Ball Joints!
Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,002
Likes: 7
From: London, KY
Not yet. My mom is the office manager of a parts store/machine shop so I had her take the knuckles with her today to have the old ones pressed out and the new ones pressed in. I'm also replacing all the bearings and seals in the hubs and axles so that's what I'm doing now while I'm waiting on her to get back with my knuckles.
Postmaster
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 3,061
Likes: 2
my dad was doing the ball joins on his dodge 1500 2wd one time and he was useing a O/A torch to heat them up. one of them got so hot that it actually shot out of its housing. luckily my dad had just moved his head out of the wheel well not even 5 sec before the thing shot out. if he had stayed in there a few seconds longer he could have been killed or screwed up really bad.
So don't have your head hanging over the ball joint when you are heating them up!
So don't have your head hanging over the ball joint when you are heating them up!
Senior User
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 239
Likes: 0
From: Agawam MA
Replace the axle ujoints while you have it apart, you don't want to have to do this whole job over again if they go bad, I think they are less than $20 each... cheap insurance 
I actually was doing my ujoints when I found a bad ball joint last time!
I actually was doing my ujoints when I found a bad ball joint last time!
Senior User
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 423
Likes: 5
My truck needs new front outer ujoints so bad. I am afraid to use 4 wheel drive bc they are in terrible shape. The caps look gone and when I wiggle them I have as much as 3/4 inch of play.
The balljoints need to be replaced also and the spring bushings are bad too.
I have been afraid to tackle all of that at the same time for fear that it might take me more than a day to do it.
Can anyone give any advice on what tools to have on hand or any tips and tricks to knocking out all front balljoints, spring bushings, and outer wheel u-joints on a saturday? I know I need a balljoint press and a special axle nut tool. I probably need new axle nuts also because the only thing ever used on them appears to have been a chisel. I am guilty of using a chisel on them once but they were already in bad shape.
The balljoints need to be replaced also and the spring bushings are bad too.
I have been afraid to tackle all of that at the same time for fear that it might take me more than a day to do it.
Can anyone give any advice on what tools to have on hand or any tips and tricks to knocking out all front balljoints, spring bushings, and outer wheel u-joints on a saturday? I know I need a balljoint press and a special axle nut tool. I probably need new axle nuts also because the only thing ever used on them appears to have been a chisel. I am guilty of using a chisel on them once but they were already in bad shape.
Senior User
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 239
Likes: 0
From: Agawam MA
My truck needs new front outer ujoints so bad. I am afraid to use 4 wheel drive bc they are in terrible shape. The caps look gone and when I wiggle them I have as much as 3/4 inch of play.
The balljoints need to be replaced also and the spring bushings are bad too.
I have been afraid to tackle all of that at the same time for fear that it might take me more than a day to do it.
Can anyone give any advice on what tools to have on hand or any tips and tricks to knocking out all front balljoints, spring bushings, and outer wheel u-joints on a saturday? I know I need a balljoint press and a special axle nut tool. I probably need new axle nuts also because the only thing ever used on them appears to have been a chisel. I am guilty of using a chisel on them once but they were already in bad shape.
The balljoints need to be replaced also and the spring bushings are bad too.
I have been afraid to tackle all of that at the same time for fear that it might take me more than a day to do it.
Can anyone give any advice on what tools to have on hand or any tips and tricks to knocking out all front balljoints, spring bushings, and outer wheel u-joints on a saturday? I know I need a balljoint press and a special axle nut tool. I probably need new axle nuts also because the only thing ever used on them appears to have been a chisel. I am guilty of using a chisel on them once but they were already in bad shape.
Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,002
Likes: 7
From: London, KY
A bunch of PB Parts Blaster! Spray everything you can get to down with it the night before you start on it. You should probably replace your inner and outer hub wheel bearings too since you'll have them out anyway. Autozone has the axle nut socket, it'll run ya about 20 bucks. Getting all that done in one day......good luck! I sure couldn't, but good ole Murphy and his laws always seem to haunt me more than most people though!
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