ball joint pointers

[panda24619]

so gonna have to do both uppers and lower on both sides. so all 4. any tips, hints, tricks you can share? ive never done ball joints. and i am not paying someone to do it when i have the tools in my garage.

 

[trdragons44]

Easy if you have the right tools. I have the instructions if you need them.

 

[panda24619]

yeah! i have a lot of tool, or i can go rent/buy some. have to do my rear brakes while im at it so might as well get tools while im at the store. you can PM me if you like.

 

[walnuts4x4]

uppers have to replace entire arm... and lowers are pressed in... so your gonna need a ball joint press..... my .02

 

[Soldier777]

uppers are cake... lowers are going to give you the most trouble

 

[Thermo]

Panda, removing the lower ball joints takes about 2 minutes once you get the spindle assembly out of the way. How I do it is to use a 3 pound hammer and after you remove the retaining clip, you have a jack under the lower A-arm and you beat the ball joint out. I find using a fairly large socket helps as you can knock the ball joint all the way out. I have a socket that I have sacrificed for this very job. Then putting the new one in requires the use of the ball joint press. But, by that point, installing the new ball joint is cake.

LIke was mentioned, the uppers are easy. One big thing though is to match mark your bolts that hold the upper A-arms to the frame. You want the line to run from the washers to the brackets welded on the frame (or simply mark the washers so the line runs to the 12 o'clock position). Why do I say this? easy, if you keep the bolts in the same spots, as long as you put the bolts back how you found them, your alignment should be pretty close and you don't have to run out immediately to get it done.

If you need more tricks, let me know. Like I mentioned, place a jack under the lower A-arm to hold it in place. If you don't, when you break the ball joints loose, the torsion bar is going to attempt to wrap the A-arm under the truck. So, put the truck up on jackstands, then place the jack under the lower A-arm to provide just a small amount of upward amount of pressure.

 

[panda24619]

so for the order to remove them? uppers mark the bolts and washers, remove them. take off. lower put jack under a arm, smack ball joint out. move spindle out of the way. put new ball joint on with spindle. and put the new upper a arm, with spindle back on. and keep the bolts the same place, hopefully.

but knowing my dad he will most likely make me go in right away anyways. the alignment place did tell me i needed the ball joints so ill just take it back to them anyways. if im wrong in the steps let me know. im not planning on doing these till the next few week or so.

 

[Thermo]

Panda, you have the right idea. You may find releasing the tie rod end a benefit too as it allows you a bit more freedom with the spindle. Makes getting to the lower ball joint less of a hassle.

I would also recommend putting the front end in the air on jackstands and leave the jack to just supporting the lower a-arm.

 

[panda24619]

okay. thats not a problem. i have 4 4ton jack stands. if thats not enough to keep this thing from falling back to earth idk what is. haha

but should i do one side at a time? like only put one side in the air, or should i take both tires off?

 

[Thermo]

I saw put the whole front end in the air if you are doing both sides. This will make moving things around a little easier and also you won't have as much loading on the front anti-sway bar as you are moving things around.

As for pulling both tires off, that is up to you. It might be helpful to have a side that you can look at to get an idea of where things go, but other than that, personal choice.