i need to replace the upper and lower ball joints...

can someone plz give me a simple short and sweet walkthrough? and do i need any special tools?

someone said a socket in another forum but someelse said could be done with cresent wrench on one of ball joints.... i have a fork, heavy hammer, big crescent...

 

The lower ball joints are press in. They require a ball joint press(you can rent one at a local auto parts store) I rented one at advanced auto when I redone all mine. It had all the things needed to press the lower ones out and put them back in, and it had the ball joint socket to get the upper ones out. The socket in the kit takes a 3/4" drive pull bar. I wouldnt recommend using a crescent wrench. I hope this was helpful to ya. The kit I rented was around $170 to rent, but you get all that back.

 

do u have to pull the shaft out? will i loose any fluid?

 

If you are talking about pulling the axle out, no you dont have to pull it out. you will need to take the spindle nut off so that the axle will slide out of the way. This is how I did mine. Someone else may be able to explain it better but...

1) Jack truck up put it on jack stands( make sure its secure)
2) Take wheel off
3) Take brake caliper off and bungee it up out of the way
4) Figure out a way to hold the hub steady and loosen the spindle nut( 32mm spindle nut socket required)
5) Take brake rotor off
6) Disconnect the tie rod(where it meets the steering knuckle)so that the knuckle turns freely
7) Take the spindle nut and washer off
8) Take the hub assembly off
9) Put a jack under the lower control arm
10) take the steering knuckle loose from the ball joints and set it aside
11) Bungee the axle up out of the way making sure not to mess the threads or spline up
12) Every thing should be out of the way now to get to the ball joints. Get the ball joint kit from your local parts store and follow instructions to remove them and them go in the reverse order to put it all back together.

 

thx! when people explain stuff like that it makes everything go alot smoother and confident

 

You need a special socket for the top ones. My local parts houses didn't have them but I found one on Ebay. This is the kind you need. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Chrys...Q5fAccessories Hope this helps.
Don

 

I rented a kit at advanced auto parts that came with the stuff to change the upper and lower ball joints.