuts can be torqued to 257 ft-lbs. The ball joint nut can be torqued to 85 ft-lbs.

Upper Control Arm

The next control arm is refered to the upper control arm. The role of this part is to hold the spindle and wheel assembly aligned properly. Much like the lower control arm this part consists of 3 fasteners, two being bolts in the back of the part and one being a ball joint in the front or closest area of the part. The two bolts in the back will need to be torqued to 122 ft-lbs. The last fastener is the nut that holds the upper ball joint onto the spindle. This nut will also need to be torqued to 85 ft-lbs. All bolts can be installed with some blue loctite to ensure that none of them come loose while driving the vehicle.

F150 Lower Arm Bolt and Nut Torque Spec : 257 ft-lbs

F150 Lower Arm Ball Joint Nut Torque Spec: 85 ft-lbs

F150 Upper Arm Bolt and Nut Torque Spec : 122 ft-lbs

F150 Upper Arm Ball Joint Nut Torque Spec: 85 ft-lbs

 

Front Shock Absorber installation

The front suspension on the 15+ Ford F150's uses a coilover shock suspension. This means that the shock and coil spring are build as the same unit. To remove the old coilover shock you must first unbolt the 2 bolts which hold it down to the lower control arm. With those bolts removed you can move to the upper portion of the coilover and remove the upper mounting plate bolts. To install the new part you just do the reversal steps of removing it. Start by lining up the top fasteners and then hand tightening them down. With the top portion installed you can then move to the lower 2 bolts on the lower control arm and tighten them down to 66 ft-lbs. Once torqued move to the upper bolts and tighten them down to 50 ft-lbs.

 

 

F150 Front Shock Top Plate Bolts Torque Spec : 50 ft-lbs

F150 Front Shock Lower Bolts Torque Spec : 66 ft-lbs

 

Front swaybar Installation

The front swaybar on the F150 consists of a series of brackets that hold it to the frame of the vehicle and a couple of endlink nuts that fasten it to the outward side of the car. To remove the swaybar you will need to jack up the front of the vehicle and remove both the endlink nuts as well as the brackets. To install the new swaybar you will need to move it back into the place as the old one and torque the endlink nuts to 55 ft-lbs and then torque the bracket bolts to 41 ft-lbs as well.

 

 

 

F150 Front Swaybar Bracket Torque Spec : 41 ft-lbs

F150 Front Swaybar Endlinks Torque Spec : 55 ft-lbs