Hello,

Going to change out my ball joints and had a few questions. Truck in question is a 1995 Dodge Dakota Sport Pickup 5.2L with 2WD. I'm going to borrow the ball joint press from an Autozone / NAPA type shop.

1) Are both sets of ball joints (lower and upper) pressed in? I.e. are the uppers threaded?

2) Are the uppers any harder than the lowers?

3) To remove the ball joints do you align the press so that the screw of the press pushes:
a) The lower ball joint out in the upwards direction or downwards direction
b) The upper ball joint out in the upwards direction or downwards direction.

Number 3 may be obvious by looking at them, but as the vehicle is not apart right now, I want to be prepared for the job so there is no head scratching or damaged control arms.

Thanks!

 

1. Upper control arm is threaded in. Lower is pressed in.
2. Same, rust can hurt the process.
3. Lower control arm presses up. Upper un-treads up.

You will need the special socket. But I doubt it will rent-able from Autozone.
http://www.handsontools.com/Miller-T...-_p_18008.html

 

not sure on your exact truck but on mine with factory lower balljoints there was a lip on the joint that i had to pry up with a screw driver so the joint could be pressed down. if yours is the same youll see what i meen if you look at it. cant remember if the new ones from moog pressed up or down but there was a c-clip thing that goes on to hold it in. i would stay away from the chinese balljoints. moog is made in usa and seems to be decent qaulity. orielly sells moog

 

Hello,

Thanks for your answers. Will have a look out for the lip on the lower ball joint when I'm replacing it.

There are very few autoparts places where I live (Quebec). I got all the ball joints from NAPA, which I have heard are pretty decent. I found I can borrow the press for free from Canadian Tire. The only problem is I have to buy a separator and upper ball joint socket.

When I get these I will start the job. Hopefully soon!

 

shouldnt need the seperator tool, plus it will probly ruin the rubber boot if you try to use it on the tie rod end, assuming you plan to reuse the tierods. like i said on your other post, just tap it with a hammer and it should pop loose. all mine poped loose easy with 1 or 2 hammer taps, maybe yours will be different. will need the socket however

 

the uppers you do need a special tool to take them out but be very careful the threads for thos are known to come out spray with wd40 to tryand loosen them a bit if the threads do come out you will probably need to replace the uper control arm and with the lower ones u dont really need the press just hit it with a hammer it may take a couple of strong good hits but they will come out grease the new one lightly and hammer back in make sure it goes in evenly tho good luck i had fun with mine took me a little bit but got it done

 

to each their own but i would use a ball joint press to remove and install the lowers, free to use from most any auto parts store. probly why it "took you alittle bit but you got it done". taping a tie rod ball joint once or twice with a 2lb hammer to pop it loose is alot different than pounding on a control arm joint with a 8lb sledge for 30minutes. to each their own like a said. good luck

 

Yeah. Definitely going to rent the press. If there's any easy way to do it and it's free why not.

Hope the uppers come out easy. This is my DD, but I have a week off to try and get it back together.

Thanks for your suggestions!

 

For the separator I plan to get the OTC 6297 ball joint separator:


rather than a pickle fork. This way I can separate a bunch of stuff (ball joints, tie-rod ends, etc.) if I need to for later without ripping the boots. The tool is pretty inexpensive.

For me I'd rather pay more and have the right tools for the job than trying to come up with creative or abusive methods to do the same thing.