Remove knuckle/hub to remove fr ball joint? - Page 2 - 3000GT/Stealth International Message Center

JeffWVR4 · 12-05-2006, 10:40 AM

Yeah, the tool I was talking about is like a needle-nose pliers but reversed. When you squeeze the handles together, it will expand the clip so you can get it off. You are going to find that the joints are in there good, and will take a LOT of pressure to get them out, and I mean a LOT!

ProwlerGT · 12-05-2006, 11:22 PM

Maybe this is a stupid question, but placement of the pickle fork goes underneath the arm right? ... between the arm and the ball joint? or above?

JeffWVR4 · 12-06-2006, 06:11 AM

The pickle fork goes between the steering knuckle arm and the ball joint/control arm. The idea is to force the ball joint shaft out of the steering knuckle. Just loosen the ball joint nut as much as you can before it hits the CV shaft, then insert the pickle fork an beat the crap out of it until the ball joint shaft pops out of the steering knuckle.

JeffWVR4 · 12-06-2006, 06:13 AM

I took my car to the tire shop yesterday to have my snow tires put on for the winter. They also found that both my ball joints are bad. So I'll be replacing mine again too, as soon as the joints arrive. This will be my 3rd set in 5 years!

ProwlerGT · 12-06-2006, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffWVR4

I took my car to the tire shop yesterday to have my snow tires put on for the winter. They also found that both my ball joints are bad. So I'll be replacing mine again too, as soon as the joints arrive. This will be my 3rd set in 5 years!

WOW! How many miles is on your car dude? I'm curious... and glad that my conversation spawned you to check yours ! lol

I thought the idea was to force the ball joint out of the control arm? I mean when you loosen the nut on top (which I've done as far as it can go; touching the CV now) doesn't the bj shaft just slide out of the knuckle? or is there binding at both the knuckle AND the lower arm?

JeffWVR4 · 12-06-2006, 11:55 AM

The ball joint shaft is binding in the steering knuckle. This is what you want to break loose with the pickle fork. After that, then you can remove the nut the rest of the way and get the shaft out of the knuckle. Then you remove the clip from the ball joint on top of the lower control arm and press the ball joint out. Can't remember for sure, but I'm pretty sure the joint has to be pressed out the bottom of the control arm and not the top.

I've been through 3 sets of ball joints. I replaced both lower control arms with ball joints at 135K miles. At 170K miles I replaced the ball joints only. And now at close to 197K, they're bad again. But I'm pretty sure that with as many times as I've had to pop the joints loose to remove the tranny to replace clutches in the last few years, I damaged the ball joint boots allowing water and crud to get into the joint and cause premature wear. I'll know for sure when I remove them in a week or so.

ProwlerGT · 12-06-2006, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffWVR4

The ball joint shaft is binding in the steering knuckle. This is what you want to break loose with the pickle fork. After that, then you can remove the nut the rest of the way and get the shaft out of the knuckle. Then you remove the clip from the ball joint on top of the lower control arm and press the ball joint out. Can't remember for sure, but I'm pretty sure the joint has to be pressed out the bottom of the control arm and not the top.

I've been through 3 sets of ball joints. I replaced both lower control arms with ball joints at 135K miles. At 170K miles I replaced the ball joints only. And now at close to 197K, they're bad again. But I'm pretty sure that with as many times as I've had to pop the joints loose to remove the tranny to replace clutches in the last few years, I damaged the ball joint boots allowing water and crud to get into the joint and cause premature wear. I'll know for sure when I remove them in a week or so.

WOW - that means our ball joints go bad at a rate of approximately 45 to 50k miles. That seems kinda silly to me actually, but maybe thats a usual thing on most cars. I'm going to try to get mine to go longer by rubberize undercoating the rubber everywhere there is rubber after everything is put back together in its natural "bent" formation because it is the "bends" that cause the rubber to go out eventually leading to the dirt inside the joints then breaking them over time. BROKEN BALLS ! LOL

1. Ok, so let me get this straight. You've been a HUGE help to me here btw. After I get it out and press the new one back into the arm is there a process for pressing the ball joint shaft back into the knuckle arm hole or does the weight of the car do that for us?

2. FYI - I learned something the other day. I didn't know that there were ball joints inside the stablizer/assist links. That just goes to show what I knew about suspensions. Would it be stupid to try and reuse an old link? Like lube it up with oil (grease later) to clean it up and wiggle it till it moved nearly like new?

