Lower Ball Joint Replacement How To (lots of Pictures)

[KiloCharley]

Thanks. I'll have to pick some up.

 

[RickTrblfld]

I'm having a senior moment I guess. What does PB or PB blaster refer to in several of the posts? Remember, blessed are the thick.

PB Blaster (actual name) is a rust penetrant/lubricant found at your local auto parts or Wal Mart that is known as a mechanics best friend at times due to its better than average penetrating properties. It cost a couple bucks more than other penetrants but its worth it due to time saved on those extra stubborn rusted bolts or that need to get lubricant into those places to assist in insertion or extraction.

 

[Tom G]

Did mine the other day. PB Blaster and BFH. Pickel fork to pop the joints.

I used the jack under the A-arm to get them in after a few hours in the freezer. Took some beating on the A-arm to get them seated all the way.

I pulled the top off the brake calipers and tied them out of the way. Left the ABS sensor in place, but pulled the wire out of the clips to give the wire more room to move.

 

[RomeovilleIL]

For those who elect to go the lower ball joint floor jack install method, I have found a simple 2-1/8" inside diameter exhaust coupler is a great tool. The 4" long coupler costs less than $3 at any parts store, fits tightly over the boot without cutting into in while sitting flush on the steel body of the joint. It is long enough that the joint pin will not protrude. If you plan to do this more than once you can invest in a heavier wall steel plumbing pipe with same 2-1/8" inside diameter for a couple extra dollars (I paid $6 at Lowes).

Put a little lube on the splines and boot then slide pin first into the coupler. Stand it on end on jack pan. Lift straight up into the control arm until the ball joint starts and the arm has lifted to about horizontal. Few hits with a mini sledge on the arm will seat the joint completely in less than a minute. Install your snap ring and zerk, slide off the coupler and thats it. No fighting with ridiculous clamp press or the short rings supplied with it.

 

[fredferrell]

Used the Autozone tool without any issues...

I used the Autozone tool kit for both removing and installing the lower ball joints.

 

[gtbutler]

Type of floor jack can help too!

For those who elect to go the lower ball joint floor jack install method, I have found a simple 2-1/8" inside diameter exhaust coupler is a great tool. The 4" long coupler costs less than $3 at any parts store, fits tightly over the boot without cutting into in while sitting flush on the steel body of the joint. It is long enough that the joint pin will not protrude. If you plan to do this more than once you can invest in a heavier wall steel plumbing pipe with same 2-1/8" inside diameter for a couple extra dollars (I paid $6 at Lowes).

Put a little lube on the splines and boot then slide pin first into the coupler. Stand it on end on jack pan. Lift straight up into the control arm until the ball joint starts and the arm has lifted to about horizontal. Few hits with a mini sledge on the arm will seat the joint completely in less than a minute. Install your snap ring and zerk, slide off the coupler and thats it. No fighting with ridiculous clamp press or the short rings supplied with it.

The type of floor jack you have can also be used to your advantage. I actually remove the "jack pan" from my floor jack. My jack pan lifts from my jack. The jack pan is concave and can create issues trying to get the lower ball joint started straight. With the jack pan removed, my jack has a flat surface that really lets you "get things lined up" for straight pressing. There can also be added benefits that protruding studs end up going down through the hole for the jack pan (this gets rid of that "short collar" issue, just make sure that only the stud protrudes beyond the collar you are using for press-in). Check it out for yourself! Hopefully it helps.

 

[jimandnena]

1997 Explorer 2wd lower ball joint

Did mine after reading up on the job here. I didn't remove the spindle as mine is a 2 wheel drive so I just wired it up out of the way. Here are some photos I took during the job.
https://picasaweb.google.com/jimandnena4/BallJoints97Explorer2wd?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLKJ2aOpnee7-gE&feat=directlink

jim
fort worth, tx

 

[oldbolt]

I know this is an old thread , and maybe this has been mentioned before , but I found out something new to me yesterday .

I'm partway through a complete front end re-do on my 2000 EX ,
and discovered something unpleasant , when I put in my new Moog LBJ's .
They were LOOSE in the lower control arm sockets !

Now I've read here of this happening to some people , and the consensus seemed to be that you needed new lower control arms in that case,
Or, some folks got the BJ's welded in ....NOT my idea of a good fix , at all !

Soooo , I found THIS :
http://www.moogproblemsolver.com/_pdf_en1/MOOG_PS_Bulletin_29009_K8695T006_En.pdf

I found them at Rock Auto, for about the same price as the regular ones.
Like the name says - Problem Solver

This might be common knowledge by now , but I thought maybe it might help someone .

