land_shark

Anyone have a procedure for replacing the lower ball joint on a 1980? Drivers side.

jpitman2

Alloy to steel, steel to steel? If latter, mark current position CAREFULLY (to within 1mm), and positions of adjusters before loosening anything. If alloy to steel, they are very different outlines, so marking wont help much. Both will mean a re-alignment. If you could accurately measure camber angle of wheel once jacked up, and try to reproduce it after replacement, you can minimize short term tyre wear while settling front end before getting it aligned, but you shouldnt hurt much in 50 miles. Get a ball joint separator tool beforehand to get joint out of spindle eye. check upper joint boots WYAIT and replace if necessary. You can re-use the old mounting plates - new ones just have shorter bolts.
jp 83 Euro S at 47k BTDT....

Garth S

The only tricky part is seperation of the ball joint stud from the spindle: If you do not have a 'separator' as jpitman2 mentions, a good solid blow from a hammer works well.
Back off the ball joint stud nut, but leave the last 2-3 threads engaged: If you trust your aim, one sharp blow to the steel eye of the spindle containing the tapered bj stud will almost always release it - very suddenly!(that's why the nut is left on, and hit a right angles to the stud). 10 taps will not release it - one blow will! Some refine this high tech approach by using two hammers - the second of which is held flush with the reverse side of the eye while the opposite side is struck.

SharkSkin

Personally I prefer the two hammer approach; less likely to bend something.

Steve J.

I am going from alloy to steel and will try and reproduce the current alignment after the upgrade. An attachment on the laser level makes the output a line instead of a dot. The line runs the length of the car on the floor and up the wall behind the car. By making marks on the floor and wall I should be able to reproduce toe and camber. Question - Can the spindle remain attached to the upper ball joint and tie rod during the swap?

JE928Sx4.

I have some pictures if that helps. You're not just doing the one side are you?

http://members.rennlist.com/jeifert/ALBJ01.JPG
http://members.rennlist.com/jeifert/ALBJ02.JPG
http://members.rennlist.com/jeifert/ALBJ03.JPG
http://members.rennlist.com/jeifert/ALBJ04.JPG
http://members.rennlist.com/jeifert/ALBJ05.JPG
http://members.rennlist.com/jeifert/ALBJ06.JPG
http://members.rennlist.com/jeifert/ALBJ07.JPG
http://members.rennlist.com/jeifert/ALBJ08.JPG
http://members.rennlist.com/jeifert/ALBJ09.JPG
http://members.rennlist.com/jeifert/ALBJ10.JPG
http://members.rennlist.com/jeifert/ALBJ11.JPG
http://members.rennlist.com/jeifert/ALBJ12.JPG
http://members.rennlist.com/jeifert/ALBJ13.JPG
http://members.rennlist.com/jeifert/ALBJ14.JPG
http://members.rennlist.com/jeifert/ALBJ15.JPG
http://members.rennlist.com/jeifert/ALBJ16.JPG
http://members.rennlist.com/jeifert/ALBJ17.JPG
http://members.rennlist.com/jeifert/ALBJ18.JPG
http://members.rennlist.com/jeifert/ALBJ19.JPG
http://members.rennlist.com/jeifert/ALBJ20.JPG

land_shark

Need a little hand holding here.

I ***-u-me that I have alloy ones right now since they are on an '80. the new ones (from 928int) will be the steel. Correct?

The steel ones require longer bolts?

So here is my procedure so far:

1. Mark plate for reinstall.

2. Remove two bolts from plate.

3. loosen nut on top of spindle.

4. Give it a good wack to break loose.

5. Replace with new joint.

Anything special to get the new spindle back in? Obviously didn't want to come out. Boot will already be on the new ball joint? Any special tools?

How important to do the other side if the boot looks fine? Not really in my budget for this year. Uppers look fine to.

I'm doing the oil pan gasket at the same time. My mechanic said I would need to remove the lower cross member to get the pan out. Is this the perfered method since I will need an alignment anyway or is the engine hoisting method better?

