I received these a week or so ago. Any thoughts or suggestions before I tackle this project? Do's and don'ts?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7936634414&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT

I bought either MOOG or TRW last year (can't remember) and replaced the original riveted ball joints. It took twice as long as I expected, but I found the originals were far more worn than I thought, and were ready to fail.

Raise and support securely, remove the wheel and rotor or drum, wrap the spindle with a rag. Hang the caliper securely if you have discs.

A two pound sledge and a ball joint fork served to loosen the taper, after applying PB Blaster and loosening the castle nut a couple of turns. Then the shaft will come free if you back the nut flush with the top of the stud and smack it to drive the stud out. Finish using the fork to lever it out after removing the nut. Then drill the rivets or grind the heads, staying exactly on center and perpendicular to the face, and the rest is easy. Hardest thing was drill the rivets. My compressor was down at the time so I couldn't grind them. The calipers also always seemed to be in the way.

I didn't use heat or one of the press-type removers, but if I hadn't gotten them broken loose in a reasonable time I'd have borrowed one of the press type removers. They work like a balancer puller.

Replace as soon as possible if they are worn......
I drove my car late last spring on a sat nite ,coming back from a friends house,..cruising 95 mph ,top down ,elbow on door , along the conc barrier on the feeway...parked it over nite , took it out next morning and drove 300 yds up the street at 5 mph (max) when the upper ball joint on drivers side decided to break off!wheel just fell out at bottom , luckliy at that speed nothing happened...
if it had happened 1 mi. earlier , i.e. nite before, I probably would have needed a new elbow, paint and body work....

Mine did not show symptoms of wear, no play or noise or hopping on uneven pavement. The sockets were full of rust and dry grease, and just a few hammer blows caused the junk to fall out and the balls to become very loose in the socket. The upper on the passenger side was a pain because I couldn't loosen the nut; the stud was spinning. So I cut off the nut and then proceeded, using a spare nut for driving.

It was a good wakeup call. I lost an upper on the passenger side of a Ventura I once had...came skidding to an abrupt stop from 40 mph. Since then, ball joints and tie rod ends are suspect until replaced.

Lowers come out easy with a wedgesledge and the arm supported. You definitely should use a balljoint press to get the new in.

Uppers take a while to drill rivets, like Vikki said.
A torch and air hammer make short work of them.

When doing both upper and lower, I find it easiest to disconnect the drum brake line and completely remove the whole spindle and set it aside. If disc, just hang the caliper, but remove the rotor and backing plate or you may end up bending it to get it untangled from the lower arm. Swing the knuckle down by its tie-rod.

Make sure the car is high enough and supported in a way that you can still get the B/J press underneath.

I bought a Cutlass'87 once and drove it directly to the shop so I could check out the front end. Tie rods were junk, and when I went to split the first one, it just dropped right off the ball. I sat down and contemplated life for a minute then. I had just hit the steering arm with a sledge and the tie-rod disintegrated.

I've assisted more than one person in getting to the shop with a broken joint, though mine have never popped while driving.. My (NissanD21) sector shaft split once right above the pitman, and I hit some parked cars. After it broke, I could see where it had been cracked for a while. That sucked. I had already gone thru it and replaced a B/J and some bushings.

Definately use a press to get the bottom ones in.
It saves alot of work.

When I replaced mine I used the bolt ins.

Whos going to have their nose in your wheelwell to look for the original pop rivets style.

My front end is apart right now. I have drums and have the whole wheel assemblies sitting on milk crates with the brake lines still connected - anything to avoid bleeding the brakes!

One way to go is to get the Tamraz upper and lower control arms off e-bay. It'll cost about $600 but they come with ball joints and bushings installed, the upper with rivets. I just ordered the lower control arms since I destroyed one of mine getting it apart. Hopefully I can still use the uppers.

I also used a floor jack under the control arm while pounding the joints loose, then lowered it to release the knuckle after both studs were loose.

I did forget to mention the press for the lowers, thanks, Scott! Loan of that tool was free when I bought the new ball joints from the local parts store.

Oh you guys are making my stomach turn! Beating the crap out of these and using presses under the darn car! I thought they would be relatively simple bolt-ins!

Bob S., I like your idea and will probably put these four boxes of ball-joints on the shelf as back-ups!

They are not bad with the right tools, esp if you have someone who has done it before with you.

Dont forget you are dealing with the spring too. Replacing the lower arm will involve spring removal, but as a bonus, you get new lower arm bushings.

