Spacers and ball joint wear

[kieefer]

2019 2wd SuperCab and I installed Eibach front coil overs and shocks all around at 35k, I reduced the front lift so front and back fender lips are even. Truck was aligned.
I also added 1” wheel spacers, thankfully they haven’t killed me yet….but…

50k on my truck now and I just had a rotate and balance. Tech informed me that I have a bit of movement in my ball joints and they’re not supposed to work on vehicles with wheel spacers, even though they were on there when they mounted the tires and R&B twice since but that’s beside the point.
Anyway they blamed the wheel spacers for the ball joint wear. I haven’t yet investigated it myself.

Anyone else noticed or heard spacers were to blame, assuming you have survived using them?

I agree there is added stress and after investigating I may remove them, definitely will for the next R&B.
Running 265/70/18 Michelin’s, no off-road driving.

(Pardon if this has been hashed out repeatedly.)

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[Rp930]

I agree with them to an extent. It could be somewhat normal wear but it’s hard to get an idea without seeing it. Spacers are never a good idea in my world

 

[Ronbo]

I just had my lower left ball joint assembly replaced on my truck with less than 21,000 miles. No spacers installed on mine, and no real off roading can be done in Florida. Just sounds like a sh*tty product and had little to do with your spacers. You got more miles out of yours with the spacers, than I did on mine without spacers.

Thankfully I have the Ford ESP warranty and they covered the repair without question.

 

[SilverSlugger]

Spacers are a no-go for me. I've heard to many stories like yours.

 

[Dr3wDrop]

I do not agree with the tech. Not with only a 1" wheel spacer. How tall is the lift? and what does your upper ball joint angle look like? You really want it as flat level as possible. I would say with your 32.5" tires if your UCA is pointing downwards that is probably the culprit.

 

[landiscarrier]

1" spacers on my 19' Ranger for about 50,000 miles so far. Zero issues. Also on Eibach's front and back, leveled in the front.

 

[Frenchy]

Spacers or not any time you change the wheel and tire position from factory you will most likely increase the wear on Ball Joints and wheel bearings (hubs). Personally I'm not surprised.

Will going Off-road be part of the equation? Absolutely. Depending on how.far off the tires and wheels are from factory will depend on how much going Off-road will impact it.

 

[kieefer]

I just jacked it up and I don’t see or feel any movement in the ball joints. Tech shooting BS imo. Maybe pissed he had to finish the job because of their spacer policy, assuming he did of course.
I usually remove all the weights and clean the inside of the wheels before I get a R&B, this time I didn’t.

Also looking at the UCA, the angle isn’t bad at all. Beautiful tire wear and tracking straight and smooth.

 

[Frenchy]

How did you check it when it was jacked up? If you didn't do such I recommend getting a prybar under the tire and prying up a little. It will be faint but you can find movement if it's bad

 

[Dr3wDrop]

I just jacked it up and I don’t see or feel any movement in the ball joints. Tech shooting BS imo. Maybe pissed he had to finish the job because of their spacer policy, assuming he did of course.
I usually remove all the weights and clean the inside of the wheels before I get a R&B, this time I didn’t.

Also looking at the UCA, the angle isn’t bad at all. Beautiful tire wear and tracking straight and smooth.

UCA angle does look good imo from this one photo.

 

[Dr3wDrop]

How did you check it when it was jacked up? If you didn't do such I recommend getting a prybar under the tire and prying up a little. It will be faint but you can find movement if it's bad

Agreed. Jacking it up and grab at the 6 and 12 o'clock position to try and rock it. Typically you would hear noise when they start to fail.

 

[JACKSMYDOG]

Anytime you move the tire farther out from the center of the vehicle you are going to increase load on the ball joint. Whether it will be enough to increase wear on the ball joints is dependent on how far out and how aggressively you drive (cornering and braking in particular). Higher tire pressure can also increase wheel bearing load.

 

[Jhbryaniv]

When I added 2" spacers on my subi I was replacing ball joints and cv axles on the regular.

You are moving that joint into a position that it isn't designed to be in for long periods of time. It's going to cause additional wear and tear on the components.

This might manifest as worn out components, or you might not notice it. There are so many factors that play into this. Driving style, road conditions, tire firmness, suspension setup.... I've blown out lower ball joints hitting pot holes.

Anytime you move the tire farther out from the center of the vehicle you are going to increase load on the ball joint. Whether it will be enough to increase wear on the ball joints is dependent on how far out and how aggressively you drive (cornering and braking in particular). Higher tire pressure can also increase wheel bearing load.

I just read this after I wrote my post. ? But ditto what's @JACKSMYDOG said. ?

 

[kieefer]

I just had my lower left ball joint assembly replaced on my truck with less than 21,000 miles. No spacers installed on mine, and no real off roading can be done in Florida. Just sounds like a sh*tty product and had little to do with your spacers. You got more miles out of yours with the spacers, than I did on mine without spacers.

Thankfully I have the Ford ESP warranty and they covered the repair without question.

That’s odd, does sound like a defective part.
Ford can usually do paint and rust protection pretty good but on my truck that black strip on the roof is starting to peel, about an inch square has clipped off.

 

[Wisertyou]

I have heard that spacers aren't great, that's the main reason I haven't put any on yet. Does anyone know if offset rims are similar? I have the chrome package so I'm not opposed to swapping rims.

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