Ball joint failure?

[holeshotmoe]

FWIW, I had 3ft long, 1" diam steel spike with four tapered sides on the tip (like a nail but bigger). I used this so I wouldn't foul the rubber on the bj's using the fork. Anyway, I pulled the nut off and flipped it over so I wouldn't wreck the dimpled top that keeps it from backing off by itself. I screwed it on til flush with the threaded bj shaft. Then I wedged the tip of the spike between the nut and the big steel hub of the axle. Hammered a few times with a 5-lb hammer and it came loose. You could probably use a railroad spike too. 100k later its still rolling. Yeah it was ghetto /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif but that's where I was at the time, with wife, 2 kids, 2 old cars. They didn't have autozone loaners back then either so you should probably check them out before picking up the hammer. As I recall though, I enjoyed using the hammer /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[spoulson]

Quote:
This is what I used when I replaced mine click



This is exactly what I borrowed from Autozone. But I don't see how it can be used to separate the spindle from the balljoint.

 

[powerplay]

You are correct. I used that tool to remove the ball joint from the lower control arm. I used a big hammer and heat to get the spindle off of the ball joint. As previously stated, a well placed rap on the side of the spindle arm popped mine off. My mistake.

 

Check out this link:

Pitman Arm Puller

AutoZone sells a smaller OEM brand version of this tool that works wonders for removing ball joints and tie rod ends... I hate AZ's search engine, so I can't find it. All of the stores carry it.

twkd

 

[spoulson]

Ahh! I found it. I'm going to grab this after work today.

 

[spoulson]

Ok, so I finally got somewhere. The pitman arm puller I liked does NOT fit the car. Perhaps the tie rod puller does, but I didn't bother trying.

Instead, I got a propane refill and heated up the spindle end while wedging the ball joint separator fork in there. After a couple minutes of heating and prying, it popped off almost by itself.

Then, after removing the lock ring, I worked with the ball joint press to push it out. The only problem was, none of the rings they give you really fit very well. I ended up rigging the press so that the shaft presses directly on the side of the top of the case, which initially pushed it out crooked. I backed off, then tried again by pushing on the other side of the top of the case. I used an impact wrench on 1/2 power to gently press it some more, but it would not budge. So I backed it out, and POP, the whole thing just flew out the bottom of the control arm. Score!

The new one went in pretty smoothly with a little bit of love. Also note that you will need an impact wrench with a universal joint to put the lock nut on to secure the spindle. A wrench would just spin the ball joint and the nut won't move.

So one side is done. I'll post old/new pictures of the ball joints. The old one looks atrocious.

 

[ken inn]

Quote:


The new one went in pretty smoothly with a little bit of love. Also note that you will need an impact wrench with a universal joint to put the lock nut on to secure the spindle. A wrench would just spin the ball joint and the nut won't move. Quote:




put a bottle jack under the ball joint, and apply pressure, forcing the assembly upward. since the shaft is tapered, it will stick, and you can easily wrench it. also, if you heat that sucker, you might destroy the wheel bearing. this is why the oem mitsu tool was so nice, it fit in there perfect. i would tighten it up, then go take a break. after a short while, i could hear it, BTWANGGGGGGUNGUNGUNG, then go out and it was off.

 

[spoulson]

I agree, the torch was getting ready to light up the dust boot and grease, so I was careful to keep it localized to only where it's needed. I heat a little, pry a little, repeat until job is done. I don't think I got the wheel bearing section very hot.

 

[spoulson]

left to right: pass side, driver side, new

As you can see, the driver side is toast. Water somehow got in and replaced the grease with rust around the ball.


Just demonstrating the use of the ball joint press when installing a new one.


This is a familiar sight to many. Front axles being replaced with Raxles.

 

I just got my new ball joints from the Mitsubishipart.net today. They have the mitsubishi genuine part number stickres on the packages, but the ball joint are not sealed. There is a rubber cover that I think I need to fit it up with grease and press it into the ball. My Questions are:1. Is the genuine mitsubishi ball joint surpose to be a sealed unit? 2. What kind of grease should I use to fill up the rubber cover? 3. Is there any trick to press the rubber cover into the ball joint? I have tried to press it with my hands without sucess because the bottom of the cover is like hard prastic.

 

[spoulson]

No, the dust boot is a separate part and is installed after being pressed into the control arm and snap ring in place. I used a short screwdriver/prybar and tapped it in place. I'd imagine they'd give you the grease you need, if not then check the FSM. I'm going to guess any quality grease SHOULD be ok, since there isn't a whole lot of movement.

I'm surprised a Mitsu parts dealer sold you those. Josh@JNZ turned me away, saying I'd have to buy the whole control arm+ball joint for ~$200+ each because of issues with the replacement ball joints coming out or something. I ended up getting these aftermarkets, but they seem to be near exact clones, so I'm not too worried.

 

[joec]

I used a plastic "cylinder" that I found at Home Depot. I think it was actually some sort of attachment for a whole house vacuum system. Just brought the dust boot to the store and looked around for sections of pipe that would just fit over the boot. I think it cost about a dollar and is made of hard, white plastic. Fit perfectly over the dust boot and I just hammered the top edge lightly until it was seated (don't forget to fill the boot with grease).

The cylinder is threaded on the inside on one end, smooth on the other. The label on it says "C435-012 1 1/4". Barcode 0 39923 13062

 

[Nijasan]

Cliff notes: Can anyone give me some simple tips on how to get the ball joint out without moving the axle?

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I hate to bump this old thread, but boy was I worthless today. I hate being a car newb.

The past few weeks I have been slowly doing the front suspension on my car. So far I've got new struts, new axles, and new tie rod ends. I've eliminated about 75% of my clunks up front.

As per this thread, I hunted down some non-buttco ball joints. No zerk fittings, burned looking threads, no nonsense type stuff. All I could find to rent was a 6 piece ball joint press. I rented that ($116 up front, jesus) and tried to remove the ball joints up front without moving the axles out of the way. I just got the car aligned after I did my tie rod ends (found a place 2 blocks from my work, so I did it there after work one day and drove it the smallest distance possible) and I was hoping I could somehow get the ball joints done without having to get the car re-aligned.

The ball joint press I rented seems huge. If the bolt wasn't sticking out above the connector arm-thing on the hub, I would be able to slide it on there with about 2mm to spare before I hit the bottom of the axle cup (not sure if that's the right term, sorry) - but that would have the press on backwards. I don't see any way to get it positioned correctly without getting the axle out of the way.

I took back that ball joint press and tried some pitman arm pullers of various sizes and a pickle fork as well. All in all I've fronted about $250 today renting these things, and I've made no 'real' progress. I did free up the hub from the ball joint, but I can't seem to pop that sucker free.

I'd appreciate any more tips from all you guys that are smarter than me. (99.53% of the people registered on this forum) I'd hate to have to eat the $80 to get it re-aligned, but I guess if that's what I have to do to pop these stock-looking ball joints, then so be it.

Thanks for your time.

 

These should help #1 #2

 

[spoulson]

The ball joint press is what you want for the ball joint. I found that the rings they give you are not a perfect size for pressing the joint out of the arm, but however one fits well for pressing the joint into the arm. I found that when removing, use the ring that seems to fit best. Try pressing it anyway, even if it looks like it's going a little crooked. Then release, readjust so it's pressing on the other side of the joint to straighten it out. After doing this, it shot clean out the bottom of the arm.