I just changed out the upper and lowers ball joints on my D. Anyone who has done this on a 2003 has experienced the "slipping off" of the press from the

lower control arm. Theres NO land to put the cup so it gets a "bite". I finally lowered the Durango down on the ball joint and smacked the lower control arm

the final 3/8 of an inch. By the time you decide to use the weight of the vehicle to finish the ball joint install it feels really good to smack the heck out of that arm!!! Does anyone know another way in the case I have to re do these....in another 75,000 miles

 

Use the ball joint press? Its a little tough but does the job right.

 

I was able to use the press 100% on the drivers side. The passengers side however was slightly different. I rented the press from Auto Zone and it didn't

have alot of options. 3 cups and two plates. I did use it to drive the ball joint "flush". I get ya though. The press is the right way to go. Point taken

 

Different how? I did have to get really creative with mine. Some big washers and creativity with the tool lol. I get your frustration though. Creative to use the vehicle weight but my only worry is bending or breaking something

 

I just couldn't get the cup to bite and it kept slipping off the outside of the control arm. Almost like the outside had more of a radius on it than the drivers

side. There's not much land for the cup to sit on as it is. Well trust me I'll be greasing them on a regular basis. Hopefully it'll be awhile before I replace

them.

 

Same here. They are a pain