anyone know a good shop to do some front end work? my F150 needs some ball joints. firestone would probably be as cheap as anyone, but i have problems trusting them.

I did them myself. Pep Boys wanted about $400 for the lowers. Parts are about $100 maybe. 4x4s are a little tougher that 4x2s because you have to pull the whole brake assembly off. The only tool that I had to buy was a socket to fit the spindle nut. I rented the ball joint press from Auto Zone. If you do a search on F150 or Ford ball joints there is a guy that has very good instructions with pictures. The subject truck is a 4x4 but 4x2s are pretty similar.