What to do if your suspension ball joint is loose?
Take a pry bar and place it between the lower control arm and the steering knuckle, the two parts that are connected together by the ball joint, and attempt to pry them apart. Loose ball joints will have an excessive amount of play and movement when you pry on them, may even make knocking or clicking sounds. Step 7: Put the wheels back on.
What’s the best way to release a ball joint?
Release the Ball Joint Taper Use a large pry bar and wedge it in-between the lower control arm and the spindle bulk head. Make sure the pry bar is in a solid place because you will need to apply pressure to undo the joint.
How do you release the ball joint taper?
Release the Ball Joint Taper Use a large pry bar and wedge it in-between the lower control arm and the spindle bulk head. Make sure the pry bar is in a solid place because you will need to apply pressure to undo the joint. While applying force downward strike the lower control arm bulkhead to release the ball joint taper.
Why do I need to change the ball joint on my car?
The reason for doing this particular job is to replace the worn ball joint and, as we said earlier, with the correct splitting tool it can be changed with the suspension arm still in place on the vehicle.
Take a pry bar and place it between the lower control arm and the steering knuckle, the two parts that are connected together by the ball joint, and attempt to pry them apart. Loose ball joints will have an excessive amount of play and movement when you pry on them, may even make knocking or clicking sounds. Step 7: Put the wheels back on.
How do you replace a ball joint on a front wheel drive car?
Generally a job to replace ball joints will involve the following, but not exclusive to these steps: Taking off your vehicle’s wheels. Moving the brake calipers, and rotor. Some vehicles will need the sway bar links removed. Front wheel drive cars – in most cases, separate the lower control arm from the steering knuckle via a ball joint fork.
How do you remove a nut from a ball joint?
After the cotter pin has been removed use a 22mm to 24mm wrench to remove the lower ball joint nut by turning it counterclockwise. It is okay if the steering turns during this step. Once the nut is loose do not remove it completely. Leave the nut on the ball joint stud a couple of turns. This will protect the threads when disconnecting the joint.
Can a ball joint be removed from a steering knuckle?
In most cases, a ball joint press and ball joint fork will be needed to remove the ball joint and separate the control arm from the steering knuckle, which both of these are available for free through AutoZone’s Loan-A-Tool program. For ball joints that are bolted on, simply unbolting the bolts will separate the joint from the control arm.
How do you install a ball joint on a Ford F150?
Remove the single bolt on the ABS sensor. Remove upper ball joint nut and use hammer on the stem end or spindle arm until the ball joint pops out. Push the upper control arm down to get new ball joint in place. Install upper castle end nut. Figure 6. Remove the upper ball joint nut. Remove steering tie-rod end nut, and free from spindle.
What happens when a front ball joint fails?
Should a ball joint break, the wheel becomes totally free to move in any direction, which can damage the car’s fender, tire, and several suspension components, if not more. Usually, when front ball joints start to fail, the vehicle will display a few symptoms that alert the driver a problem has occurred.