Lower Ball Joints - Checking here first

Busted Knuckles · 09-20-2008, 01:23 AM

I was just replacing the brake pads on my '88, and realized my right side suspension was loose. On further inspection, I found the nut that holds the ball joint to the steering knuckle was loose, almost half off the stud! A real pain in the a$$ to tighten back up. The ball joint and stud kept moving with the nut. I had to rig a C-clamp to clamp the steering knuckle to the ball joint with enough force to keep the stud from turning. It worked. As soon as I had it tight enough, I noticed the stud had a hole for a cotter pin, but the nut was a nylon lock nut, not a castle nut. I managed to run a 19-gauge wire through the partially exposed hole, and twisted it off. I'm going to use Grandavi's link to order a replacement ball joint.

But, it seems easy enough to do with jackstands. The strut cartridge will prevent the lower control arm from dropping when the ball joint is removed. The trick will be to remove the nut on the ball joint. I used a 22mm box end wrench, and managed to use another large wrench on the open end section to double my torque. This usually works for me. It is too tight to get an impact wrench in there. Hopefully, the stud will be wedged in tight enough to prevent it from moving with the wrench. Once that is loose, the rest should be gravy.

09-20-2008, 01:23 AM	#3
Busted Knuckles 12psi boost Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Atlanta Posts: 300	I was just replacing the brake pads on my '88, and realized my right side suspension was loose. On further inspection, I found the nut that holds the ball joint to the steering knuckle was loose, almost half off the stud! A real pain in the a$$ to tighten back up. The ball joint and stud kept moving with the nut. I had to rig a C-clamp to clamp the steering knuckle to the ball joint with enough force to keep the stud from turning. It worked. As soon as I had it tight enough, I noticed the stud had a hole for a cotter pin, but the nut was a nylon lock nut, not a castle nut. I managed to run a 19-gauge wire through the partially exposed hole, and twisted it off. I'm going to use Grandavi's link to order a replacement ball joint. But, it seems easy enough to do with jackstands. The strut cartridge will prevent the lower control arm from dropping when the ball joint is removed. The trick will be to remove the nut on the ball joint. I used a 22mm box end wrench, and managed to use another large wrench on the open end section to double my torque. This usually works for me. It is too tight to get an impact wrench in there. Hopefully, the stud will be wedged in tight enough to prevent it from moving with the wrench. Once that is loose, the rest should be gravy.