Replacing Bad Ball Joint

[cutty]

Well i found out that my driver's side lower ball joint is bad. So i was wondering what tools are needed to replace it, and around how much it would cost for a new ball joint.

 

They have to be OE ball joints since they have rivets in them.

 

Any help, advice or tips would be great.

[GOT2B GM]

you'll need a drill or grinder to remove the old rivets. Then you'll need a set of needle nose pliers for the cotter pin, and an 18mm wrench to remove the castle nut. After that you'll need a pickle fork or a couple well placed blows with a BFH to pop the ball joint. Your new ball joint will be bolted in with 1/4-20 bolts so you'll need a couple 7/16" sockets or wrenchs.

 

I would imagine a good ball joint would cost around $50 USD.

 

hope that helps

 

 

[cutty]

you'll need a drill or grinder to remove the old rivets. Then you'll need a set of needle nose pliers for the cotter pin, and an 18mm wrench to remove the castle nut. After that you'll need a pickle fork or a couple well placed blows with a BFH to pop the ball joint. Your new ball joint will be bolted in with 1/4-20 bolts so you'll need a couple 7/16" sockets or wrenchs.

 

I would imagine a good ball joint would cost around $50 USD.

 

hope that helps

 

 

 

Sounds easy enough, i think getting the rivets out will be the hardest part.

[GOT2B GM]

Yeah its not that hard really.

[slick]

Pickle fork plus the weight of my body standing on the pickle fork couldn't pop one of mine out. If yours is as stuck as mine was, you may be looking at borrowing an air hammer.

[GOT2B GM]

I find smashing the end of the handle of the fork with a hammer works much better than standing on it. More of a shock impact.

[cutty]

looks like i definately need a pickle fork then.

[slick]

Tried that. Tried stuffing 2 pickle forks in there for extra leverage. Nothing.

[cutty]

^ damn i hope line isn't that much of a pain

[GOT2B GM]

usually its not that bad...if it is.....find a bigger hammer LOL

[cutty]

20lb BFH!!

[GOT2B GM]

you got her!

[White93z34]

Tried that. Tried stuffing 2 pickle forks in there for extra leverage. Nothing.

 

i had a stubborn balljoint recently, nothing short of removing it from the strut, flipping the cradle with control arms upside down and wailing on it with a 10lb sledge, and about a dozen well placed blows could get it out. word of the wise torque it to spec, 65ft lbs.

[ManicMechanic]

When I replaced the control arm on the '94...TAP, TAP, boing. I love rust free Texas cars.

[gp90se]

3lb sledge hammer to the control arm hitting opposite sides each time, usually 6 good hits will get it to pop. I broke my pickle fork on the grand prix years ago

[CSI_MuNkY]

When I did my suspension work I had my brother helping me. He swore up and down that he could do it without a pickle fork, he had done it many times before. Then after him prying on it and messing with it for a good half hour it was nice to hear him say the words "yeah, we need a pickle fork"

 

Mine were stubborn even with the fork, we ended up getting out the sledge hammer and wailing on it a few times, then it popped.

 

Jamie

[mediabandit]

well when i did mine, i used a flat screwdriver to pop it out, i got lucky... but i guess never seeing winter driving makes a big difference. good luck

[5speedz34]

Pickle fork and hammer works best.

 

I plan on getting the GM tool sometime. It should make life gobs easier.

[cutty]

well it looks like i definitely need the pickle fork, and some titanium drill bits. Hopefully soon ill be able to replace it.

[Crazy K]

I'd like to get a balljoint tool. links?

[5speedz34]

I'd like to get a balljoint tool. links?

 

Its a Kent-Moore tool. Buy it through Ebay or them. Last time I checked it was close to $100.

 

GnatGoSplat has one.

[Q-Ball]

Simple words. If I can do it, so can you.

[GOT2B GM]

this is true

[CSI_MuNkY]

Simple words. If I can do it, so can you.

:lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2:

 

I mean... uhhh... Don't be so hard on yourself Jason!

 

Jamie

[GnatGoSplat]

I'd like to get a balljoint tool. links?

 

Its a Kent-Moore tool. Buy it through Ebay or them. Last time I checked it was close to $100.

 

GnatGoSplat has one.

 

Yeah, I have that tool. It makes it sooooooooo easy to pop out even the most stubborn ball joints.

I haven't had to do a W-body ball joint for years, but I did use the tool on my truck even though it's not exactly the right shape for it. It's sure a helluva lot easier than putting muscle into a pickle fork, mainly because I don't have any.