Ball joint removal
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Senior User
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 191
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Ball joint removal
I havent seen much on this site for ball joints, wondering if any of you guys have done them on your truck.
Everything is off now, except for the spindle. The lower ball joint nut is off, the castle nut off the top one is also off. There was a snap ring on another nut under the castle nut, and that came off, as well as some spacer deals. The nut under that will not come off. The question is, does it need to? that looks like the only thing that is holding the spindle on. to me it looks like it has to. i tried wrenching on it, ended up semi-rounding it off, torched it, and throughout the whole process, a lot of wd-40 has been used. There is a notch on the backside of the nut, is there some special tool that is needed to pull this nut off? there are some tabs on the spindle that wont let a socket get all the way on there..
Any help would be awesome.
thanks
Everything is off now, except for the spindle. The lower ball joint nut is off, the castle nut off the top one is also off. There was a snap ring on another nut under the castle nut, and that came off, as well as some spacer deals. The nut under that will not come off. The question is, does it need to? that looks like the only thing that is holding the spindle on. to me it looks like it has to. i tried wrenching on it, ended up semi-rounding it off, torched it, and throughout the whole process, a lot of wd-40 has been used. There is a notch on the backside of the nut, is there some special tool that is needed to pull this nut off? there are some tabs on the spindle that wont let a socket get all the way on there..
Any help would be awesome.
thanks
Senior User
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 113
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If you have the nuts off and a ball joint press and heat havent moved the old ones out,I move on to plan B.Put a cut off wheel in a side grinder,cut the ball joint off between the spindle and attaching ears.Now the spindle is out of the way.Now torch the center out of what is left of ball joint and the rest will fall out.You need to be a pretty steady hand with a torch but it works.Now when you go back together use some antisieze,the silver stuff never use that copper colored kind it is bad ju ju.Hope this helps.Pike
Cargo Master
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 3,027
Likes: 9
From: Manchester, CT USA
The lower ball joint nut is off, the castle nut off the top one is also off. There was a snap ring on another nut under the castle nut, and that came off, as well as some spacer deals. The nut under that will not come off. The question is, does it need to? that looks like the only thing that is holding the spindle on. to me it looks like it has to. i tried wrenching on it, ended up semi-rounding it off, torched it, and throughout the whole process, a lot of wd-40 has been used. There is a notch on the backside of the nut, is there some special tool that is needed to pull this nut off? there are some tabs on the spindle that wont let a socket get all the way on there.
It goes here:
You shouldn't have to do anything with that right now. If both castle nuts are off (top and bottom balljoints) all you need now is a big F'n hammer. turn the spindle away from the front of the truck and give the inside bottom of the spindle a hard wack. the spindle will fall off. the ball joints are attached to the spindle. After the spindle is off then you can remove the now mangled camber bushing.
When you are ready to re-install the spindle remember to tighten the bottom balljoint first (Very Important) then put in the new camber bushing and tighten the top. The bushing needs to be able to turn in order to align the front axle. If you tighten the top the lower joint wont seat.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 1,964
Likes: 2
From: Fort Worth
Oh. All this spindle talk was so confusing. The knuckle is what you're trying to remove. The spindle is the piece pressed into the center of the knuckle. Anywho, put the lower nut back on a couple of threads and knock the knuckle off. A rubber mallet won't cut it; you need the mechanical shock of a sledge. Also, look up the tightening sequence in your manual. There is a proper sequence to it.
Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 19,402
Likes: 38
From: Bonita Springs FL
Let's get some terminology straight.
The spindle is the shiny thing that the wheel bearings ride on.
The knuckle is the heavy piece of heat-tempered cast iron that the balljoints are pressed into.
BTW you should never, ever use heat on the knuckle because it will lose its heat temper.
The spindle is the shiny thing that the wheel bearings ride on.
The knuckle is the heavy piece of heat-tempered cast iron that the balljoints are pressed into.
BTW you should never, ever use heat on the knuckle because it will lose its heat temper.
Elder User
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 769
Likes: 3
thats right on 2wd they idiot proof the front end by putting in the ibeam "DO NOT HEAT BEND OR WELD" i mean its in BIG letters saying not to do it and if you do it is common sense that there will be serious consequences Especially when dealing with a front axle situation
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Fleet Mechanic
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From: Fort Worth
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Senior User
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 113
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Let's get some terminology straight.
The spindle is the shiny thing that the wheel bearings ride on.
The knuckle is the heavy piece of heat-tempered cast iron that the balljoints are pressed into.
BTW you should never, ever use heat on the knuckle because it will lose its heat temper.
The spindle is the shiny thing that the wheel bearings ride on.
The knuckle is the heavy piece of heat-tempered cast iron that the balljoints are pressed into.
BTW you should never, ever use heat on the knuckle because it will lose its heat temper.
Cargo Master
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 3,027
Likes: 9
From: Manchester, CT USA
Andy's right again although I think the confusion is from a two wheel drive vehicle where this is all one piece and called the spindle. I didn't mean to add to the confusion but I often confuse the part names myself.
Cargo Master
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 3,027
Likes: 9
From: Manchester, CT USA
It is what the Ford service manual tells us to use. Here is a good pic for all of us. It shows the two wheel drive spindle and where to hit it with the BFH. This pic is from the 1992 Ford Service Manual.
Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 19,402
Likes: 38
From: Bonita Springs FL
BFH is definitely the way to go with these things. Four or five whacks with a 5 lb hammer and it doesn't stand a chance. A cutoff wheel seems like a lot of work and it's not going to loosen the balljoint stud inside the camber adjuster. You're still going to have to find a way to get it out. Probably won't be too much extra work but even so.
Just make sure you thread one of the nuts back on a few threads. A 30 lb steering knuckle will be drawn to your toes like a magnet.
Just make sure you thread one of the nuts back on a few threads. A 30 lb steering knuckle will be drawn to your toes like a magnet.
Been there!!