Lower Ball Joint Replacement Questions

[Robert Crain]

Greetings All. Great forum. I have a 2003 LS with V8, 17 wheels and 152,000 miles. It's time to replace the passenger side lower ball joint. I have some questions:
1. Can this work be done with the knuckle in place or does the entire knuckle assembly need to be removed first?
2. Will the typical 21 piece c-clamp ball joint removal kit have the needed pieces and parts to get the job done? All my cars have high mileage so I'm thinking of purchasing a kit in lieu of renting.
3. Will I need to heat the knuckle to free things up? I'd rather not.
4. Does the wheel bearing need to be removed? That could be a whole other set of problems.
5. Is Moog still the favored brand to buy? I hear they're having some quality issues.
6. What else should I be considering before I start?
Thank you all and love the forum. Rob

 

[joegr]

The knuckle is aluminum. Unless you are very experienced with pressing ball joints in and out of aluminum, you will end up with a warped knuckle, will crack it, or it will crack a few days later when you hit a bump while driving down the road. Of course, you could succeed here. Some do, but many don't. I recommend that you replace the knuckle (painfully expensive, I know).

 

[milehighmikey]

Very tough job if using a marginal quality tool, too. Snap-On makes a bad-ass ball joint kit that works about as well as you would ever ask for, but using a harbor freight tool was a real biotch, and I ended up bending it around 30 degrees while (trying to) do mine. There is also the aspect of proper receiving sleeves. Our cars do not play well in that area, without an extensive add-on completer set of sleeves. I had to have my buddy cut an inch off of the correctly sized in diameter sleeve when I did mine. And as Joe mentioned, it's pretty easy to crack a knuckle. I did it. If that assembly does not start going in perfectly on axis, it will split that hole. And yes, you need to remove the wheel bearing. I ended up screwing my knuckle to the work bench in order to have it stay put whilst reeking on the breaker bar to operate the tool. It's pretty bad. If you take the knuckle to an experienced expert in the field, that may be your best bet. Or, just grab a new knuckle and be done with it.

 

[Robert Crain]

Thanks for your input. Has anybody used the Mevotech ball joint/ knuckle assembly with success? That seems like a less painful, less risky approach. A new wheel hub bearing could be installed with some anti-seize to the new Mevotech knuckle so in the event that the Mevotech ball joint failed, the removal of the bearing would be less difficult. This approach would at least get the car back on the road quickly. Then in the meantime, I could work on the original knuckle (on the bench) to remove the old bearing and ball joint, clean it up and (with luck) install a new and better grade ball joint. Hopefully without cracking the original knuckle. I'd then have a ready-to-go replacement for when the Mevotech ball joint craps out. Any merit to this approach?

 

[04_Sport_LS]

I recommend that you replace the knuckle (painfully expensive, I know).

Yup... for the Motorcraft one... which is the ONLY good replacement.

 

[04_Sport_LS]

To answer your questions...

1 - No... and yes

2 - No. The C-clamp tool will not work properly because there is not enough room

3 - Yes

4 - Yes

5 - Maybe... and yes

6 - Removing and temporairily relocating other suspension, steering, and brake components out of the way. Heat will most likely be needed to remove the hub assembly from the knuckle... and with the milage you have... you may as well put in a new hub assembly, (unless replaced recently).

Of course, you could succeed here. Some do, but many don't.

I was one of the lucky ones... but then again... I have some experience with aluminum. It's a 2 man job... using controlled heat, monitoring temperature, and gradual cooling with hot water. You have to work fast and be precise. Otherwise the ball joint can get wedged... or you can crack the knuckle... or "cook" the ball joint.

Just pay the money for the Motorcraft knuckle... and be done with it for another 150k.

 

[04_Sport_LS]

Any merit to this approach?

No. Mevosh!t is inferior junk. Plus... if you FUBAR the factory knuckle... then your stuck with the Mevo... which will only last a short time. Then you'll be buying the Motorcraft one anyway... after wasting money and double the labor.