Ball Joint Help please! PICS*

[kamiraa]

Hey guys. Im have a problem here. I tore my explorer down to do a lower and upper ball joint. I have seperated everything, including pulling off the spindle, im stuck at the part where you have to seperate the steering knucle from the axle arm according to the book. I have been hitting it all day with my hammer from the inside out, and have been prying with a "pickle fork" , (i searched the forum for these suggestions. )

I have so far removed the upper snap ring, and Pitch bolt I think (12mm going Horizontial, I labeled it in this picture .

Then I removed the Bottom Bolt in this picture

Here is a whole shot of where im stuck at here . .

Where do I go from here, any suggestions. Do I just hammer it from the inside of the spindle OUTWARD (hitting from the center of under the car towards the outside of the car), or am I missing another bolt or something I need to remove? The adjuster sleeve is still on there, the part where you can put a flat head socket on the top and twist. What do I do please help. Thanks

-raymond j

 

[Creager]

is the camber adjuster out of the top? make sure to mark where its at so you can get semi-correct alighnment when you are done, then take that out.

just move the knuckle where you can see the bottom ball joint and SMACK THE **** OUT OF IT WD-40 helps

im talking LONG STRONG HARD hits on that sucker. with a 24oz ball pein it will just drop off

 

[kamiraa]

i pulled off the adjuster and hit it , it dropped perfectly thanks but now Im confused with the part they gave me from auto zone, it doesnt fit the camber sleeve , its much smaller, longer, and threaded? not sure if I should thread that through the sleeve (it sticks up much higher and has play in it then, and put the castle nut on top for tention but if that ever gets losened it will move and lose camber, one problem after another. . .

 

[Creager]

are you looking at the lower ball joint? the upper is just a stud with a snap ring indention on it.

 

[Positive Vibes]

You sure they gave you the correct part? Thats happened to me many times. I found it best to take it apart and bring the old part in so they can see it. Most of them know nothing about cars and just bunch on the key board to get the part #. Good luck. I will be doing mine this weekend. Along with the broken U-joint from last weekend in the mud.

 

[Positive Vibes]

Also here is a thread I started that had some good info from some good people!

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131650

 

[kamiraa]

ya those tards gave me the wrong part, they gave me the dana 28 threaded ball joint. I needed the bigger dana threadless ball joint. I got it all together , my truck is stable as hell. I havent done a alignment yet and I was out and its straight as an arrow, I was cruising home at 80 mph. VERY happy, they were worn bad, I took allot of pictures so Im posting up a very detailed HOW TO soon for people that are like me and like pictures haha. THANKS guys

-rayray

 

[Positive Vibes]

Let us know when you finish the write up.

Started tearing mine apart but couldn't locate a Ujoint puller. Think I found one today.

 

[Creager]

Hey man you looking for a c-frame type press?

Harbor freight sells them for 20 bucks

or you can rent one from napa for free but with a $250 deposit.

 

[Positive Vibes]

Hey man you looking for a c-frame type press?

Harbor freight sells them for 20 bucks

or you can rent one from napa for free but with a $250 deposit.

Thanks thats what I'm looking for I will check out thier web site and compare the prices.

 

[Positive Vibes]

I looked on harbor freight for a Ujoint puller but couldn't locate one??

 

[Creager]

you dont need a puller, you need a press

look for C-Frame Press

 

[silverfords2001]

I am having the same issue with my upper and lower control arms/ball joints. Correct me if I am wrong but isnt replacing the whole lower control arm allot easier. It comes with the ball joint and bushing. Ford parts.com has them for 76.00 for an 01 sport. I bought the bushing from a local parts store and it was 23.00 + tax, also the local shop wants 60.00 to press out ther old one and press in the new one. Just my .02 Good luck

SF

 

[Creager]

I am having the same issue with my upper and lower control arms/ball joints. Correct me if I am wrong but isnt replacing the whole lower control arm allot easier. It comes with the ball joint and bushing. Ford parts.com has them for 76.00 for an 01 sport. I bought the bushing from a local parts store and it was 23.00 + tax, also the local shop wants 60.00 to press out ther old one and press in the new one. Just my .02 Good luck

SF

yeah for a 01

we were talking about a 91

The Ball Joints on the first Gen just press out, it doesnt take much time or effort. 2-4 hours if you have done it before.