Upper and Lower Ball Joint Replacement

[kidzstang]

I have a '97 Expy 4X4 with just over 115,000 miles. I guess it's time to change the Ball Joints.

Has anyone done it before and can you give me some advice. I think the uppers will be easy to change because I think they come with the arms and it's just an unbolt / rebolt deal.

The lowers have me a little concerned. I changed the brake rotors last summer and remember the trouble I had getting those off. You simply have to beat them of and of course then they are ruined at $90+ a piece. So... when I change the ball joints I'd like not the take the rotors off. It looks like it may just be possible but the clearance look a little tight. So any advice would be greatly appreciated. Have a wonderfull day and thnks in advance!

 

[Guest]

Originally posted by kidzstang
I have a '97 Expy 4X4 with just over 115,000 miles. I guess it's time to change the Ball Joints.

Has anyone done it before and can you give me some advice. I think the uppers will be easy to change because I think they come with the arms and it's just an unbolt / rebolt deal.

The lowers have me a little concerned. I changed the brake rotors last summer and remember the trouble I had getting those off. You simply have to beat them of and of course then they are ruined at $90+ a piece. So... when I change the ball joints I'd like not the take the rotors off. It looks like it may just be possible but the clearance look a little tight. So any advice would be greatly appreciated. Have a wonderfull day and thnks in advance!

Sorry to revive an old thread, but did you ever happen to do this? I was getting some new tires put on and I was told that my ball joints needed an adjustment before they would do the alignment. I had them just give me a certificate for the free alignment and will get it done later. But my question is does anyone think an 01 Expy with about 75k miles needs to have this done? And they offered to do it for a little over $250. Is that a good price? Is this something that could be adjusted fairly easily?

TIA,
Bandy

 

[Tibiko]

I just had lower ball joints changed about a month ago. 97 Expy with 140K miles.
I don't see any way of doing it without taking off the rotors (actually the entire assembly is disconnected off the CV joints)
For the lowers it takes about 45 minutes/side
As of replacement frequency it all depends on the driving habits - off roading, curbs, street bumps,.. all take their toll on the ball joints.

 

[rwinch]

Re: Re: Upper and Lower Ball Joint Replacement

Originally posted by bandy
Sorry to revive an old thread, but did you ever happen to do this? I was getting some new tires put on and I was told that my ball joints needed an adjustment before they would do the alignment.

First of all, I would be a bit suspicious of this shop. Ball joints don't get "adjusted". They are replaced. Usually, you can tell if this is necessary yourself by feeling a "wandering " in the steering, or by tugging on the wheel. See the attached .pdf on this subject. It came from my '98 service CD, but I suspect it would be the same for your '01 (you can get your own for cheap on Ebay).

Good Luck!

 

[PaulC]

Once you get the old rotors off, you may want to apply a skim coat of anti-sieze compound at the points that the rotor contacts the hubs. Might make future rotor removal efforts less miserable.

 

[MitchPeters]

I also need to change ball joints on a '98 2wd. Any problems I should be ready for?