If the ball stud is loose and turning freely with the nut still on, one must either hope that there is a allan or torx fitting in the head of the stud as mentioned above ...... or recompress the tapered stud into the arm: once the latter is done, there will be sufficient friction to stabilize the stud, and allow the nut to be turned.

There are two easy ways to press & hold the stud back into the hub/spindle: the first is to use a floor jack under the hub .... and do the obvious. The second is to use a ratcheting web strap around the upper A-arm and lower control arm .... then ratchet the stud into contact. The nut will then do whatever you want.

The tool shown in post 13 is the type I use to separate ball joints .... it does dick for you once they are separated .... which is why the nut should be completely loosened and only left on finger tight before the joint is first opened. They mostly open with an explosive bang .... which is why the nut is left on loosely - to contain the parts due to the violent release.

 

This upper ball joint is really kicking my azz. Anybody have any experience removing the nut without the bolt spinning? I'm running out of daylight here....

 

Thanks for the caution Garth. So put the floor jack UNDER the hub, then jack? I tried this with no luck. The photo in the WSM shows a bar going on TOP of the arm. I'm not sure what the hell... I wish I could show you the picture in the manual, but I cant save it.

 

You push down with the pry bar to prevent the pin from turning.

 

Well I will give it try and let you know.

 

You can use a pry bar as described, or stick the ball separator in there, put some tension on it, and that should keep the stud from spinning. As you loosen the nut on the ball joint, you will need to put more tension on the ball separator as you go along. Tedious, but I had mine off in about 15 minutes.

Of course, that was about about an after I sat around figuring how I was going to get the stud to stop spinning.

 

Remember that the upper arm doesn't support the car at all. It just keeps the knuckle from moving around.

You need to clamp the upper arm to the lower arm. Or use a pry bar. Something to force the upper arm down into the knuckle.

I've got a pair of long furniture clamps that reach from the lower arm to the upper that I use in the case. Squeezing them together tightens the knuckle onto the stud. Put a shot of penetrating oil on the threads, too.

Always fun to improvise. As you're in CA you've got time to get to the store.

And you'll probable have the same problem getting the metal lock nuts back onto the studs. The ball studs will turn unless they are really clean and you're jamming them into the holes.

 

I just changed my upper boots (in the nick of time too). This is the second time I replaced them on two separate 928's. You must insert a long prybar through the arm and seat it under the end that goes parallel to the engine bay, then push down on the arm *hard* as you turn the nut. If it's still spinning, you are not pushing hard enough. Also, go very slow and smooth. I found that going slower worked better than trying to spin it fast.

Dan
'91 928GT S/C 475hp/460lb.ft

 

If nothing else helps tool like this will split the nut and free its grip around stud making it rotate much easier. Kukko makes version which has two wedges. Its even better than these cheap single wedge versions.

 

I had the same problem on the lower BJ and used one of these to clamp the two pieces together. I'm not looking at the upper right now but it may work for you too.

 

the idea with the pry bar is to hold pressure on top of the Upper control arm in a downward direction. This will preload the BJ stud into the knuckle and you should be able to unscrew the nut, jacking the suspension up a bit will also assist you in being able to add more downward force to the knuckle/stud with your long prybar