Ford/Lincoln SUV Ball Joints need replacing?

Maintenance/Repairs
,
1

I have a 2004 Lincoln Aviator (very similar to a Ford Explorer) with 75k miles and took it in to diagnose a shimmy in the steering. The mechanic told me I need to replace the upper ball joints, so my question is if anyone else has had this problem with a similar vehicle?

Thanks,

John

2

My brother-in-law went through 3 sets of ball joints in his 5yo F-150. Don’t know if it’s as widespread as GM’s trucks though.

3

Ball joints can go bad anytime and the usual determining factor is environmental and road surface conditions.
So they can last 30k miles or 250k; it depends.