Sorry for all the questions. You guys have been great.

jpitman2

No the steel ones need shorter bolts on the plate - thinner body to ball joint base. You can retain the old plate and lng bolts, as long as they tighten up ok - ie dont run out of thread. Doing up the new ball joint nut - joint taper may try to turn in spindle eye - load the joint upwards from below to jam it into tapered eye. WSM specifies torque for nut, but you cant get a socket on it - practice the torque spec for feel, try to get the same. AND DO THEM BOTH!!!! THEY BREAK!!
jp 83 Euro S AT 47k BTDT....

Garth S

Just before lambasting anything with a hammer, let's clarify our definitions.
Quote "4. Give it a good wack to break loose"
"it" is the steel eye of the spindle into which is fitted the ball joint stud. Do not hit either the nut or the stud. (pardon the caution, but point #3 allowed for the nut to be hit).
As to whether the carrier is Al or steel - test with a magnet. The Al one is ~ 1/2" thick, nearly twice that of the steel carrier.

SharkSkin

Land_shark, the safest way to get that ball joint out of there, especially if you haven't done something like this before, is to use the "two Hammer" method. First and most important, take off the nut and give the joint under there a liberal dose of Liquid Wrench. Let it soak at least a few minutes.

Use the largest hammer you can against one side of the "eye". It should be larger than the hammer you are swinging with. Hold the large hammer tight against one side of the eye as shown in the diagram and swing the smaller hammer against the opposite side of the eye. Try hitting it lightly... it's hard to convey the strength of a hammer strike... but start small. If you're hitting it so hard that it sends the backup hammer flying, you're hitting it too hard or need a bigger backup hammer. Once I used an old 3/4 ton truck axle to back it up; worked fantastic. the whole point of this method is to squeeze the tapered joint out without bending anything.

Honestly though, most every time I have used this method the joint came apart with a couple of light taps. When it didn't, I'd soak it a bit longer with liquid wrench.

Diagram is from perspective of looking down along axis of threaded portion of ball joint

John Struthers

Just finished mine a few weeks ago.
Supported 'spindle' with a jack on left side, left nut on and gave it a rap with a framing hammer. Came right out.
Penetrating oil on the other side, no support, rapped with same hammer. Came right out.
Used same brackets no thread problems. If you haven't pulled the hub/rotors - i.e., you only pulled the carrier and bearing - you should be able to re-install the steel carrier/balljoint with little or no problem.
At worst you may have to pry up on the 'A' arm with a pry bar a little to compress the spring, or, jack-up the hub a little for clearance.
I bought a cheap set of crow's feet at O'Riellys - $23.00 - and used them to torque the nuts. I had everything apart, 'A' arm, carrier, steering knuckle so I had a little more work to do. I did have to snug some of the nuts with a socket or an open end wrench first then torqued with socket or crow's foot.
When using the crows foot you may have to snug the nut for 'position' so you can get the Crows foot on as it is wider than most wrenches. You can always grind it down for fit as well.
I, too, made all sorts of nifty measurements prior to disassembly, but I decided to turn the rotors while I was in there...erk! Changed measurements!
Last thing... if it hasn't been mentioned... absolutely, no grease on the bearing shaft or tapered spindle recieving hole or you won't be able to tighten the bearing nut, the whole bearing shaft will spin no matter how much load you put on it.. I used brake cleaner and clean shop rags/paper towels. I used anti-sieze on threaded critters during assembly, the WSM tells you where not to use it.

Rez

JE,

I see you used a special tool to release the upper control arm from the steering knuckle, so as to replace the boot. Is this tool necessary or will the 2 hammer method work up here too? reason for asking is there appears to be more room on the lower arm as opposed to the upper.

jpitman2

To avoid costly mistakes (damaged ball joint boots, or even worse, damaged alloy upper arm), get one of these:-
http://www.jcwhitney.com/webapp/wcs/...&storeId=10101
Item on the left. The fork area may need a little grinding to thin the inner edges to go around the rubber boot better (lube helps). Then just slide into place, tighten bolt, tap with hammer, tighten, until it separates. Sometimes if tight this happens with a BANG! Leave the ball joint nut in place but loose so the tie rod doesnt rush out and hit you.
jp 83 Euro S AT 47k, BTDT

JE928Sx4.

The JC Whitney tool noted above would be a better tool.