After replacing the sh*tty factory-installed Badyears with Michelin LTXs,
and seeing the difference, I would not recommend Badyears to anyone.

Who told you that youi need ball joints? The tire dealer? Does he install
them? Do the original tires have 60K on them? Ask them to show you how they
checked the ball jonts. Take a look at
http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/PDFs/Moog_Ball_joint_spec_chart.pdf
. A lot of shops use the wrong procedure for checking Ford ball joints. In
some cases I think this is just a lack of knowledge, and in other caes they
do it wrong on purpose in order to convince you to pay for ball joints you
don't need. Almost all Fords are the same - don't check for axial movement,
radial movement must be less than 0.031". It is very possible your ball
joints are worn, but if was my truck, I would be tempted to take it to an
alignment job and have the toe in checked before paying for ball joints. Are
the tires properly balanced? If they aren't properly blanced and/or you have
worn shocks, cupping is likely. Over the years we have owned 5 Rangers and
yet to have a ball joint replaced (and these are farm truck that spend a lot
of time on dirt).

Ed