Here's the
parts that came in Sloan's balljoint-replacement kit:Uhhh... what can I say... this was by far the EASIEST repair job I've ever done on this car!!!
Here's the
parts that came in Sloan's balljoint-replacement kit:
Basicly replacements for all the pieces that will wear out on the stock balljoint. You'll also be reusing the other non-wear parts.
First step is to remove your A-arm from the car.
Undo the sway-bar end-link. THen remove the front A-arm pivot bolt, be careful to not damage the steering-rack boots (install that #$&! bolt from the rear next time). The rear pivot should be removed by taking the entire caster-block off the car, leaving the pivot & caster-block on the A-arm itself (this will preserve your alignment settings).
Unclamp the spindle-clamp on the balljoint pin and completely remove the bolt. Reach in with a thin screwdriver from the top and tap out the pin. Now you've got the A-arm removed from the car.
To remove the
old ball-joint, carefully remove the rubber dust-cover (don't
damage the coil-spring, you'll reuse it). Then fit a LARGE
socket over the balljoint. On the bottom side, put a small nut
or socket on the bottom cover and squeeze the whole assembly in
a vise like this.
Squeeze just enough so that there's a little gap between the circlip and the bottom cover. There's two ends on the circlip angled opposite ways. One end is angled so that when you pry it with a screwdriver, it'll grab and pull out a little. Use a second screwdriver to work your way around and free up that first end of the circlip. Grab with needle-nose pliers and "peel" the circlip off the groove.
Unclamp the vise, disassemble the balljoint and clean off the old grease, take notes on which order the parts came out because you'll be installing in the reverse order.
One thing I did that should help the next balljoint last longer is to install a Zerk fitting in the bottom cover-plate. Drill a 5mm hole in the center and tap for a 6x1mm Zerk grease-fitting. You may need to install the Zerk with a washer to prevent it from protruding too far out from the inside surface.
Ok, time to install the new parts. The top cup has to be pressed into the A-arm. Find a socket that will barely fit into the balljoint tunnel in the A-arm; I found a Craftsman 22mm socket with 30mm outside-diameter fits snuggly. Then push in the top race hand-tight and make sure it's aligned squarely with the A-arm. Put the socket on top of it and squeeze the entire thing in a vise to push the top race all the way into the A-arm (use a block of wood on the upper side of the A-arm to prevent damage from the vice).
Grease the
top of the new ball with some CV-joint grease; I've found the
blue stuff packaged as "boat-trailer wheel-bearing grease"
works extremely well. Push this all the way up into the upper
cup in the arm, then follow with the brass lower cup. Then there's
a thin spacer ring, followed by the conical spring. Then there's
a small dime-sized spacer followed by the cover-plate.
I found I couldn't squeeze the entire thing together tight enough to re-install the cir-clip with that little dime-sized spacer in there, so I left it out. Squeeze the entire balljoint assembly as shown in the picture above and re-install the cir-clip. I then covered up the cir-clip with some epoxy to make sure it won't go anywhere.
Hook up a grease-gun to the new Zerk grease-fitting you installed on the bottom, pump in some more grease so that it's flush with the upper level of the A-arm. Install the new dust cover boot. Push a small toothpick or precision screwdriver in between the rubber dust cover-boot and the balljoint pin to let the air escape and squirt in some more grease with the grease gun. When the grease starts to ooze out the top, remove the toothpick, clean everything off and you've got a brand new balljoint!
The balljoint kit can be found here:
Sloan Palitti - SSI Auto
1035 Old Philadelphia Road
Aberdeen, Maryland 21001
(410) 273-9006 voice
(410) 273-9005 fax
E-Mail: spalitti@msn.com
web: http://www.ssiauto.com
Price: $175/kit