I was cleaning everything for the trip to Sharktoberfest over the weekend
and today I am in Shanghai for work but I will be back on the 3rd.
Jet lag is an ugly animal.
I noticed that the boot around the upper right ball joint is shot.
I have spare rubber boots and not that keen on tackling it as soon as I return.

Can the local repair shops like Big O tire do this or should I take it to my Porsche shop (Bauer Porsche in Oakland)? I am mostly worried about time.
It appears to be a simple job if you have the tools

Van

 

The upper boots are not that bad, I took time off from every one else's car to work on mine today, as it has been months since it got any love other than oil changes and stuff it HAD to have, which was very little.
That was one of the things that got done, only had the parts for 8 months.

Just be sure you do not damage the upper control arm when doing them.

 

I did mine this summer. It was a fun job. I packed them with CV joint grease that I bought at NAPA. There are only two tricky parts:

1. It takes some fiddling to get the clamps on the boot. I reused the yellow ones that were already on the car. But with a couple pair of needle nose pliers I managed fine. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. Probably only took 5-10 minutes to get each one on. IIRC, you put the small one on the boot before putting the boot on. So, only the larger one is tricky to put on.

2. After unseating the joint (I used a pickle fork) and removing the nut it feels as though there may not be enough room to get the joint out of the steering knuckle because the upper a arm hits the coil spring. The trick is to push the steering knuckle and balljoint as far as you can toward the engine compartment and there is just enough room to get the ball joint out.

 

Not having done them before and under the pressure of getting the job done right with only a day or so
to do it and with the added mind numbing jet lag, it's like a drunk trying to do it.
I just did the rear CV's and once I did one the rest was easy. And with an '80 I didn't have to pull the hub off. I just replaced a very worn out rear coupler,
the real question is, why didn't I do this a year ago? What a huge difference. Ignorance is a wonderful thing.

 

Why don't you see if you can do it at Sharktoberfest. It really isn't that bad a job. Or, just do it when you get back. Pack the joint with grease and do it when you get home.

 

if you use a pickle fork you stand a good chance of damaging the seat area of the upper joint and in fact may crack the seating area,
its better to loosen the upper ball joint nut till it spins freely then get a big prybar and press the stud from under the arm this will press the stud out then unscrew the nut

 

Ok, when I get back I will give this a try
Thanks Merlin
v

 

I've never figured there was anything to lever against to do that. I've always found the screw type balljoint separators like this one

work really well

Having said that I normally have more problems with ball joints that won't stay together when loosening or tightening,

 

Something else that may help you loosen it from the seat is giving it a good whack on the side with a hammer. The shock can help jolt it loose from the seated area. This worked well for me.

 

When do you know that the A arm needs to be replaced? My upper ball joint is soft but not totally loose. Is it time or it can wait?
I just did all the shocks.
Bilal

 

The "two-hammer" or "hammer & anvil" method has worked for me. Loosen the nut, then the largest chunk of steel that you can hold on one side of the part that the taper fits in, and a solid whack with a big hammer on the other side. Sometimes take two or three licks, but it usually breaks loose. Access is the biggest problem...

 

The screw type ball joint separators like Jon pictured are available at Harbor Freight for about $15 and they work just fine. And, they're made in Taiwan - rather than China .

James

 

Yes, I believe I used the separator Jon pictured as well. I don't recall this being much of a job - less than an hour. Like all balljoints, getting the locking nut off might be hampered if the shaft comes loose from the joint prematurely and the shaft starts to spin. In that case, some pressure on the backside of the joint will help set the shaft until the nut is removed. Other than that, I can't remember any gotchas unless the joint is bad and needs to be replaced. That can be tricky to evaluate since this joint is spring-loaded and can feel deceptively firm on first inspection when in fact it is worn.