 

[bdf24]

Great thread, Thanks! I have a 2004 explorer. I read in a thread in the 2002 - 2005 forum that these instructions apply to the 2004 as well. Is this true? I plan on tackling this this weekend. I have to do both upper and lower ball joints on both sides. I've already reserved the ball joint press tool from autozone.

Nevermind, just saw gtbutler did it on his 05. I think I'll try the tip about putting the parts in the freezer.

 

[BrianFoley]

Thanks! I just did mine and your tips helped.

I just did both sides on my 1998. The rented press did not work for pressing out, and my mechanic friend later told me that you either need an impact driver, or you need to hammer on the press screw after each 1/8 turn. I was not going to beat on a rented tool, so I pounded the old ball joint out with a sledge hammer, using my axle socket to push it the last bit of the way out.

The rented tool was critical though, for pressing the new ball joint in with
the jack. I had to hammer down on the arm a bit in addition to pushing up
with the jack, but it was pretty much just "tapping" in comparison to how
hard the old one came out.

I also had trouble getting the knuckle broken free from the upper and
lower ball joint fittings. They were a bit rusted together. It took some
heavy blows with the 5 lb sledge to break it free.

I did shocks and brakes while I had it all apart. Also replaced one tie
rod end. I needed to buy a 90 degree elbow for my grease gun to
grease the new ball joint with the axle in. I was surprised that it did not
come full of grease. If I had greased it before putting the knuckle back
on, it would have been accessible without the elbow.

Anyway, the tips here, and in a couple of YouTube videos I watched
were invaluable. This was the first time I had ever tackled this type
of job.

Awesome!
I like the floor jack trick!

 

[clackkent]

This forum is just great! I did my upper control arms and lower balljoints this weekend and I have to say that although it was a PITA, the guidance here was extremely useful. Used the Autozone ball joint press to remove the lowers easily and I froze the new lowers before putting them in with the floor jack. They went in easily, actually maybe too easily because once installed there seemed to be a bit of play; maybe it was because they were ice cold; hopefully the alignment shop will let me know if they are OK or if I screwed it up. Maybe I needed to fit oversize lowers? Probably unlikely as this is the first time on 17 years that they've been touched. Used Moog problem solver parts throughout.

Also, removing the upper control arm from the drivers side was really difficult as we could not get the rear bolt out of the frame assembly because of all the fuel and brake lines etc up there. My father in law came to the rescue and we ended up cutting through it with a saw which was fine since I fitted new Moog cam adjusters.

 

[Joshual1177]

Is it absolutely necessary to remove the cv/axle nut when changing lower ball joints? And can they be loosened using a breaker bar and socket?

 

[RomeovilleIL]

Is it absolutely necessary to remove the cv/axle nut when changing lower ball joints? And can they be loosened using a breaker bar and socket?

Is it absolutely needed? - Nope, but it will make the job a lot less difficult since the axle will otherwise be in the way and limit how far you can move the knuckle assemble away from the lower control arm. Assuming you do not have access to an impact, yes a two-foot or longer breaker will turn it off. Keep in mind it should have about 185 foot-pounds of torque, which you will need to put it back with as well so the hub doesnt grenade. A solid 1/2" or 3/4" rachet a 3 foot or longer cheater makes that very easy to accomplish by hand.

I have replaced about a dozen or so ball joints on explorers and found pulling the cv from the hub to be quite helpful. Frankly the thing you do not need to do is remove the tierod ends, and if anything it makes the job easier to leave it attached to the knuckle. That way you can swing the assembly over to the side and push the cv axle out and free of the hub. Tie th cv up out of the way then separate the lower ball joint with a picklefork. The tierod will keep th knuckle from falling to the floor and make reassembly much easier since you won't by juggling a heavy part while putting the castle nut in place.

 

[Joshual1177]

Think I have decided to wait on doing the lower ball joints until my I fix my air compressor and get an impact wrench to make the job go quicker and smoother than using manual tools. My uppers are shot. Boots ripped and dried out. The lowers look fine. The rubber boots aren't ripped or dried out. Plus this is my first time doing something this major with a limited set of tools, some of which I've had to buy just for this job. I'm certain that I'll have to throw more money into doing the lowers once I get into it.

I'm assuming when I go to do the lowers I will have to remove the uppers from the knuckle which is what I've already done now. I thought it would save me a step doing it all at once. But, I think I may have bitten off more than I can chew right now.

 

[jimandnena]

Think I have decided to wait on doing the lower ball joints until my I fix my air compressor and get an impact wrench to make the job go quicker and smoother than using manual tools. My uppers are shot. Boots ripped and dried out. The lowers look fine. The rubber boots aren't ripped or dried out. Plus this is my first time doing something this major with a limited set of tools, some of which I've had to buy just for this job. I'm certain that I'll have to throw more money into doing the lowers once I get into it.