3. Do you think from looking at the pic in post#1 of this thread that I should disassemble the CV for inspection? I had thought that might be spilled brake fluid on there, but judging from how the fluid seems to have spread its making me think its coming out of the cv boot. What would you do? Personally I feel like leaving it alone, but if this fluid indicates something I'd like to know before I reassemble this big mess.

JeffWVR4 · 12-06-2006, 12:52 PM

Keep in mind though, I suspect my joints have gone out prematurely due to broken boots caused by how many times I've used the pickle fork in there. But yeah, I've only gotten 26K to 35K miles out of the last 2 sets. I live on a short gravel road too, so maybe that had something to do with it also.

1) Once you get the ball joint reinstalled, get the shaft back in the knuckle and install and tighten the nut. This will seat it in there properly.

2) Those swaybar end links are like mini ball joints. They will loosen or break over time. In many cases, the stud will break off when you try to remove the nut. So unless they are broken or feel loose, I'd leave them alone. Although it is a little difficult to tell how loose they are unless you take the load off them.

3) It looks in the pic like the clamp on your CV boot may have broken. And that fluid you see is probably grease from inside the CV boot. See if you can look inside the boot and see if there's still grease in there. If it looks contaminated or rusty, and if that boot is actually torn, I'd recommend replacing the entire shaft with a rebuilt assembly. They cost about $70 at AutoZone or NAPA. Trying to rebuild them yourself is more trouble than it's worth. And to replace that shaft you have to pop the balljoint loose again unless you do it now.

ProwlerGT · 12-06-2006, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffWVR4

1) Once you get the ball joint reinstalled, get the shaft back in the knuckle and install and tighten the nut. This will seat it in there properly.

Think I should retighten them a bit once the car is down on its wheels again? or just use the jack to elevate the lower arm to a positive degree and then tighten?

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffWVR4

2) Those swaybar end links are like mini ball joints. They will loosen or break over time. In many cases, the stud will break off when you try to remove the nut. So unless they are broken or feel loose, I'd leave them alone. Although it is a little difficult to tell how loose they are unless you take the load off them.

Well, I've taken those off and 3 of the 4 mini ball joints seemed hard to move around, but none seemed "loose inside their seats" and luckily my studs didn't break. In any case I have new ones on order, but I think I'll save my old ones in case one day we can't get them anymore.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffWVR4

3) It looks in the pic like the clamp on your CV boot may have broken. And that fluid you see is probably grease from inside the CV boot. See if you can look inside the boot and see if there's still grease in there. If it looks contaminated or rusty, and if that boot is actually torn, I'd recommend replacing the entire shaft with a rebuilt assembly. They cost about $70 at AutoZone or NAPA. Trying to rebuild them yourself is more trouble than it's worth. And to replace that shaft you have to pop the balljoint loose again unless you do it now.

Well, I'm going to clean it up real good and do a good "light" inspection and post pics. It didn't seem to me the bracket was broken, but I'll inspect better when its clean. If replacing 1 shaft would you recommend replacing the other as well? The driver side does look clean though... by clean I mean "dry".

Am I driving ya nuts yet?

JeffWVR4 · 12-06-2006, 02:07 PM

Hey no problem. Glad I can help. It's not uncommon for theose CV boots to crack over time. When this happens it's just a matter of time before the joints go bad. If the boot's not cracked and you're not hearing any strange noises when making slow hard turns, it's probably ok.

12-05-2006, 10:40 AM	#11 (permalink)
JeffWVR4 Certified Car Nut Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Belleville, MI Drives: Like a Grandpa Trader Rating: (1)	Re: Remove knuckle/hub to remove fr ball joint? Yeah, the tool I was talking about is like a needle-nose pliers but reversed. When you squeeze the handles together, it will expand the clip so you can get it off. You are going to find that the joints are in there good, and will take a LOT of pressure to get them out, and I mean a LOT! __________________ Jeff W. Red '92 VR4 214,000 mile daily driver that run's 11's! Once I convinced the wife I needed 600hp to drive to work every day, 1/4 mile at a time, the rest was easy Big 16G Turbos w/IPS headers and pre-cat eliminators, DR Stage 3 heads, 92mm Wiseco pistons, PTE 680cc injectors, ARC2 fuel controller, HKS Twin-Power Ignition, HKS EVC IV BC, HKS SSBOV, Alamo I/C's and HardPipe kit, ATR DP, Borla exhaust, NeedsWings Electronic Exhaust Cutout, MSD 8.5mm plug wires, Denso Stage1 fuel pump, DR Fuel Pump Hotwire Kit, South Bend FE/SS Stage 5 clutch, Boost Cooler water/meth injection, DynoTech Metal-Matrix aluminum driveshaft, no cats, Eibach lowering springs, PowerStop/Stillin rotors, Goodrich SS brake lines, PSI Tire Pressure Monitor System, AEM Wide-Band O2, Fittipaldi wheels, 2-tone all-leather Interior. Last edited by JeffWVR4 : 12-05-2006 at 10:48 AM.

