I have an 86 GT with a bad lower ball joint on the front left side.. Any info. as to how i can tackle this job would be great..!!..

Also, hopefully there is a way of doing it without having to remove the spring.. There is NO way (and ive tried it before with a spring compressor ) to get those coils out of the front unless i am using the wrong spring compressor..

Finally, if im not mistake, those damn ball joints are riveted in.. So now what ??... I dont want to drill them out.. That'll take me years !!!!!!!!!!..........

pc...

I just pressed mine out.
I didn’t use a spring compressor, I put the car up on stands then put a jack under the control arm. Removed the caliper and hung it to the side. Then I popped the top and bottom ball joints and tie rod end. Once that is out of the way start to let the jack down. You can loop a chain through the spring if you feel uncomfortable but I just left it down till there was enough slack in the spring to remove it. Now at that point I removed my control arms to do the ball joints and bushings but if you don’t have to you can just use a press and remove the lower ball joint. Mine were just pressed in but you should check to make sure they are not tacked in place. I got new ball joints from Rodney http://www.rodneydickman.com his lower ball joints come with a snap ring to lock the new ones in place.
Then just stick the spring back in and jack the control arm back up and reattach everything.

On my 84, the lower ball was tack welded in place. this was done from the factory, at first the entire lower control arm was to be replaced as a unit. Now replacement ball joints are available but you have to grind the welds before you can press the ball joints out. The new ball joints will have a large snap ring that is used to secure the ball joint after you press them back into the arm. I took the lower control arm off the car. The hard part wasnt getting the spring out, it was getting the 2 lower control arms bolts out. They didn't come out in one piece. Be advised, if you're not willing to possibly spend some time using a torch, big hammer or other means to get the stubbrn bolts out, you may want to have a shop do it. I don't know how mechanically inclined you are, the job can be a very big PITA if things go wrong. Good luck.

ill have to look to see if mine are tacked in place.. what concerns me is if they are PRESSED IN then what to use to get the lower ball joint out .. Any one else have any other experience with front end lower ball joint R & R ??

thanks.. pc..

One of the local Napa stores around here pressed my old ball joints out and put new ones in for about $10. Autozone also will loan you a balljoint press, but I've never used it.

I dont want to pull the lower control to replace the lower ball joint if i dont have to..

pc

If you can get the car up on jack stands you can do the ball joints without taking the control arm off.
I pressed mine in after I put the arm back on.

Mine is an 88, so I don't know about the differences is the suspension, but mine was riveted on. I had to use a grinder to grind down the head of the rivet. Then when you put the new ball joints on , Rodney supplies you with the proper hardware to simply srew em on. No welding , and no rivets.

When I did mine... I took EVERYTHING off the car.

quote Originally posted by PCGamer: I dont want to pull the lower control to replace the lower ball joint if i dont have to.. pc

did mine last night on the car on jack stands - put a jack under the end of the control arm to keep it firmly in place then pounded the old out and pressed the new in

quote Originally posted by PCGamer: I dont want to pull the lower control to replace the lower ball joint if i dont have to.. pc

it only 2 more bolts (per side), and you get to put in poly, and paint the control arm

quote Originally posted by Pyrthian: it only 2 more bolts (per side), and you get to put in poly, and paint the control arm

those bolts can be impossible to get out too - I have one that i pounded on with a hammer after the nut was off with not a budge.. gave up and put th enut back on

quote Originally posted by Pyrthian: it only 2 more bolts (per side), and you get to put in poly, and paint the control arm

Yea but those are the PITA bolts... he might have to cut them out and order new ones. Maybe he's not prepaired for that. No flame intended. But you make it sound VERY simple, and I had to spend about an hour cutting through those bolts with a tungston carbide saw bit.... When I was done, I made SURE to lube those up with anti-seize. That job "can" be a real hassle.

quote Originally posted by intlcutlass: Yea but those are the PITA bolts... he might have to cut them out and order new ones. Maybe he's not prepaired for that. No flame intended. But you make it sound VERY simple, and I had to spend about an hour cutting through those bolts with a tungston carbide saw bit.... When I was done, I made SURE to lube those up with anti-seize. That job "can" be a real hassle.

I know - was teasing him - I'm sure he know's where he's at

Some of the presses out there do not require you take the lower control off the car. They look like a huge C-clamp and have a series of dies that fit various makes and models. With the car on it lower control arm sitting on a a jack stand or hydraulic jack the lower ball joint can be removed without removing the spring. I prefer using my hydraulic jack because it has a 6" pad the the control arm sits on. Its the warm fuzzy therory.I use a jack because if it a seal lets go, the worst thing to happen is the compresses. It will eventually go all the way down, but the car will stay on the jack. However I always plan on worst case scenario, I block it with lumber so the jack cannot compress uncontrollably. Saftey first. Use a decent chain on the spring for any worst case scenario in case the car falls.

Press out the old joint and press in the new one. Put the lower control arm back up to the spindal and you're done.

Its easiest to remove the spindal just for space. However it can be done with the spindal still attached to the upper control arm. I feel the spring is a little more dangerous to remove and install, I prefer to leave it alone. If you've put one in, getting a spring compressed is the dangerous part and is most likely to fly at that point. I think my way is safer in the long run, however there alot of various opinions on the subject.

Just my .02 cents.
88Ironduke

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Pilots with out maintainers are just pedestrians with a cool jacket and sunglasses.
I.Y.A.M.Y.A.S.

check out my other thread on "replacing a lower control arm" with regards to the latest set of problems im having in removing the lower ball joint...

pc...

Ok, I had responded last night to your other thread. I was wrong.

The front lower ball joints are not riveted or bolted in. That's the front top ball joints.

The front lower ball joints are sometimes welded in. I believe that may have been a factory thing. If they're not welded in then they are pressed in and held from coming out by using a snap ring. My lower ball joints were held in with a snap ring.

To remove the lower ball joint I didn't even remove the snap ring. I jacked up the car and then supported the lower control arm in a level position using a 2x4. I then used a 2.5lb sledge hammer and gave the ball joint 2 or 3 solid hits. The ball joint popped out of the snap ring and the hole easily.

Check the ball joint for a weld. If it's welded you'll have to grind the weld out. Shouldn't be too much of a problem with a dremel tool or a grinder. Hell, you might even be able to break the weld with a hammer and chisel.

Here's some pictures on one of my lower front control arms. It might shed some insight into what you're up against.

[This message has been edited by Soelasca (edited 11-22-2004).]

did mine last night, about a half hour of pounding on the lower ball joint with a mallet, 15 minutes of pounding in. PITA for sure, but certainly do-able.

I changed a lower one last week. I go the rental press from autozone, it sucked. I ended up pounding the old one out with a hammer. I was able to use the press to get the new one in.

One thing that helped was that i put the balljoint in the freezer overnight, then heated the control arm with a torch slightly. Went in very nicely this way.

Matt

I posted this last night on my other thread... I finally got the old ball joint out and the new one in..

The ball joint press from autozone absolutly sucked.. its garbage in terms of getting the ball joint out and was only slightly helpful in getting the knew one in. I had to use a 1 1/4 inch socket in instead of the press kits adapters cause those dont fit well at all under the fiero's front lower control arm....

advice, dont use the autozone ball joint press on your fiero..

pc..