Tl* the contact owns a 2001 ford e-150. The contact stated that while reversing, he heard a loud dragging noise. The contact mentioned that after inspecting the vehicle he noticed that the tie rod was fractured. Also, he stated that he had replaced the entire front end of the vehicle 30,000 miles before the failure occurred. The vehicle was towed to the dealer however, the technician was unable to diagnose what had caused the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The failure and current mileage was 171,578.
Ford E-150 ball joint problems
29 of the 982 owner complaints about the Ford E-150 describe ball joint or control arm failure, most of them for the 1994 model year.
- owner complaints
- 29
- worst model year
- 1994
- typical mileage
- 65,000
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
By model year
Often reported together
Tire blowout 2Pulling 2Transmission failure 1Premature wear 1Power steering loss 1Fuel pump 1ABS 1
What owners say
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 ford f-150. The contact stated that the lower ball joints were causing premature wearing of the tires. The contact inspected the vehicle and noticed that the front end springs were completely fractured. The dealer and manufacturer were made aware of the failure. The manufacturer stated that there were no active recalls regarding the failure and declined to provide a remedy to resolve the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 93,000. Updated 05/05/14
1996 ford e-150 serpentine belt, air conditioning compressor. Electrical system, ignition module replaced, ABS light illuminated when brakes were applied, tie rods replaced, fuel pump replaced.
Dt: contact had ball joints put on the truck when it was staken to to the dealer for alignment. . When dealer went to align vehicle they found a crack in the middle of the frame, all the way from where the drive box was to the driver's side door. On the cross member that held the frame together, the rivet was out of the frame. He noticed this on july 1, 2005. He called ford twice, and they said they could not send anyone to look at vehicle because it was out of warranty. He took vehicle to 2 auto body frame shop and had it repaired. Both body shops said the car was not hit, and that he should contact ford. He called the dealer, and they had not called him back.
After purchase, on 3 hr. Trip home, van had major vibrations. We contacted dealer. He suggested alignment, or tire rotation. We took van to several other dealsers as to vibration, and given no help, just suggestions as above and to drive it more to break it in, and bring back after 20,000 miles. Took it in for an estimate for new tires, and they said it should be towed to a dealer it was dangerous to drive, needed ball joints, rotors, pads.took it to a dealer to have the work done under our extended warranty we bought. Took it back to the same dealer a year later as the rotors were gone again. The dealer replaced only the right one as we wouldnt pay again. Last week 4 blocks off the freeway after 3 hr. Trip,tie rod end broke,had it towed to the same dealer again. They replaced both tie rod ends, and said the rotors and pads needed replacing again for third time in 2 years.called the dealer we bought it from up north in crivitz who asked me to drive it up to them after the repairs were done. I did, and when I got there theysaid it was a miracle I made it there. I am now waiting for a inspector from the warranty company to inspect it tommorrow. Ive been told by a dealer in madison that the vans suspension and breaking system is for a car, not the high top that was added to the van. Now they only put high-tops on e250s the dealars service man agreed with that opinion. Its a major safety problem to me and my family, and I dont think my children should be killed or injured before ford admits its mistake in allowing this van on the road!
At only 70,000 miles the transmission needs to be replaced was never used for towing or pulling also several other problems with tie rod ends, back window leaking,valves claterring,tire wear 3 sets replaced, body panels rusting,step bumbers completly rusted away.
From the date the conversion van was purchase, the consumer was having an on going problem with the steering. The van would not drive straight, it wandered all over the road. Over the years in an attempt to correct this problem the ball joints and steering gear has been replaced. The problem still existed.
Failure of ball joint in steering linkage attaching passenger side front wheel to steering linkage. The result was loss of control of the passenger side front wheel. This occured on a straight stretch of highway. The part was original equipment and had not been damaged. The ball came out of the socket, a potentialy fatal flaw.
At 35,500 miles on my 2000 e-150 series van, the vehicle had a problem with pulling or "drifting hard" to the right. After requesting that the vehicle have a front end alignment check, the dealership found that the ball-joints were in need of replacement. Joints were replaced under manufacturers warranty on 07/2002, but alignment was charged to me. Now the vehicle was just in for the same problem with hard drift to right (at 55mph, the vehicle would make enough of drift to change one full lane in 5 seconds) was told by dealer that the ball joints were bad again, and were replaced under extended warranty plan. Was told by dealership that drifting was normal for vans.
Tie rod broke loose almost make very serious accident. Tie rod also broke two years ago.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Ford E-150 ball joint
Which Ford E-150 years have ball joint or control arm failure problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1994 (6 complaints), 1999 (6 complaints) and 1996 (3 complaints).
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