[charlie18]

Do I have to remove the control arm and spring to change the lower and upper ball joint ? Thanks..

 

[Red Regal T]

Do I have to remove the control arm and spring to change the lower and upper ball joint ? Thanks..

If a kit like this can do the job, then you wouldn't have to. I'm not sure if this tool will press in a new lower ball joint.

http://www.harborfreight.com/four-wheel-drive-ball-joint-service-kit-4065.html

 

[Matty man]

No X2,, you can go to autozone and rent the kit,, just double check it for wear & tear,, I ground the peices to match the contour of the control arm,, it can be done just make sure the ball joint is square and goes in straight,,it can slide off to one side pretty quick,, Matty man

 

[Bobby78]

Your question makes me wonder if you know all the steps involved and the proper safety precautions.

You need to jack up the front of the car with a floor jack and support it with jack stands on the frame under each front fender in the area between the wheel and door.
Support the lower arm with the floor jack to relieve spring pressure and remove the cotter pin and castle nut from the upper ball joint. Use a pickle fork ball joint seperator to remove the ball joint stud from the spindle. A few good blows with a heavy hammer to the spindle will pop it loose too. Lower the jack just enough for the stud to clear the spindle. Drill out the rivets that hold the ball joint to the upper arm and remove the ball joint. Install the new one on the arm first using the bolts supplied. Then raise the jack and guide the stud into the spindle. Torque the castle nut to spec and install the cotter pin.
Do the same for the lower joint but use the ball joint press tool described above to remove/install the new one. Don't forget the grease when you're done.
Also please be careful with those cheap China import sets! They use a hollow threaded rod which can break or shatter. Try to borrow or rent an OTC or Kent-Moore set.

 

[horseman]

X2 on being careful. There is a L O T of stress here. Like Bobby77 said, you need to jack up the car and put fixed jacks stands supporting the frame pretty high (maybe 7 inches higher than where it sits on the ground), the use the jack again to jack up the lower control arm (which puts the stress on the spring) then proceed as he says. If the control arm slips off the jack when things are apart, the spring can jump out of the car and do you soooooo much damage you don't want to contemplate it.

That said, we have all done this and it is a cool afternoon project. Probably take you 6 hours to do.

Parts stores here (O'Reileys) "sells" you the ball joint tool, the allows you to return it for full value. They just have it paid for if you never returned it. But buy the pickle fork! They are just a few bucks and have many other uses.

Good luck!

 

[fixitman1]

Save some time,and busted knuckles maybe more ,find a friend that has done this and get some help . I know how and like the help ! And X2 on what Bobby said !:texas:

 

[charlie18]

Thank you for your help , yes I'm going to call a friend for a help I didn't think that is going to take such a long time thank you.

 

[bonos40]

A little side note:
loop a length of chain thru the spring and around the upper "A " frame, that way if the spring comes loose it will be stopped by the chain ....ask me how I know :dontknow:

 

[Beepster]

A little side note:
loop a length of chain thru the spring and around the upper "A " frame, that way if the spring comes loose it will be stopped by the chain ....ask me how I know :dontknow:

LOL althought it wasn't laughable to you at the time. Springs do have a way of doing just that - SPOING!!!!:secret:

 

[Jeffcamino]

The spring cannot come out if you leave the shock absorber in place.

 

[Red Regal T]

The spring cannot come out if you leave the shock absorber in place.

Why not? If you unbolt the bottom shock fasteners, and then be sure it doesn't hang up on the lower arm or spring as you let the jack down to extend the lower control arm, why wouldn't your spring come out after you dislodge it from the fully extended down lower control arm? When you pry the spring loose from the lower arm, the shock, hanging through the center of it, will prevent the spring from going anywhere.

 

[Jeffcamino]

Why not? If you unbolt the bottom shock fasteners, and then be sure it doesn't hang up on the lower arm or spring as you let the jack down to extend the lower control arm, why wouldn't your spring come out after you dislodge it from the fully extended down lower control arm? When you pry the spring loose from the lower arm, the shock, hanging through the center of it, will prevent the spring from going anywhere.

Why would you want to unbolt the shock to replace a ball joint? :dontknow:

No need to at all, by the way I work on suspensions for a living and have replaced hundreds if not thousands of ball joints.

 

[Red Regal T]

Why would you want to unbolt the shock to replace a ball joint? :dontknow:

No need to at all, by the way I work on suspensions for a living and have replaced hundreds if not thousands of ball joints.

I misunderstood what you were saying. A couple of weeks ago, I was criticized for suggesting leaving the shock in, bottom fasteners taken out, to remove the spring. I got the two threads confused. You are correct of course, but there was some question whether the OP was going to be successful removing the balljoint with the A-arm on the car with whatever tools he had.