Lower Ball Joint Replacement How To (lots of Pictures)

[TheJackal]

Don't do the stupid **** I do.

Went to do the driver's side upper and lower today. Went to take the UCA off to find that I didn't have a socket deep enough to fit. Cursed and pissed about not having the tools I need.

Tried to do the lower joint, and couldn't get the spindle separate from the LBJ. Manual says to use a pitman arm puller; mine doesn't fit. Lot of pounding with a hammer ensues. Couldn't find the mini-sledge, and even more cursing results. How the hell does that thing get on there so tight anyway?

So I'm finally persuaded to give up this attempt, and make yet another trip to AutoZone for even more tools. I go to reattach the upper control arm to the spindle, and it doesn't fit. No amount of pounding seems to be able to get it reattached. Seems that when I was pounding the spindle with the hammer, I had hit it up by the hole on top, and some of the metal "folded" around into it. Since it appears there is no room for error, I had to get the drill out and hone the hole out a bit so it would fit back in.

Moral of the story: Don't pound the top of the spindle.

I am the only person on the forum who can spend 6 hours on a project and get nothing done.

 

[CDW6212R]

Go at it slowly, when you know you have the right tools. You really need a sledge to get the spindle loose from the LBJ. There is a large protrusion on the spindle adjacent to the BJ, on the inside usually. That is made that way so that you can smack it very hard and not hurt the spindle. It takes a very heavy hammer to make that job easy. Don't try it with a small hammer, use a baby sledge. Don't use pickle forks, they destroy boots.

 

[Fat B]

Most of my write up went into the upper ball joint thread but I'll share when I learned about the lowers here. I've worked on plenty of cars but I have never done ball joints and I work with no power tools.

Get the Ball Joint Press! It worked really slick. When I was pressing them out, the passenger side gave a loud pop when it gave way which made me almost crap my pants. But other than that it worked well!

I also found it quicker to use the press to press them back in with the jack. It wasn't that hard to put everything together quickly and use the press.

And to get the knuckle off of the lower ball joint, I didn't have a ball joint wedge. I jacked up on the lower ball joint stud (they were beign replaced anyway) and whacked the flat spot on the knuckle with a sledge. The passenger side I got away with a 48oz mini sledge. The drivers side I pulled out the big boy and gave it one good whack.

 

[TheJackal]

I had forgotten about this now. I finished the upper joints a few weeks back now, and decided to take the lowers in and have them installed. Was really worried about getting the old ones out, and not being able to get the new ones in. (Decided to avoid my next "oh s@#t" moment) The dealer installed the camber adjustment kit, part # F5TZ-3C203-A. They also didn't give me any crap about just changing the joint vs. changing the whole arm, as it isn't a factory-approved method.

 

[holter95]

Jackal - I think most of us have been there before, whacking away on a car for countless hours and getting nowhere. You appear to be a younger guy, and you'll learn that experience pays dividends. (I learned a lot of stuff myself - didn't come from a mechanical family). The biggest lessons I've learned:

1. Patience: think about what you're trying to do...
2. The right tool for the right job is priceless

If you're going to live with an Explorer, a few tools come in handy:

1. Mini sledge (I just bought mine this year after 9 years of ownership... and I don't know how I lived without it)
2. Floor jack - use it to hold up the ball joint while you whack on the spindle, and to help press it into place. There's many many uses for that tool
3. Big-ass pry bar
4. Liberal amounts of penetrating oil
5. Big-ass breaker bar

Leverage, precision-applied brute force (aka "persuasion"), and clever lifting solve many problems. And when frustration ensues, at least you get to beat on stuff with a big hammer. You can't do that to a computer and hope to use it again

As you've learned this forum is FILLED with great advice... use "search" and milk it for all it's worth. You'll still be on your own to figure out a few stuck problems but that's where we all gain experience.

Good luck!!

 

[TheJackal]

thanks for the encouragement! I could've sworn there was a mini-sledge here, but unfortunately things around here have a tendency to walk. Something will always be in the way when you don't need it, and when you do need it, it's no longer there. Since I needed some other work done that I couldn't do anyway, I used that opportunity to get that done too.

trying not to spend too much time on one thing right now, as I really should be looking for a job, but this whole recession thing isn't making that go easy.

 

[BK_89iX]

out with the old, in with the new

Just wanted to relay my experience so far. Did the first side in an afternoon - got rained out on day #2, so the other side will need to wait a bit. All went smoothly, except for removal of the lower ball joint, which I needed to pound on for about an hour. My fancy OTC press was a no-go in terms of fit for removal. However, it really paid for itself when it came time for installation! I purchased the OTC "ford kit" that makes pressing the new balljoint in super easy (heard it's the same as the factory tool). OTC makes another specialized receiver piece for removal, but I didn't get that one. Here are some pics of the carnage and the install tool.

*Update* finished the driver side in the dark with a portable canopy to keep dry - that rear upper control arm bolt is truly an SOB. Without knowing in advance that it was possible to remove without cutting, I would have said no way.

BK

 

[amxrick]

Low BallJoint (02 Mountianeer)

02 Mountaineer AWD - Don't know if I can get a quick reply before 4/18 9am. I have just replaced the upper ball joint. I started on the Lower one and noticed that after popping the joint loose from the knuckle that I didn’t have enough room to pull the knuckle off the arm. The drive shaft was hitting the arm and the knuckle wouldn’t drop low enough to clear the ball joint bolt. I stopped for the night. What I am trying the find out, is it better to remove the drive shaft at the knuckle or remove it at the differential. Looks like it would be easier to remove it at the knuckle but how hard is it to get the nut off the hub and use (?) a puller to get the hub off the shaft. Also I haven’t seen any talk about the lower arm is loaded by the coil spring and when I was putting the upper BJ on I had to leave the BJ unbolted from the knuckle so that the lower arm was not loading the lower BJ onto the knuckle. This all makes for fun trying to loosen or tighten bolts.

