[BRad_Z]

Hey guys,

I posted a little while ago about this and have now begun the repair. I've removed the balljoint nut (not an easy nut to crack) and I used the pitman puller to remove the bolt from the lower control arm.

Here's where I'm stuck... Do I need to take a bunch of stuff off the wheel assembly to actually get the ball joint out of there??? What I mean by that is, close above the balljoint is the steering knuckle (i think), and antoher thing that makes getting to the balljoint difficult.

Any advice?

Thanx in advance for any help!

 

[spridget]

The balljoint is pressed into the knuckle. The entire knuckle needs to be removed to have the balljoint replaced. Unless you have a press capable of pushing the old ball joint out, you will need to take the entire knuckle and ball joint to a shop that can swap the old one with the new one. Otherwise, go to a salvage yard and find a knuckle in good shape.

 

[BRad_Z]

Really??? Rough!! That seems like a lot of work.

What steps do you have to take to remove the knuckle?

 

[diesel600]

For the knuckle to be removed you have to disconnect everything to it, so that is the tie rod end, strut, and ball joint. Also disconnect the sway bar link at either point, this will make it much easier to move everything around. If you haven't already you'll have to remove the hub nut, so you can slide the halfshaft out of the knuckle.

I just did this job last week. The ball joint doesn't necessarily need pressed in and out. A friend of mine was able to get mine out easily with a little heat applied to the knuckle, and then an air chisel to push it out. A soft metal mallet got the new one in then fairly easily without damaging anything.

 

[BRad_Z]

Sweet, that's what I wanted to hear.

One more question, when disconnecting the strut.. is the spring under any compression/tension when the car is jacked up?? I'd hate to be undoing things and have that mother do something crazy.

 

[Kermit]

No the spring isn't under any pressure, the strut will extended to it's limit, but you must remove the top nut on the strut rod that's under the hood to release the spring tension. So don't worry about it, nothing to worry about since it's a strut.

 

[Guest]

brad, what year is your car? and why do you have to replace the ball joint?