Help replacing left front half-shaft (96 Eddie Bauer)

[chrisw]

My 1996 Eddie Bauer has been making a whining/roaring (hard to describe) noise from the front left wheel area when driving faster than about 20 mph. It almost goes away with a mild left turn. Think that it could be the hub assembly (as it would unload a bit during a left turn), I replaced it with a used one. This didn't fix the problem. So, the next logical step is to replace the half-shaft. (I did check the drive shaft u-joints, which did not have any play). I've disassembled everything to the point where I now need to remove the steering knuckle. With the bottom ball joint nut removed, there isn't sufficient clearance between the knuckle and the lower control arm to move the knuckle past the end of the ball joint threaded shaft, so it appears that I also need to remove the knuckle from the upper ball joint. The pinch-bolt was easy to remove, but the ball joint shaft appears to be rusted to the knuckle. I've put some penetrating oil on it and did hammer on it a bit, but I don't want to use excessive force.

I have several questions:
1) Is my diagnosis reasonable?
2) Am I approaching the replacement of the half-shaft in the correct manner? (The Haynes manual I'm using did not mention the need to remove the knuckle from the top ball joint ...)
3) Is there a tool available which might help separate the top ball joint from the knuckle. I've read something about a "ball joint fork" ...

Thanks for the help,

Chris

 

[antogt]

You don't need to remove the lower ball joint.There should be a bolt that holds the knuckle to the upper ball joint , if you remove this bolt you should be able to rotate the knuckle downwards while pushing the cv joint inwards, this should clear the knuckle from the shaft and allow you to pull the shaft out . be sure to support the knuckle with a coat hanger or something though, it will kinda be flopping around while you replace the shaft. There is such a thing as a "fork" and they arent that expensive. You must be carefull using one though if you dont plan on replacing the ball joint itself. They have a tendency to wreck the ball joint's rubber boot.

 

[JDraper]

You shouldn't need a ball joint fork to remove the top ball joint. If it's a little rusted, a bfh works well, or a prybar between the upper control arm and the knuckle, once the pinch bolt is removed. With that ball joint un-done and the brake caliper removed, you can remove the half shaft. You may have to move the steering around to find the optimal position for the knuckle to allow clearance, but it will come out (been there, done that).

Good Luck!

 

[chrisw]

Thanks for the information. The Haynes manual says to remove the lower control arm ball joint nut (but the instructions are for 1995 through 2000 Explorers, plus a couple of other vehicle types thrown in). Sounds like it isn't applicable to a 1996 Explorer. I'll go ahead a try what was suggested above and post the results later.

 

[chrisw]

I was able to separate the knuckle from the upper ball joint. It took about twenty minutes or so, using a light hammer with a penetrating lubricant. However, I damaged the ball joint boot to the extent that the metal ring is loose and there is a small hole in the rubber, near the ring (as my hammer slipped a couple of times). It looks like the boot can be slipped off of the post, but I suspect a special tool may be need to press the boot's metal ring onto the upper control arm. Any advice on how to approach this? Thanks for your help ...