 

[gavin]

02 Mountaineer AWD - Don't know if I can get a quick reply before 4/18 9am. I have just replaced the upper ball joint. I started on the Lower one and noticed that after popping the joint loose from the knuckle that I didn’t have enough room to pull the knuckle off the arm. The drive shaft was hitting the arm and the knuckle wouldn’t drop low enough to clear the ball joint bolt. I stopped for the night. What I am trying the find out, is it better to remove the drive shaft at the knuckle or remove it at the differential. Looks like it would be easier to remove it at the knuckle but how hard is it to get the nut off the hub and use (?) a puller to get the hub off the shaft. Also I haven’t seen any talk about the lower arm is loaded by the coil spring and when I was putting the upper BJ on I had to leave the BJ unbolted from the knuckle so that the lower arm was not loading the lower BJ onto the knuckle. This all makes for fun trying to loosen or tighten bolts.

the hub nut is torqued to around 250ft/lbs and lock-tite'd. So you will need a big breaker bar to break it loose, then a good torque wrench that will go to 250ft/lbs.

yes, it is necessary to remove the half-shaft to complete the job. You should be able to pop the shaft out of the hub, and you could even tie it up out of the way, and not necessarily have the need to also remove it from the differential. And you would have to remove it from the knuckle/hub before you can remove it from the differential anyway.

 

[amxrick]

Thanks for the quick info, I will see how it goes.

 

[dsturch1]

Alright guys, I am looking to start doing this project sometime in the near future...

Anyone have any recommendations as to what I should do while I have the spindle off and everything accessible? I was looking to do both lowers since I have been needing to grease them once a week to prevent squeaking now...

Is it most likely that with both LBJ's bad that is the cause for my cambering on my tires? Also it visibly looks like I have negative camber - could that be caused by them as well?

Is it really necessary to disconnect the UBJ from the spindle and remove the spindle? Or will I be okay leaving it on there and just using the press to remove the Lower Ball Joint?

Thanks in advance

 

[amxrick]

I have a question before I proceed. Gavin you mentioned to pop the half shaft out of the hub. How do I start? Was assuming the big nut on the shaft needed to be removed (is this the 250ft/lbs nut). Will the shaft come out w/o taking this nut off? Also I took the CV boot lg clamp of the back side of the hub and did not realize that there was so much grease in there (I pushed it back on to ask more). If this boot needs to come apart what is the best thing to do about the grease and how to I refill the boot back up and how much. 1st thing is how do I get the half shaft out of the hub.

 

[BK_89iX]

Don't mess with the boot. Loosen the big 1 1/4" hub nut with wheel on the ground, raise vehicle and remove wheel, caliper and disk. Push on the threaded axle stub to see if it moves somewhat freely. Sometimes the fit between the splines and the hub is tight and you will need to rig up a puller onto the wheel studs to gently push the axle, towards the differential. But first, pop out your tierod, upper bj and lower bj. Remove ABS sensor at connector above foglight and detach cable connectors on frame. Remove steering knuckle while guiding axle stub out of the hub. This is where you might need the puller to push the axle out of the hub or get it going. Don't yank/pull on the CV. Tie the CV shaft up out of the way and proceed. I think pretty much all of that is detailed in the first pages. BTW, the torque specs I have for the big axle nut are 157-213ft/lbs.

BK

 

[gavin]

yes, the hub nut needs removed before you can remove the half-shaft.
the hub nut is what holds the bearing assy together, with the cv cup on the inside and the hub nut on the outside.

do not mess with the boots, really no reason to.

Removing the TRE's is not necessary for the job; I never did.

I would remove the hub nut, jack the truck up by the frame or cross-member, remove upper control arm from knuckle, pull top of knuckle forward and press half shaft inward.

removing the TRE can, but not always, make it easier. If you disconnect outer tierod from the inner tierod, you'll definitely need an alignment afterwards unless you can get it lined back up perfectly. If you remove the TRE from the knuckle, you have the possibility of destroying the boot or threads depending on your tool-choice for removal.

 

[amxrick]

Thanks BK - I followed what you said and worked great. I was worried about getting the nut loose but was a little too easy (diffidently not on at 160+ft/lbs). I will precede and when I put it back on I will tighten it to max on my torque wrench (150ft/lbs) and then go some more to get at least 170ft/lbs or so. Back to the garage!

 

[amxrick]

Thanks also Gavin - I removed the Tie rod and will be putting new in/out ones back on. I already pulled the CV boot clamp off and pushed the boot back on after seeing the grease and for now have a lg tie wrap on it until I get to the alignment shop and have them put a metal one on.

 

[gavin]

BTW, the torque specs I have for the big axle nut are 157-213ft/lbs.

BK

not sure why I was thinking more like 250ft/lbs :scratch:

it is 157-213

 

[CDW6212R]

Yes, as tight as you can get it without straining too much. Be sure the socket fits well so it doesn't round off the corners of the nut.

 

[amxrick]

Had to go back to work today but when I stopped, yesterday, things were going back together great. It figures that last night my wife ask me (she drives it) to also look into a noise that she gets when turning maxed out that sounds/feels like a thumping. The shop said it needed ball joints / tie rods by inspection. Does this type of problem relate to the BJ/tie rods? I can’t really test it my self until its back together.

 

[CDW6212R]

That would make sense, when the steering is at full lock it's tight and will make loose parts more obvious. You can check the tie rod ends rather easily, the BJ's require more effort to find any looseness.