My upper control arm ball joint was going out and it was time to change it. I was looking around for options in changing the ball joint and I came across a ball joint that you could press in from advanced auto (only offered on their website). They also sell adjustable upper control arm ball joints that are the press in type from different companies/vendors on dsmtuners. I took pictures and documented the install because I didn't see any information on the forum The installation was fairly straight forward.
1st step is to remove the upper control arm. If you have trouble taking off the nut on the ball joint place a jack underneath the lower control arm and jack it up. This puts pressure on the ball joint so it won't keep spinning as you turn it loose.
-Here is the upper control arm that has been taken out of my car.
-This is a close up of the ball joint itself, at the base of the ball joint there is a ring. Pry up on the ring of the ball joint with a flat head screw driver (this should be easy to take off). This will expose the lock ring holding the ball joint in place.
-Take some lock ring pliers and remove the lock ring. If you are coordinated enough you can use one hand to remove the lock ring while prying up with a flat head screwdriver.
-After the lock ring out you will need to press the ball joint out with a ball joint press. I borrowed a ball joint press from Autozone. Most car parts places will have a rent-a-tool program and have many of these tools available for free (with deposit).
-The ball joint press should take the ball joint out fairly easily. Install the new ball joint, lock ring and the ball joint boot to finish. The ball joint boot can be tapped on using a big socket and hammer or by light tapping on the ring. Be careful not to puncture the new boot.
-You can now reinstall the ball joint into your car. Make sure you torque the ball joint nut to 20 ft-lbs. If you have any questions feel free to PM me or email me. Hopefully this is not a repost. Here is the part number for the TRW ball joint 104288 (off of www.partsamerica.com). I think in some regions it's not available and prices will vary.
1st step is to remove the upper control arm. If you have trouble taking off the nut on the ball joint place a jack underneath the lower control arm and jack it up. This puts pressure on the ball joint so it won't keep spinning as you turn it loose.
-Here is the upper control arm that has been taken out of my car.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
-This is a close up of the ball joint itself, at the base of the ball joint there is a ring. Pry up on the ring of the ball joint with a flat head screw driver (this should be easy to take off). This will expose the lock ring holding the ball joint in place.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
-Take some lock ring pliers and remove the lock ring. If you are coordinated enough you can use one hand to remove the lock ring while prying up with a flat head screwdriver.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
-After the lock ring out you will need to press the ball joint out with a ball joint press. I borrowed a ball joint press from Autozone. Most car parts places will have a rent-a-tool program and have many of these tools available for free (with deposit).
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
-The ball joint press should take the ball joint out fairly easily. Install the new ball joint, lock ring and the ball joint boot to finish. The ball joint boot can be tapped on using a big socket and hammer or by light tapping on the ring. Be careful not to puncture the new boot.
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
-You can now reinstall the ball joint into your car. Make sure you torque the ball joint nut to 20 ft-lbs. If you have any questions feel free to PM me or email me. Hopefully this is not a repost. Here is the part number for the TRW ball joint 104288 (off of www.partsamerica.com). I think in some regions it's not available and prices will vary.
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