ball joints.. - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

gm dstroya · 11-26-2003, 00:42

hey all,

i've gotta change the front end lower ball joints on the ea,

i've done a fair few before, just not on a ford, so i was wondering is there anything i should take note of before i embark on this adventure?

cheers.joe.

Aussiblue · 11-26-2003, 05:00

You find it's a lot harder on the Ford. The most difficult job I have had to do on my Fairlanes (I was very ill at the time so not at my best but I'd rather rebuild the engine or replace plug leads or whatever). And if you are going to have the fun of doing the lower you may as well do the upper while you are playing with the steering knuckle. The Ford Workshop Manual says use a large vice and some special pipe shaped tools (I broke my large vice trying that approach). A hydraulic press (and the knuckle wouldn't fit in mine without fouling the jack part) or a tool like this is the way to go http://www.otctools.com/frames-wnew.php3 Automotive Special Tools 7249 Ball Joint Service Kit . Even with this tool (I finally bought one) leave yourself a whole day to do the job.

Dellboy999 · 11-26-2003, 14:21

Take out the upper and lower arms, goto the nearest suspension place with a press, for $20 bucks they should press out the old, and press in the new, or buy a tool depends how often you intend to do them I guess.

Can never have too many tools though ...........

Dellboy999

Rollin · 11-27-2003, 01:33

yeah, what he said - i did the lhf lower on my car a little while ago, you have to use a hydraulic press, and have a bit of steel pipe hanging round that is the right size - didnt take that long but as you know im a pro :D

Aussiblue · 11-27-2003, 05:28

The good thing about the OTC tool is you can replace the joints with the knuckle in place (still on the car) and it has other uses. There are cheaper versions; see http://www.jcwhitney.com/webapp/wcs/...&storeId=10101 and http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=42236for example.