Torn ball joint boot

I found one of the suspension boots under my vehicle torn and wet last week while working on my stuck oil plug. I think it's the ball joint, and I'm concerned that it may fail on me without warning. Is there any kind of behavior they exhibit before they go?

Yep. ... torn boots.

Normaly they develop extra play as they wear.
Since most of the cost in the job is labor......and you have to tear that apart anyhow....might as well put it back together with new parts.
I had mine replaced with a new lower control arm......which gives you a new ball joint and new bushings.
I don't see the ball joint only.....listed on the RockAuto website.

I had Moog brand installed.
RockAuto has the Moog for $64.79 each......for the 1995-1998 windstar.......and these have grease fittings.
They have the Raybestos Professional Grade $53.79 each....which also look like they include grease fittings.
They have cheap ones without grease fittings as cheap as under $30 each

The ones for 1999 - 2003 are different.....and cost slightly more.
I would still lean toward the Raybestos Professional or Moog, even though I don't see a grease fitting.
Again, you get new bushings.

If you look on RockAuto's website.....they show pictures of the parts....and you will see that the '95-98 are quite different from the '99-03.

Normaly they develop extra play as they wear.
Since most of the cost in the job is labor......and you have to tear that apart anyhow....might as well put it back together with new parts.
I had mine replaced with a new lower control arm......which gives you a new ball joint and new bushings.
I don't see the ball joint only.....listed on the RockAuto website.

I had Moog brand installed.
RockAuto has the Moog for $64.79 each......for the 1995-1998 windstar.......and these have grease fittings.
They have the Raybestos Professional Grade $53.79 each....which also look like they include grease fittings.
They have cheap ones without grease fittings as cheap as under $30 each

The ones for 1999 - 2003 are different.....and cost slightly more.
I would still lean toward the Raybestos Professional or Moog, even though I don't see a grease fitting.
Again, you get new bushings.

If you look on RockAuto's website.....they show pictures of the parts....and you will see that the '95-98 are quite different from the '99-03.

Thanks for looking all this up, Wiswind! I'm on a trip right now, and it's getting creakier and creakier. I'm thinking that's not a good sign. I can either try to stuff some more grease in there and try to hold the boot together somehow, or just deal with it locally and take it in to a shop. We're house-hunting now, and it couldn't be a worse time!

Some WD40 might get you by for the short term.

Had it looked at just now at a local garage- it's not a ball joint, but a torn boot on a tie rod end. It can wait until I get home, when it will be dealt with immediately. Thank you Lord!

That is good news!.....
If you plan to keep the vehicle.....you might consider getting a replacement tie rod end with a grease fitting.
I would have a shop give it a good shakedown.....usually part of a good alignment job......and see how the rest of the front end is doing.
Reason being......I ended up needing inner and outer tie rod ends......and had them done at the same time.
Tie rod end replacement calls for a front end alignment when done.

That is good news!.....
If you plan to keep the vehicle.....you might consider getting a replacement tie rod end with a grease fitting.
I would have a shop give it a good shakedown.....usually part of a good alignment job......and see how the rest of the front end is doing.
Reason being......I ended up needing inner and outer tie rod ends......and had them done at the same time.
Tie rod end replacement calls for a front end alignment when done.

Yes, good news indeed! Grease fittings will go on everything I replace now. What do you grease with when you have Zerk fittings? This thing needs an alignment anyway, so it's a wash.

So, I've replaced my first ever outer tie rod end. I bought the Duralast one at Autozone, which came with a grease fitting. I normally would have stayed away from Autozone considering my oil plug adventure, but the part is solidly built, with a grease fitting. Bought a cheap grease gun too (OEM brand), and some Valvoline Ford/Merc grease to put in there. Didn't encounter too many problems. Had to smack the crap out of the knuckle to get it out of there, and though I measured the distance from the rod end to the jam nut (so I could put the new nut in the same place), the alignment is more off than before. It's going in for an alignment and suspension inspection on Monday. We'll try to leave it in the garage until then and just use my Mazda. All in all a pretty good experience.

. Had to smack the crap out of the knuckle to get it out of there, .

ouch. For future reference, don't do that. It's not a good thing to unduly stress steering components by hitting them. I expect that so long as nothing is bent or distorted, you're fine. But next time, use a tie-rod seperator or pickle fork tool to get the old one loose.

ouch. For future reference, don't do that. It's not a good thing to unduly stress steering components by hitting them. I expect that so long as nothing is bent or distorted, you're fine. But next time, use a tie-rod seperator or pickle fork tool to get the old one loose.

You know, the same thing occurred to me when the mechanics that were helping me told me to do just that. I have access to a military Auto Craft shop, with a lift, tools, and mechanics to get people out of the situations they get in when they don't know what they're doing (I see that a lot). I had thought that a Pitman arm puller, tie rod separator, or pickle fork would be better. Your comment made me think further about this, and I think you're right. Thanks!