Hi there,

I was wondering if someone out there could give me some advice on tackling the truck here. I have a 2003 Ranger 4x4, and my steering knuckle is...broken. The casting is cracked, as the result of an accident. That's the only visible damage I can see thus far.
First of all...is it ok to use a wrecker part for this? Ford lists this part at 380 bucks! Second...should I do any balljoints/seals while I've got this thing off? Looks like everythings gotta come off to replace this. Third, the manual saysI need the hub lock puller...is there a way to get around this, or should I go rent one/buy one?

I have to do this on the cheap, I'm laid off and don't have much cash. Thanking you in advance for any help!

Bill

 

If the knuckle was damaged then I'm sure the ball joints are toast. You have to buy the upper since it's cast into the arm. http://rockauto.com/ has decent prices. The CV is held on by a large nut. I think its 32 mm but I'm not sure. If you need to swap the wheel bearing to the new knuckle then there are three bolts on the back of the knuckle that need to come off.

 

^^What he said. I'd add tierods and possibly the steering rack are messed up too maybe.



get a junkyard knuckle or possibly somebody here that still has their old ones from a lift of solid axle swap.

 

funny story.. i just had a car at work, the guy was playin tokyo drift with an RSX apparently.. bent/cracked the front LCA, bent both driver wheels, put a huge gash in the rear tire. he ended up replacing EVERYTHING on the driver front..

hope yours isn't as bad.. like they said, make sure you check the steering, and upper/lower control arms..

a junk yard part would be fine as long as it didn't suffer the same fate..

 

Wow, thanks for the great responses.
I have looked into it, it looks like for sure the steering knuckle, plus upper/lower ball joints. the tie rod on the end of the rack looks okay. It got hit above the wheel centerline. Now as far as doing the lower ball joint on the control arm, can I use a puller to press it in on the car, or should I pull it off and replace the whole assembly?
Thanks about the rock-auto tip...will check it out.

Bill

 

I recently broke my steering knuckle too. Drivers side. The CV boot was punctured. I had the great idea of going to the pick n pull yard where an employee assured me that the explorer had the same parts. It's insane how close the parts are. To be clear they are not the same. I removed the y-shaped upper arm with the knuckle and pulled the entire "CV AXLE?" basically a goofy looking two part thing with rubber accordion cones. it came off easily with a pry bar. separating the hub thing was tricky. I removed the 3 rear bolts and used a 32mm socket i rented at a parts store. I ended up prying them apart with varying thicknesses of pry bar until the fully separated. I installed the entire assembly a million little pieces only to find that the brake caliper bracket holes are slightly off which locks up the entire rotor and makes this absolutely unuseable. It was a lot of work to get nothing in return. Now I will have to return tomorrow to do the entire process over again. :-( Also I foolishly tried various arrangements of ford explorer rotors and brake caliber brackets to no avail.

 

Ive been poking around the forum a bit I'm a brand new user and I'm starting to think that the knuckle i have might work if i can find a rotor that just has a smaller diameter.

 

your truck came with the bigger front disks and i couldve sworn the explorers did too. make sure that knuckle isnt off a pre-2000 ranger

 

Ford made a mid-year change to the front rotors of the 2003 model year Ranger 4x4's. Early had 11.28" rotors, late had 12". The mounting position of the calipers also changed so the knuckles are different and must be matched to the rotors. Some info suggests that the change was made around 3/2003 but there are 2003 owners who dispute that date.

If the rotor diameter is changed on one side, it MUST also be changed on the other side to match. Opting for the 12" brakes is definitely the better choice.