94 LT1 ball joing replacement
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 482
Likes: 0
From: Wilmington NC
94 LT1 ball joing replacement
Hello all,
Is there a procedure written up anywhere on the forum (or does anyone have a link) for the proper procedure for replacing the upper and lower ball joints?
Is this a DIY project or should I get a specialist to do it? If someone out there has done this how tough a job was it?
Thanks!!
Is there a procedure written up anywhere on the forum (or does anyone have a link) for the proper procedure for replacing the upper and lower ball joints?
Is this a DIY project or should I get a specialist to do it? If someone out there has done this how tough a job was it?
Thanks!!
Safety Car
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 4,283
Likes: 0
From: Houston Texas
Upper not to hard, just becareful not to drill into aluminum arms when removing rivets. New ones bolt right in. Bottom you need a press. I dropped off the lower control arms at local alignment shop to press out and press new ones in. THey even said it was a pain. Saved a bundle doing it myself. I also did the bushings and polished up the pieces while I had it all apart.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 9,715
Likes: 27
From: Kempner Texas
Several years ago I did the uppers and lowers on my 86. It was a first time for me. The uppers were a piece of cake, but not the lowers. I changed them with the arms on the car.
I borrowed the tool from AutoZone; it's free when returned. Removing the lowers wasn't too bad, but installing the new ones took all the muscle I could muster to press them in.
I finally realized - after struggling with one side - how critical it is to keep the new ball joint STRAIGHT during the compression process. So the second joint install went much smoother, but STILL called for a LOT of arm strength. Took an afternoon to do all four.
I believe someone posted to put the lowers in the freezer for a while to make the installation easier. I did know about that back then.
Jake
I borrowed the tool from AutoZone; it's free when returned. Removing the lowers wasn't too bad, but installing the new ones took all the muscle I could muster to press them in.
I finally realized - after struggling with one side - how critical it is to keep the new ball joint STRAIGHT during the compression process. So the second joint install went much smoother, but STILL called for a LOT of arm strength. Took an afternoon to do all four.
I believe someone posted to put the lowers in the freezer for a while to make the installation easier. I did know about that back then.
Jake
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,477
Likes: 87
Rent a balljoint press from an autoparts store. Mine took some creative arrangement of the different adapter pieces to get it to press the lowers in, but when they are straight, they go in without a whole lot of force. If they get the slightest bit crooked they'll bind.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,477
Likes: 87
I thought I'd bought mine locally, but I found an Ecklers receipt for $139.xx (+ $16.99 S&H), which came with all 4 ball joints and the outer tie-rod ends. They weren't Moogs, which is what I typically try to use, unfortunately just some no-name ones, probably some made in China crap. Also this was back in '05.
Edit: If you haven't done this before, this can be somewhat of a frustrating job, you may want to get some quotes for installs before you dive in. Also you will probably want an alignment if you replace everything.
Edit: If you haven't done this before, this can be somewhat of a frustrating job, you may want to get some quotes for installs before you dive in. Also you will probably want an alignment if you replace everything.
Last edited by F1Fan; Sep 24, 2007 at 11:06 PM.
