86 2.8 Camaro

Would I be able to change my ball joints in my driveway? Is there any special tools I'd need?

The parts are $13 each but the shop wants $400?

Looking to save a grip if I could spend a weekend doing it myself.

Part store says they have a tool I can borrow but they don't know how it works or what it does.

 

The joint is pressed into the control arm and requires a special tool to remove. The tool does not always work and sometimes they need to be pressed oit on a press which involves removing the arm from the car.

If you have a good selection of wrenches ratchets, breaker bar and basic tools you can do it in the driveway. Air tools will make life much easier especially if things have never been apart before

 

How hard is it to remove the arm?

 

I think its rather simple but I've done it a million times and build/rebuild vehicles in my spare time. Im not sure what your skill level is. You have to remove the strut, 2 large bolts torque to almost 200ft/lbs. You also need a spring compressor to get the coil spring in and out. The balljoint has to be seperated from the balljoint, need. Big hammer and a pickle fork. The arm is then held in with 2 12mm bolts which usually size to the bushings and can be a pIn to remove. There is more but thats the big stuff. Their is probably a write up on here somewhere thats a little more thorough.

If you have the equipment and are mechanically inclined, you can do it. If you can't figure out how to change your own oil and only have basic hand tools, its not going to end well.

Most of the time the philosophy that "if you have to ask, you cant do it" applies to things like this but you never know. Honestly if you drive one of these cars you jshould learn to work on it and fix it yourself since it will cost you a fortune to pay shops to do it for you. This might be a good learning experience.

 

the hardest part to removing the a-arm is dealing with the spring which can also be dangerous if you don't know what your doing. If you do that you should go a ahead and replace the a-arm bushings while you at it. Moog are always good.

If you want to try changing the ball joints yourself, your local parts stores should have a ball joint press in their free tool rental program. Once you figure out how to use it (there are never instructions with them for some reason) they are pretty simple. Once again you have to be careful taking apart the lower ball joint because of the spring, support the a-arm with a jack and a chain through the a-arm and spring are good ideas. Sometimes it can be difficult getting the ball joint and the spindle back together.

when taking apart the lower ball joint, i like to loosen the castle nut till the top is flush with the stud and smack it with a hammer to get it apart. This way will prevent the a-arm (which should be supported by a jack) from getting away, and it won't damage the threads so if you have to put it back together and take it to a shop, you can.

lastly, $13? Do yourself a favor and buy moog ball joints.

 

Right: $13 is too cheeeeep. Doesn't sound like the right part; or, it's made of pure chinesium. Should be something more in the $25 - 40 kind of range.

The press looks sorta like a C-clamp. The BJ presses into a hole about 1½" dia in the control arm. They frequently don't have enough nads to get it done. But, if you take the control arm off, you can take it to about any tire store type place, and they'll probably swap both BJs and all 4 bushings for under $50. Maybe even, if you walk in close to closing time on Sat, the mech will do it for a 6-pack or something.

 

Well I ended up taking it down to the shop just to see the price and he said there is nothing wrong with them and the last guy was a liar. He gave me an alignment. It's been working fine since.