I was able to get the ball joint on the drive side out with no real problems, i used a ball joint press and bam poped right out, now the problem is getting the new one in, it doesn't want to go in straight and i cant get it in, i dont want to force it and mess up the a arm, now im up the creek becasue it doesnt was to go in all the way and i cant figure out why. looking like i have to tow it now and spend a lot more money than i hoped for. has anyone run into this and have a way that will press it in straight and not take forever?

 

I did mine about three months ago. It started to go in on an angle. I kept on going and it straightened itself out. Hope this helps

 

it starts straight then just slides itself to an angel that just stops it from going any futher in, and i dont want to mess up the hole in the a arm.

 

a trick ive always used is to throw the balljoint in the freezer overnight.
this contracts,(shrinks) the joint just slightly, making it slide in better.
sometimes, they will almost fall in.
when the joint warms up, it will expand to its reg size.
hope this helps.

 

The freezer trick works. Also, make sure you dab a little grease around the fitting to help it go in. You may have to keep backing the press off and re-torquing it to get the joint in, usually a little at a time-and it's not going to stay straight. Make sure the threads on your press are well lubed too.

 

For best results turn your freezer all the way down.
In mine high and low is the difference between about 10'F and -20'F

 

The short answer is keep going and it straightens itself out.
The freezer idea is great. Wish I thought of that when I was doing the job.

Here is a link to my experience with this job:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/susp...all-joint.html

Here is what I wrote there that might help u in your situation:

"Putting the new joint in was even harder. It would not go in evenly. I put a jack stand under the part of the ball joint that was lagging behind, and then I let the weight of the car come down on it. That was not enough pressure to push the joint in, so I started to hammer the A-arm with my BFH, but that didn’t work either.

So, I jack the car back up (jack under A-arm where spring sits) and use the ball joint press again. Used my “yard ape” strength again to turn the press up to where I thought my socket wrench would shatter. Then my bro reminded me that we have a couple heavy duty hand tools that would work better, a plumber’s adjustable wrench, and a traditional adjustable wrench.

I put the plumber’s adjustable wrench on the drive screw of the ball joint press, then I put the traditional adjustable wrench on the handle of the plumber’s wrench to create a long lever arm (my yard ape strength alone was not enough). We didn’t have a pipe to use as a long lever arm. Slowly but surely, the SOB went in. I’m surprised nothing broke given all the torque pressure I had to generate."

 

I did ball joints about a month ago and dont see what everyones big deal was

If you use the big C-clamp tool and the proper spacers (yes there are like 300 in the case) it comes out very easily and goes back in strait
Take your time and line up the tool and the job becomes easy, you wont even have to strain your eyeballs out. I used a 1/2" drive ratchet for the press and Im not exactly a huge guy (164lbs)



My problem came from the castle nut fusing to the shaft and everything spinning inside the joint. I had to cut the shaft off the spindle which took longer as they are hardened steel. The actual pressing in/out of the joint was simple and straitforward