Upper Ball Joint Poly Bushings
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 4,255
Likes: 82
From: Brampton Ont.
Upper Ball Joint Poly Bushings
I'm in the process of replacing the front end poly bushing and noticed the the upper ***** joints are still the original on my '75. Car has around 50,000 original miles and the ball joints are still in good shape so I figured I'd just replace the rubber boot. My problem is that I can't remove the original boot since it's press fitted into the ball joint. How have others removed the boot? Do you just cut it an fit the replacement up to it?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 2,337
Likes: 14
From: Norfolk VA
I'm assuming you are talking about the lower ball joints as the uppers hardly wear. You will have to seperate them from the spindle. If you are going to do this them why not replace them? A tie rod puller will work much better than a pickle fork because you wont run the risk of tearing the boot. Also you will have to cut the rivet heads off and punch them out on either control arm if they are the originals.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 4,255
Likes: 82
From: Brampton Ont.
The lower ball joints have already been replaced, therefore I was referring to the uppers which are still riveted in place. I didn't want to replace them since I already have the replacement poly boot as part of a kit, and they are not in need of replacement.
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 199
Likes: 2
From: Suffern NY
I was able to remove the boot by prying the metal ring off with a screw driver and then remove the boot. (You could cut the metal retainer with a dremel to mae this easier). Long Island corvette supply sells replacement boots that don't need the metal retaining ring.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 4,255
Likes: 82
From: Brampton Ont.
I believe the metal ring compresses the top of the boot?
I don' think I can remove the metal ring that easily, I tried applying PB Blaster several time and used a fine slotted screwdriver to try to pry it off but no luck. Is that the only way to get the new boot on? I purchased the complete poly kit from Summt Racing.
I don' think I can remove the metal ring that easily, I tried applying PB Blaster several time and used a fine slotted screwdriver to try to pry it off but no luck. Is that the only way to get the new boot on? I purchased the complete poly kit from Summt Racing.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 7,453
Likes: 976
From: RI, Now Franklin/Nashville TN
Yes, the lower ball joint experiences much higher forces than the upper ball joint but since you are going through all the trouble to remove the boot, I would just replace the whole upper ball joint with a quality unit like moog since with 50,000 miles, I assure you there is some wear on that ball joint. I replaced my upper ball joints on my 78 back in the 80's with 40,000 miles on it and, yes, it was displaying some wear on the upper ball joints. Remember cars back in the 70's were intended to last 100,000 miles and that was it. At 50,000 miles most parts back then in the suspension would be showing signs of wear................
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 87,367
Likes: 1,593
From: Western NY
Yes, the lower ball joint experiences much higher forces than the upper ball joint but since you are going through all the trouble to remove the boot, I would just replace the whole upper ball joint with a quality unit like moog since with 50,000 miles, I assure you there is some wear on that ball joint. I replaced my upper ball joints on my 78 back in the 80's with 40,000 miles on it and, yes, it was displaying some wear on the upper ball joints. Remember cars back in the 70's were intended to last 100,000 miles and that was it. At 50,000 miles most parts back then in the suspension would be showing signs of wear................
Not to be overly critical of the OP, BUT...…. You probably went through a LOT of effort to get the boot retainer off the arm, more effort than it would have been to simply buzz the rivets off with the air chisel, and remove the retainer intact. You could have then reinstalled the retainer, with the new boot in place, and used grade 8 bolts, to put it all back together. However, since you have it that far apart, I would say that the old axiom, "since I was already in there", most definitely applies here, and if it were me, I'd replace the ball joints.