Anyone got a good tech write up on changing ball joints?

Maybe w/ some good pics?

i dont have a write up or any pics but one word of advise. use moog ball joints dont use anything else.

sorry no write ups here either but make sure you have a ball joint press lined up you can do that free through a large parts store. they can be a long drawn out job if you don't have the right tools and things are stubborn.

Air tools help a lot to make it happen fast.

I'll be doing it when I swap knuckles on the Moosestang. I'll write it up when I do it, but it won't be as soon as you would probably like.

I hope someone comes through, I really don't want to go over to STD for help.

Like Jred said, make sure you have the tool they rent at the parts stores. its not that difficult to get the knuckle off - tires, brake calipers, disassemble the hub (c-clips and allen keys), pull the wheel nuts off - you need a special socket for that (its the same one as a dana 44 axle socket) - then the rotor comes off. Six more bolts and the brake shield and spindle come off. Then you can pull the axleshaft out. Take the two knuckle bolts off, get out your BFH, and drop the knuckle. Once you have that out, it will become very apparent how the tool works to get the joints out. File the opening in the knuckle for the joint to get any rust deposits out, and reinstall. The tool the auto part store rents you should have the hardware to press the joints back in, as well. Take a look at the adjustor sleeve in the axle housing where the upper ball joint connects - your ball joints will come with new ones, but if it is in good shape you don't need to replace it. Bolt everything back up, and you're on the road again. I'd get it aligned after the job, as well.

Then you can pull the axleshaft out. Take the two knuckle bolts off, get out your BFH, and drop the knuckle.

Click to expand...

I did mine not long ago, and what I did was to mount an old rim, undo the upper ball joint nut, and then with a real BFH beat on the rim till the ball joints dropped. Then when I got the knuckles off, I took them to a shop, and they pressed the old joints out, and put the new ones in for $50. Not worth the headache to fight with it yourself. Put it all back together, and got an alignment. Nice and tight, and straight as an arrow.

There are some jobs that are just not worth fight with yourself....

Zigg

You do not need that balljoint press, a large deep well, piece of pipe and a hammer does wonders.
To remove hub. Undo the allen screws on cap. Remove cap
Take two small screw drivers, or the tool if there is one, to remove lock ring. Take a pair of snap ring pliars and remove snap ring. Take two of the allen screws and start in hub, remove hub using allen screws as a handle. Take the right socket to remove the big nut. Once the big nut is out you can remove the hub. I also remember there is like 8 more nuts you have to remove to get either the rotor or something else off, remove them to take what ever it is off, you will see it when you get to this point
To get the knuckle or what ever it called off, the thing with the ball joints in it. Get the biggest hammer you can possible wield and swing accurately. Beat the living snot out of the top balljiont until it falls off.
Once you got that off, take the snap ring off the bottom ball joint, secure in a vice and i do mean secure it in a vice, take a punch and that same hammer you had, and hit it. The ball joint will come out with a couple licks. Repeat for the bottom one. Now since the balljionts are now out take your new balljoints and find a piece of pipe or a socket that goes around the OUTER edge of the balljoint. Once this is acquired, tap the ball joint in. Do not use the hammer you used to remove them with. Install the new snap ring on the bottom ball joint. install knuckle
That is how i installed balljoints on my truck. I had to move up to a 15 pound sledge to get the passenger side knuckle off. It was awful.

For some unknown reason, firefox won't let me copy and paste links in tonite.
Anyhow, the closest you are going to get on the balljoint job here is doing a search with "spindle removal" and you will see part of the ordeal. check it out.....remember, "too much violence may not be enough"

zigg said:

...what I did was to mount an old rim, undo the upper ball joint nut, and then with a real BFH beat on the rim till the ball joints dropped.

Click to expand...

I banged on mine for a long time with a hammer and anything i could find to no avail. Finally I went looking for something to help me at the parts stores and found that fork looking thing that I had never used before. The ball joint fork...

Well i popped that in there and gave it one or two taps and the whole thing just popped off. So i would recommend you find a fork that fits and use it. I remember i had to rent the largest one they had.

I apologize for what may seem like a dumb question, but is there any way to replace the ball joints without disassembling the hubs? (i.e. get to them from the inside)

I did my hubs (to the point of removing the spindle and replacing the inner spindle-to-axle bearing) less than 10K miles ago, and have been kicking myself ever since for not doing the ball joints. I'm pretty sure they're original, and I've got some fairly major front suspension issues (truck wanders like there's no tomorrow), to the point where I'm starting to contemplate a complete front-end rebuild. I know that two steering ball joints are bad, and the springs sag enough that I've got camber issues...chances are that just about everything needs to be replaced...

I've never done a 4x4, so i have no idea. From the sounds of it, it seems to be a pretty different job. But maybe that's just me...

Unless you are a magician, you cannot do the ball joints without disassembling the hub assembly etc...
Warden - replace the bad steering joints - get an alignment - you will be amazed at how straight a truck will drive with good steering components and bad ball joints, bad springs, etc....
I'm sorry kcw, but not using a ball joint tool is the reason you had an "it was awful" time with the process. The first time I used the tool, I spent a good couple of days dragging my feet, thinking I should take it somewhere, it's an important part and I should just let someone else do it right... blah blah. I finally just decided to do it, went and got the tool, and brought it back an hour later with the job done... it is soooooo much easier to turn a ratchet than swing a hammer. And its still free. Borrow the tool, finish the job, get back on the road.

Okay. This is helping me. One point though, My ford isn't 4x4.
One more question, do they make greasable ball joints,and are they a good choice?