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Well, since theres really no guide to changing the ball joints on these cars, i decided after i did one side that it might help some people on here for me to take some pics and outline the general process. its really not overly difficult, just requires that you have some good tools, a really good bench vice or access to a press, and time/patience. it took less then 2 hours per side and thats working slow, bullshitting at the same time. if you have to do the ball joints on your car, you should probably also look into new control arm bushings as chances are the ones on your car are worn. your going to need a piece of pipe slightly bigger then the control arm, a pair of snap ring pliers or small 90* pliers, a ball joint fork and a torque wrench along with your usual tools (socket set, hammer, screwdrivers, etc).
1) Jack up the front end of the car and support it with stands. remove the front wheels.
2) remove the 12mm nut holding the brake caliper on and support it off the spindle. remove the 3 14mm strut mount nuts and the 2 17mm nuts under the spindle assembly, and remove the spindles from the car. hang the brake caliper up out of the way. i chose to use the holes for the strut mount.
3) remove the two bolts holding the strut bar/tensioner rod to the the control arm. disconnect the sway bar end link from the control arm. you should be left with this:
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youll notice my strut rod/tensioner arm and sway bar and end links are not there...i removed them from the car to do a bushing upgrade.
4) remove the cotter pin from the ball joint. remove the nut on the ball joint securing the steering knuckle to the control arm. insert the ball joint fork under the steering knuckle and pry upwards. the steering knuckle should pop off. if not, while prying upwards, hit the ball joint with a hammer and it should pop out. i had one side pop off easily and the other required a few hits. you now have this:
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5) remove the boot from the ball joint. there may be a wire on the bottom of the boot that needs to be cut off. clean up the grease.
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6) Remove the bolt holding the control arm to the chassis and pry the control arm out with a pry bar and head to your work bench
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7) use a small screwdriver to pop off the retaining clip
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8) heat up the control arm a little with a torch. it helps to loosen things up, especially where theres corrosion. you should also be wearing a good pair of gloves for the next steps.
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9) using a piece of pipe or big socket (that you dont care about), put the ball joint in the vice and tighten down. its going to need alot of force and you might need to get a cheater bar on the vice or break out the hammer. youll want to apply pressure uniformly over the ball joint, as in press on one spot, when it moves, release the vice and press in on another spot. keep doing this until it pops out of the control arm.
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10) next youll need to press out the bushing. use two sockets or pieces of pipe that you dont care about, one bigger then the bushing, and one about the size of the metal sleeve in the bushing, put them in the vice, and tighten down until the busing pops out.
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11) this is probably the hardest part. inserting the new bushing. if your using poly bushings like me, be sure to lube the inside of the control arm. push the small end of the bushing through the larger side of the control arm. i used a screwdriver to get the lip of the busing in the hole, then put the bushing in the vice to press it all the way in. place a socket on the opposite end of the control arm so that the lip of the bushing can pop out. next, lube the metal sleeve and slide it into the bushing you might need to use the vice for this as well.
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heres a comparison of the new moog ball joint next to the original one. notice how the moog is shorter. im hoping that because of this, ill be able to run my 35mm RCA's on the stock 14" wheels without any modification and they shouldnt hit the rim like some have said the original ball joints do.
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12) next, slide the new ball joint into the control arm. it may require a few taps of a hammer or to put them in the vice so that they sit snug. install the snap ring on the new ball joint. snap ring pliers would be the easiest, but i was able to use small 90* pliers and a screwdriver without any issue. screw in the new zerk grease fitting on the bottom of the ball joint. slide the new boot on the ball joint.
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13) bolt the control arm to the chassis. dont have to torque it yet. this next part isnt necessary i guess since the ball joint instructions didnt say anything about it but i did it anyway. use a piece of thin metal wire and wrap it around the bottom of the ball joint and twist it tight. cut off the excess.
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14) slide the steering knuckle onto the ball joint and press down. screw on the new nut. torque it down to 58 ft lbs. check to see of the slots on the nut align with the holes on the ball joint for the cotter pin. if not, tighten the nut a little more until they do. dont loosen the nut. install the new cotter pin. fill the ball joint with grease.
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15) torque the control arm bolt to 80 ft lb. connect the sway bar link to the control arm and torque it to 13ft lb. connect the strut bar/tensioner rod to the control arm and torque the bolts to 48 ft lbs.
16) re-install the spindle assembly. torque the lower knuckle bolts to 72 ft lb and torque the upper strut mount bolts to 27 ft lb. re-install the brake caliper on the spindle.
