lower ball joint question

[mikh338]

hey guys
heres the deal, my lower passenger ball joint that connects to the control arm is shot. it has lots of play and i cant even tighten the nut back onto the ball joint stud because it just spins the stud. now my question is can i replace the ball joint by pressing it out then pressing the new one in or do i have to replace to whole control arm. in my haynes manual it says i have to replace the whole control arm but that doesnt make sense to me. i searched on here and some people say they have replaced just the ball joint and some say you have to replace the whole control arm. i called advance auto and they sell the lower ball joint for $20. what do I need to do guys, thanks in advance.
mike

 

[r1991_4g63t]

should just be a snap ring and it will press out, did both mine a couple months ago, pretty easy

 

[mikh338]

should just be a snap ring and it will press out, did both mine a couple months ago, pretty easy

ok thats good news, replacing the whole control arm seemed pretty stupid to me...what did you use to press the ball joint out and then back in with

 

[r1991_4g63t]

a ball joint/u-joint press

 

[1992awdlaser]

Also, the stud can spin on a brand new ball joint, it means nothing about the condition of the piece. If it does this you will have to pry up on the control arm while tightening.

 

[r1991_4g63t]

or put a jack under it and raise it just enough to hold the stud in place

 

[mikh338]

Also, the stud can spin on a brand new ball joint, it means nothing about the condition of the piece. If it does this you will have to pry up on the control arm while tightening.

o i didnt know the stud could spin on a brand new joint. but i know i need to replace it because of the amount of play it has, but thanks for that info that deff helps!!

 

[anteversion]

yes you can just replace the balljoint with a new one. but taking the old off the control arm is lot easier than pressing the new in place. i would recommend you to have a press to prees it in the arm, if not you can be able to do it with a large wise and a piece of pipe to clear the stud. make the stud sit firmly into the spindle thing and the stud will not turn when you gonna screw the nut