I'm assuming when I go to do the lowers I will have to remove the uppers from the knuckle which is what I've already done now. I thought it would save me a step doing it all at once. But, I think I may have bitten off more than I can chew right now.

Joshual1177,
I think you are right and I am reminded of the saying, "How do you eat an elephant"?
One bite at a time.
Best of luck,
jim

 

[drrhein]

Wow! Great thread. Everything I need to do the complete job. In my case however, I'm also replacing both half shafts due to excessive wear and torn boots. I have a 2000 Ranger XLT with vacuum hub spindles that have been converted to Rugged Ridge manual locking hubs. Instead of a nut on the axle splines, there are plastic clips holding the axle to the spindle. A couple of sources say this clip must be replaced every time. The new axles come with new clips. Here's the rub. How do you get the old clips out?? One poster said he struggled with his. How about just cutting the clip in half with a screwdriver? Then it should come right out? Do the axles come out of the diff? Or are there clips inside the diff for the other end???

Dennis

 

[carlgustav]

This thread was quite helpful to me in relation to replacing my lower ball joints ('95 exploder, 2 whl drv) so I thought I'd give back a little by showing how I got the joints seated back. I didn't rent a press, and I don't yet have a drift made, so this method had to do ...

As the pix show, I made use of a floor jack (thx to the thread) and a pc. of heavy steel bar. The bar came from a kit for mounting ceiling fans. It's used to hammer the ends of a between-the-studs mount into the trusses. I've kept it around as it comes in handy for various jobs that require beating the hell out of something . It made a strong base to brace the joint against, and it came in handy for tapping on the joint edges from underneath for final seating.

Thx to this thread, the job went smoothly .

ACE

 

[nmroughranger]

Looks like I get the pleasure of doing this and the forum continues to be a great reference.

 

[4rd Xplora]

Got to do this fairly soon, maybe in the next 2-3 weeks. Sprayed the ball joints with PB today and will do this at least 4-5 more times before I do the R&R. Hopefully all this pre-soaking will help.

 

[nguyen_3]

Awesome pictures and posts. Thank you. I have some tips for anyone doing a 1996 Ford Explorer - Lower Ball joints. Trust me, as I have had to re-do the ball joints within the span of 3 days.

1. DO NOT get the Drive Works (lower) ball joints from Advance Auto. Bite the bullet and get the Moog parts. I installed the Drive Works and put everything away, only to find that the bolt rubs up against the inside wheel well. This happened on both sides. Yes, they were firmly pressed and seated properly in place.

2. Use the clamp (as shown in the picture) to remove the ball joints. I would advise to use the clamp for installing the new ball joints as well. This way, you can be sure that it is firmly seated in place. Stick you head under and double-check that the ball joint is firmly pressed up against the hole. Clamp set is a loaner from Advance Auto (fully refunded deposit ~$100)

3. Get the loaner "Front End Kit" - again deposit, from Advance Auto. Use the Pitt-man Pulley to separate the ball joint from the Wheel Hub assembly (after you have removed the cotter pin and castle nut)

4. Use the same pitt-man pulley to separate the tie rod end from the Wheel Hub assembly (again, after you have removed the cotter pin and castle nut)

5. Remove the ABS brake cable from the Wheel Hub assembly - so it is not damaged as you remove the Wheel Hub assembly

6. Loosen the wheel hub nut (32mm), pretty much all the way off, while the wheels are on the ground (before jacking them up).

7. I had the hardest time separating the Upper Control Arms (ball joints) from the Wheel Hub Assembly (both passenger and driver side). I was replacing both UCA's as well, so I ended up taking them off while they were still attached to the Wheel Hub Assembly. Once off, I hit the UCAs (dead center) and they came off of the Wheel Hub Assembly pretty easy.

8. Removing the Drive side Upper Control Arm (rear-bolt / nut) was difficult! Trick: Get at the bolt from the top of the car, open up the hood and you'll see the bolt. Use a screw driver or something to push the metal line back as you navigate the bolt out. You'll need to remove the ground wire (8mm) that sits behind the bolt. Make sure you count the number of threads on the UCA bolt before removing them - this will help to realignment when you put the nut back. Also make sure to the the Metal plate (washer) back in the same way. It'll be easy to see, since one side of the Metal plate will show wear/ tear (rust).

I discovered these tips on my own, so it cost me a lot of hours. Hopefully, you'll use my tips and save yourself tons of wasted time. Send me an email or something if you want to know more.

I as was re-doing the ball joints (from Drive Works to Moog parts) I ended up replacing both Inner Tie Rods as well. I'll search and post my tips in that forum.

My '96 Ex has 198K...waiting for 200K to celebrate with a new coat of paint!