Thats it. i hope this helps some people on here. the moog ball joints seem to fit in the control arm good. nice and snug, not loose like some have mentioned a few aftermarket ball joints are. before anyone says anything, my tie rods are shot, and they are getting changed as well. thats for tomorrow.
1) Jack up the front end of the car and support it with stands. remove the front wheels.
2) remove the 12mm nut holding the brake caliper on and support it off the spindle. remove the 3 14mm strut mount nuts and the 2 17mm nuts under the spindle assembly, and remove the spindles from the car. hang the brake caliper up out of the way. i chose to use the holes for the strut mount.
3) remove the two bolts holding the strut bar/tensioner rod to the the control arm. disconnect the sway bar end link from the control arm. you should be left with this:
youll notice my strut rod/tensioner arm and sway bar and end links are not there...i removed them from the car to do a bushing upgrade.
4) remove the cotter pin from the ball joint. remove the nut on the ball joint securing the steering knuckle to the control arm. insert the ball joint fork under the steering knuckle and pry upwards. the steering knuckle should pop off. if not, while prying upwards, hit the ball joint with a hammer and it should pop out. i had one side pop off easily and the other required a few hits. you now have this:
5) remove the boot from the ball joint. there may be a wire on the bottom of the boot that needs to be cut off. clean up the grease.
6) Remove the bolt holding the control arm to the chassis and pry the control arm out with a pry bar and head to your work bench
7) use a small screwdriver to pop off the retaining clip
8) heat up the control arm a little with a torch. it helps to loosen things up, especially where theres corrosion. you should also be wearing a good pair of gloves for the next steps.
9) using a piece of pipe or big socket (that you dont care about), put the ball joint in the vice and tighten down. its going to need alot of force and you might need to get a cheater bar on the vice or break out the hammer. youll want to apply pressure uniformly over the ball joint, as in press on one spot, when it moves, release the vice and press in on another spot. keep doing this until it pops out of the control arm.
10) next youll need to press out the bushing. use two sockets or pieces of pipe that you dont care about, one bigger then the bushing, and one about the size of the metal sleeve in the bushing, put them in the vice, and tighten down until the busing pops out.
11) this is probably the hardest part. inserting the new bushing. if your using poly bushings like me, be sure to lube the inside of the control arm. push the small end of the bushing through the larger side of the control arm. i used a screwdriver to get the lip of the busing in the hole, then put the bushing in the vice to press it all the way in. place a socket on the opposite end of the control arm so that the lip of the bushing can pop out. next, lube the metal sleeve and slide it into the bushing you might need to use the vice for this as well.
heres a comparison of the new moog ball joint next to the original one. notice how the moog is shorter. im hoping that because of this, ill be able to run my 35mm RCA's on the stock 14" wheels without any modification and they shouldnt hit the rim like some have said the original ball joints do.
12) next, slide the new ball joint into the control arm. it may require a few taps of a hammer or to put them in the vice so that they sit snug. install the snap ring on the new ball joint. snap ring pliers would be the easiest, but i was able to use small 90* pliers and a screwdriver without any issue. screw in the new zerk grease fitting on the bottom of the ball joint. slide the new boot on the ball joint.
13) bolt the control arm to the chassis. dont have to torque it yet. this next part isnt necessary i guess since the ball joint instructions didnt say anything about it but i did it anyway. use a piece of thin metal wire and wrap it around the bottom of the ball joint and twist it tight. cut off the excess.
14) slide the steering knuckle onto the ball joint and press down. screw on the new nut. torque it down to 58 ft lbs. check to see of the slots on the nut align with the holes on the ball joint for the cotter pin. if not, tighten the nut a little more until they do. dont loosen the nut. install the new cotter pin. fill the ball joint with grease.
15) torque the control arm bolt to 80 ft lb. connect the sway bar link to the control arm and torque it to 13ft lb. connect the strut bar/tensioner rod to the control arm and torque the bolts to 48 ft lbs.
16) re-install the spindle assembly. torque the lower knuckle bolts to 72 ft lb and torque the upper strut mount bolts to 27 ft lb. re-install the brake caliper on the spindle.
Thats it. i hope this helps some people on here. the moog ball joints seem to fit in the control arm good. nice and snug, not loose like some have mentioned a few aftermarket ball joints are. before anyone says anything, my tie rods are shot, and they are getting changed as well. thats for tomorrow.