If you opt to use those balljoints, and the bushings are still good, you can just keep the lower arm supported to hold the spring without removing it. Not a bad idea to chain it though.

By now you want new bushings though. Pull the springs and take the arms up to a shop....

After that, you'll be pulling the subframe

Nash, like Scott said, Im a firm believer in the power of the torch. I wouldve never gotten mine out myself without using it, but Im sure its a lil harder to do while its still on the car...I had mine totally disassembled when I did them. I even used a press and they wouldnt budge, but the ol' torch surely saved me a trip to my friends shop! Charlie
WARNING: The author cannot be held responsible for subsequent burns to the arms and/or hands.

Nash, if you take off the control arms and springs, you can then clean up all the rust on the subframe that you can't get to otherwise

Autozone will loan ball joint press (C-clamp style) at no charge. You just have to plop down a security deposit.

- Jake

Thanks Jake, and all for the comments. I'm gonna take this project on! Never back down, expect no mercy!!!

ATTA BOY!!! If I can do it, anybody can.

I am starting the front end rebuild also.

Two questions -
1) where do you place the jackstands since the lower A-arm is getting pulled?
2) How do you tell if the idler arm needs to be replaced? My "kit" did not have one.

I did not pull the lower A arms, but I placed the jack stands under the rockers, and used a floor jack to raise/lower the lower A arm, keeping the springs under compression. Use a safety chain through the spring and A arm to prevent surprises.

My front end is apart. I've got the front of the car sitting on stacked 6X6's under the front cross member.

For the springs, I took an angle grinder and cut the coils and just removed them in pieces. It's exciting when the spring lets loose but it is pretty safe since the shock will contain the spring. I had to cut 4 turns on each to fully relieve the spring tension.

Ever seen a shock explode? Ever had one apart and see the flimsy insides? I know people seem to count on the shock to hold the spring, but I wont. I've also seen the top mount pull thru the frame.


Anyway, if you do the joints without pulling the arm, make sure you use a large base jack under the arm.

I usually keep the frame supported at 4 corners and have at least one other jack around just in case, esp when pulling a spring. Dont put the rear stands under the axle, put them under the frame rail by the leaf eye in front of the rear wheels. Try to keep the car level, and dont raise one end up real high and then the other. Use at least three steps if getting high off the ground. First front partway, rear higher, then level front.

I have never used an inside spring compressor, but can see how they might be handy. I pull the spring according to the service manual.
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If there is significant vertical movement of the idler arm, it is bad. This allows the passenger wheel to move independantly while the arm and the link move up and down. The play may be seen at the right angle of the idler where the 2 parts of it connect, or you will see the centerlink moving vertically because of it.

Also check the ball-pivot where the arm and centerlink connect. If the link moves left-right at all without taking the idler with it, the ball-pivot is worn.

Thats a BIG 10-4 Scott......no WAY would I trust a shock to contain the springs energy. Sure, you may get away with it 9 outta 10 times, but I know Id hate to be that tenth person in line...could get very messy, very quick lol. Its so easy to make it much safer like Yellowbird said, and at least use a chain.

When I replaced my frt. springs I made my own spring compressor out of 5/8" flat stock and 1/2" all thread rod and nuts.
Although I have taking them out and installed them with just a floor jack, big hammer and a pry bar.

You can knock my method if you want. But when you cut the coils, they stack up neatly on themselves, the top of the spring is contained within the frame pocket and the bottom part is sitting square on the lower control arm. There is no force to make the springs go sideways. The shock is there for some added safety. With each cut, there is reduced spring tension to contend with. When done, you can dissamble the front end at your leasure and not have to deal with spring compressors.

Yes, Bob's way with the torches would be by far the easiest way to remove them.
If you have torches that is.
I was just explaining a few ways that I've done it.
I remember when the lower ball joint on my chevette broke this was years ago.
Well after I put the new one in and did'nt know a thing about spring compressors and could'nt get that darn spring back in.
I just cut a few coils off with a hack saw and it slipped right in.
The only problem with that was the car had a serious lean.

Sorry Bob, I think I must've misread your post. I thought you were talking about letting the shock hold the spring with the knuckle removed. I guess I didn't read it right and freaked 'cause I have seen people do that. It makes me nervous because I have seen so many broken shocks with the rod pulled out.

Whenever I cut the springs with the torch, I always took the shock out so as not to damage it if I had to reuse it, and the spring still stacks like you said. Three cuts.

The only problem with cutting the spring to get it out is you cant reuse it

LOL, I was just about to say the same thing....cutting them with a torch makes it real hard to use again....

Drew