12-06-2006, 06:11 AM	#13 (permalink)
JeffWVR4 Certified Car Nut Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Belleville, MI Drives: Like a Grandpa Trader Rating: (1)	Re: Remove knuckle/hub to remove fr ball joint? The pickle fork goes between the steering knuckle arm and the ball joint/control arm. The idea is to force the ball joint shaft out of the steering knuckle. Just loosen the ball joint nut as much as you can before it hits the CV shaft, then insert the pickle fork an beat the crap out of it until the ball joint shaft pops out of the steering knuckle.

12-06-2006, 06:13 AM	#14 (permalink)
JeffWVR4 Certified Car Nut Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Belleville, MI Drives: Like a Grandpa Trader Rating: (1)	Re: Remove knuckle/hub to remove fr ball joint? I took my car to the tire shop yesterday to have my snow tires put on for the winter. They also found that both my ball joints are bad. So I'll be replacing mine again too, as soon as the joints arrive. This will be my 3rd set in 5 years!

12-06-2006, 11:55 AM	#16 (permalink)
JeffWVR4 Certified Car Nut Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Belleville, MI Drives: Like a Grandpa Trader Rating: (1)	Re: Remove knuckle/hub to remove fr ball joint? The ball joint shaft is binding in the steering knuckle. This is what you want to break loose with the pickle fork. After that, then you can remove the nut the rest of the way and get the shaft out of the knuckle. Then you remove the clip from the ball joint on top of the lower control arm and press the ball joint out. Can't remember for sure, but I'm pretty sure the joint has to be pressed out the bottom of the control arm and not the top. I've been through 3 sets of ball joints. I replaced both lower control arms with ball joints at 135K miles. At 170K miles I replaced the ball joints only. And now at close to 197K, they're bad again. But I'm pretty sure that with as many times as I've had to pop the joints loose to remove the tranny to replace clutches in the last few years, I damaged the ball joint boots allowing water and crud to get into the joint and cause premature wear. I'll know for sure when I remove them in a week or so.

12-06-2006, 12:52 PM	#18 (permalink)
JeffWVR4 Certified Car Nut Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Belleville, MI Drives: Like a Grandpa Trader Rating: (1)	Re: Remove knuckle/hub to remove fr ball joint? Keep in mind though, I suspect my joints have gone out prematurely due to broken boots caused by how many times I've used the pickle fork in there. But yeah, I've only gotten 26K to 35K miles out of the last 2 sets. I live on a short gravel road too, so maybe that had something to do with it also. 1) Once you get the ball joint reinstalled, get the shaft back in the knuckle and install and tighten the nut. This will seat it in there properly. 2) Those swaybar end links are like mini ball joints. They will loosen or break over time. In many cases, the stud will break off when you try to remove the nut. So unless they are broken or feel loose, I'd leave them alone. Although it is a little difficult to tell how loose they are unless you take the load off them. 3) It looks in the pic like the clamp on your CV boot may have broken. And that fluid you see is probably grease from inside the CV boot. See if you can look inside the boot and see if there's still grease in there. If it looks contaminated or rusty, and if that boot is actually torn, I'd recommend replacing the entire shaft with a rebuilt assembly. They cost about $70 at AutoZone or NAPA. Trying to rebuild them yourself is more trouble than it's worth. And to replace that shaft you have to pop the balljoint loose again unless you do it now.

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12-06-2006, 02:07 PM	#20 (permalink)
JeffWVR4 Certified Car Nut Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Belleville, MI Drives: Like a Grandpa Trader Rating: (1)	Re: Remove knuckle/hub to remove fr ball joint? Hey no problem. Glad I can help. It's not uncommon for theose CV boots to crack over time. When this happens it's just a matter of time before the joints go bad. If the boot's not cracked and you're not hearing any strange noises when making slow hard turns, it's probably ok.