I am trying to remove the lower ball joints from the A-Frame and I am having a heck of a time. I am guessing 16 years of road grime and water has them stuck, or else I just do not know how to do it. Can anyone provide any insight on how I can get the stock ball joints out? Also, does anyone have any recommendations for replacements?

Thanks for your help!

 

go to your local auto parts store and rent a Ujoint/balljoint press then they will come out relativly easy. they are a PRESS FIT part they are not supposed to come out easy.

 

I just replaced mine with Napa ball joints, the NCP part number ones, and they seemed to be pretty nice for not much more than any other brand, and alot of folks on here say the Napa NCP stuff is good stuff.

You do have to get the ball joint press as described above - Autozone & Advance has them for "rent" (loaner tool program). The press that Autozone uses will not work as described in the instructions that come with it - you have to just kind play with the parts to find a way that will push it out - the clamp isn't big enough if you go by the instructions - you'll see when you get it.

And remember to put the rubber boot on with the hole towards the inside of the car, so the excess lube won't spit out on your wheels/rims/brakes.

 

I just did it last week with the loaner balljoint press, I'm not gonna lie to you, it's not really very fun but it worked, I decided to do the control arm bushings too and ended up bending the control arm a little so i gave up and had someone put the bushings in, If I was to start over i'd have taken the A arms off and paid a shop to do it all, I don't think it's worth the trouble

 

Ball joints not that bad, you just have to play with that press, do them slowly, readjusting your press angles to work it out straight.

A-arm bushings definitely a job for a shop - the factory bushings are spread open after they are pressed in, making them next to impossible to get out - my local dealer said they just replace the whole A-arm when someone asks for new A-arm bushings.

 

Thank you for your help! I just got the ball joints and press, so hopefully it will go smoothly. Also, I bought the ball joints and he asked me if I wanted regular or oversized. I looked at the a-arms and it looks like I need 1 of each. Is that possible?

 

As far as i know the oversize is the taper part that fits into your spindle, you shouldn't need oversize.

 

Oversized is for those cases where the ball joint has rusted itself in there so tightly that it can't be removed with a press, and a shop has to drill it out, thus making the hole larger (a specific size larger) - this is what I was told. You shouldn't need oversized - just normal.

 

all good info here so far, can't disagree....

I did mine with the a-arm still on the car, ie, the pivot points still hooked up. That's nice, since it holds the a-arm still while you reef on the joints. I think the press has a 3/4" bolt that you need to tighten, to push the joint out, and in. I used about a 5' breaker bar on these, and they are HARD. If you have an impact gun, that would be a very good use for it. Grease your new joints when you press them in, and try to make sure they go in straight, once they start to tilt, you're screwed.

 

Everytime I've done a ball joint it wants to go in crooked. I just do them slowly, keep an eye on it, and loosen and readjust the press to start pushing the other side a tad when it happens. Eventually you can get them seated straight (eventually sounds like a long time - I'm talking 5 minutes here) - just do it slowly, and watch, and adjust press accordingly (get it twisted a tad so that it pushes on the edge that needs it).

 

Thank you very much for everyone's help! I am going to replace them tomorrow, so I will let everyone know how it goes. Also, while we are on the subject of a-arms and ball joints. What are the advantages to going with a tubular a-arm compared to the stock a-arm?

 

lighter, stronger... The usual pros of upgrading a suspension piece. They withstand deflection better, so they stiffen up the front end. I think they help with clearance too, not sure why you need clearance there but....

If you've got a welder you could weld some braces into your stock a-arms. A few people posted pics of what to do there.
New/better bushings help there too.

 

The oversized one is for when the hole in the control arm is slightly "wallered" out from an old ball joint... Never heard of anyone drilling a ball joint out..

 

Yep, basically just the hole being 'worn out'

Oversized BJ's are usually only about .020-.040 larger.