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Ball Joints - Sanity Check Please


DeanH
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These can be done without removing the driveshaft/hub right? In my mind it's just a bolt to loosen, crack the ball joint off and replace before refitting?

Looking at the replacement there's a torx head on top of the thread as if I have to lock it in place for the nut to tighten. the only way of getting a torx head in there would be to remove the shaft...

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24 minutes ago, Rich said:

if you're good you won't need the torx bit.

it is all in the preparation 

What do you mean by that? My plan was to clean up the threads and soak it in plusgas beforehand. Anything else I should be doing?

I've replaced them before on other cars without the torx fitting. To be honest I think only one side has it on this car, one might have been replaced already.

 

EDIT: Getting it off isn't actually where I envisage a problem, it's more tightening the nut on the new one...

Edited by DeanH
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7 hours ago, Rich said:

massive bar but i am lazy and don't axle stand anymore.

That's not something to be proud of, I had a car fall on me in my blasé youth because I got complacent. Got lucky, mainly because i wasnt under the engine.

Op as said already just add pressure to the joint with a jack or bar to stop it rotating while doing it up . 

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I couldnt easily split mine with a hammer, undid the 3 bolts instead but i was removing knuckles so it didnt matter.

If you are replacing joints you can be more aggressive with heat or use a splitting fork as the dust boots getting ruined wont matter.

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I've wedged a 2ft crow bar between the top of the spindle and the bottom of the CV joint and can't lever it out. Bashed the knuckle that surrounds the spindle with said crowbar and a hammer. Soaked it in shock and unlock. No joy.

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Blow torch, try not to ruin cv boot though. Or buy a splitting fork, or else admit defeat (i did as no splitting tools) and remove the whole knuckle (via 3 bolts) and do it in a vice.

Drive shaft nut undoes easy with someone pressing the brake if the wheel is off, You need a long tube on your t bar.

Edit: What Pete said, you wont lever it out...

 

Edited by Sausage
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Penetrating fluid, heat and hammer shocks are all i use, but those bottom joints are very fat in the metal so i think the amount of hammering goes way up as a result. Steering joints comes out in 2 good clouts, those bottom b4stards do not.

I dont use splitting forks (i dont have any for starters) as they tend ruin the boots when i used them years ago, but for this I'd be tempted into buying one.

 

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Nice one. For comparison it took 6 heavy blows with a hammer to split mine with the knuckle in a vice, that would be tricky to do on the car with the drive shaft in the way and swinging sideways with the hammer while laying on the ground.

I think I'll get a fork as well.

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27 minutes ago, Sausage said:

Nice one. For comparison it took 6 heavy blows with a hammer to split mine with the knuckle in a vice, that would be tricky to do on the car with the drive shaft in the way and swinging sideways with the hammer while laying on the ground.

I think I'll get a fork as well.

I've had a similar experience in the past with a spare hub in a vice.

Couldn't recommend it enough, I literally only undid the wheel bolts and balljoint bolts.

No messing around at all, the whole thing probably took 20 minutes.

That's a fancy splitter:)

£7 from euro car parts, not fancy at all!

 

Edited by DeanH
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For what it's worth, when I did mine recently I took the driveshaft out of the hub so that it would spin all the way around making it easier to get the hammer in. Doesn't really add any time to the job with an impact gun. :)

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8 hours ago, cj1 said:

For what it's worth, when I did mine recently I took the driveshaft out of the hub so that it would spin all the way around making it easier to get the hammer in. Doesn't really add any time to the job with an impact gun. :)

Yeah I'd have done the same and stuff k it in a vice if I had a half inch drive torque wrench to match my 12 point socket for the hub nut. I only have a quarter unfortunately and don't have an adapter either.

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