lower ball joint replacement

[joecap]

The lower ball joints on my 04 AWD show about 20mm of vertical movement and I'm getting cupping on my front tires. I assume this means they're shot. I couldnt find a writeup on replacment procedures, are there any special tools required to get that thing out or is it straightforward? Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[JasonF]

20mm!! I hope this is a typo. At 20mm the ball would be departing the socket.

The job is quite a PITA. You have to remove the driveshaft, press the old joint out, press the new one in. The press from autozone didnt work on my old '96 so I resorted to the BFH. Jot the job done but it wasn't fun...


Jason

 

[Port]

not that bad

it's not that bad of a job but a lift sure helps as does air tools. obviously first remove the wheel, caliper and rotor. unplug the wheel sensor. remove the hub nut and top spindle bolt (15mm head and nut) spray with penetrating oil and using a hammer knock the upper arm to get the upper ball joint out the spindle should flop forward toward u. push the halfshaft out remove the nut in the lower ball joint and hit the spindle underneath where the joint goes through. it will break the joint free. after removing the spindle take off the retaining clip and using a BFH smack the top of the ball joint till it comes out. clean out the lower control arm where the joint goes in. lube the hole and the top of the new ball joint where it goes in. now the tricky part. the best thing is to use a ball joint press with an adaptor but with a little finese you can tap it in. If the ball joint has the plastic sleeve on it leave it on when hitting it'll help save the threads. if not put on the nut. DON'T BEAT OVER THE END OR YOU'LL NEVER GET THE NUT ON! this is not that bad. on a lift with air tools it only takes about 45mins to do both sides. good luck!