[little devil]

thanks, sounds shitty. might just pay the shop by me to do it. they are cheap enough. that sucks though.

 

[HemiDak]

My lower ball joints were in there so much that even grinding, hammering, and pressing I could do could not remove them. It was worth it for me to drop my lower control arms to the guys I know at the local dealership to have them done for me. It was $20 well spent.

 

[little devil]

yeah i would say $20 is worth it for sure, i dont have any other option right now.

 

[TonyC]

This post was the best instructional post I have ever seen. Thank you.
I did have to add a few steps though, the whole Caliper/rotor and spindle was too heavy for me to put back on as a unit so I have to remove brake caliper and rotor.

 

[lvin4jc]

This post was the best instructional post I have ever seen. Thank you.
I did have to add a few steps though, the whole Caliper/rotor and spindle was too heavy for me to put back on as a unit so I have to remove brake caliper and rotor.

Thanks bud, i'm glad it's helped so many guys out, that why these forums are so great!

 

[wacko]

Do you grease the outside of the lower balljoint to get it to press in easier?

 

[TonyC]

Grease?

I did not grease mine and I'm not sure that you should. Take your time pressing them in nice and straight...​

 

[JP2002LS1]

Does anyone have all the torque specs needed for this job?

 

[The Dark Knight]

Does anyone have all the torque specs needed for this job?

Upper/Lower Ball Joint to Sterring Knuckle Nuts: 55 ft-lb
Wheel Hub Nut: 130 ft-lb
Tie Rod End Nut: 65 ft-lb

Upper Ball Join Mounting Nuts: ??? ft-lb

Shock Absorber Lower Nut: 80 ft-lb
Shock Absorber Upper Nut: 19 ft-lb

 

[lvin4jc]

Hey there guys, just an update here. I don't know if I mentioned or not but when I did this the first time, I didn't know to remove the rubber boot on the lower ball joints when you press them in and consequently I cut a nice circle completely through the boot, well I finally replaced that joint today. I also found that one of the bolts holding the upper joint on had completely fallen out, glad I checked on this and got it replaced!

So I had to tear back into it completely down again to press out the old one and in the new one. I learned (some of you may already know this) that it isn't necessary to remove the brake caliper assembly at all. Just un-bolt or grind the rivets off the top joint and remove the nut on the lower joint, then you can swing the whole assembly to the side as the axle shaft comes out. Then tie up the axle out of the way and you're good to go, much faster this way.

Also, in reference to greasing it up, both tims i've done this I sprayed the A-arm hole with brake parts cleaner and wiped it out and then lubed it up with W-40 to help the new joint press back in.

I think I said in the beginning that the ball joint press you can borrow form O'reilly's, AutoZone etc. wasn't large enough to work on our trucks. However, if you remove the boot and don't have to worry about cutting it anymore it works perfectly as it should. An electric impact wrench made quick work of the pressing for me. Experience and an impact wrench saved me probably half a days work over last time. Good luck and happy wrenching!

- Joe -

 

[The Dark Knight]

If anyone is looking for a ball joint press, I would suggest checking out Harbor Freight Tools. I bought the Four Wheel Drive Ball Joint Service Kit on sale for $49 and it worked excellently on my Durango, awesome press.

Same with the impact wrench, although I have air ones I do not have a compressor in my home. I got an electric Impact Wrench there for $39 and it worked great for removing the axle nut, rusted castle nuts on the ball joints, etc.

 

[lvin4jc]

If anyone is looking for a ball joint press, I would suggest checking out Harbor Freight Tools. I bought the Four Wheel Drive Ball Joint Service Kit on sale for $49 and it worked excellently on my Durango, awesome press.

Same with the impact wrench, although I have air ones I do not have a compressor in my home. I got an electric Impact Wrench there for $39 and it worked great for removing the axle nut, rusted castle nuts on the ball joints, etc.

I have that same "Chicago Electric" impact wrench, so far i'm a huge fan of it, it's worked quite well. I'm also working in a 1951 Ford F-1 and it's helped me loosen lots of 59yr old rusty bolts!

Also, as far as torque specs go, i'm not sure how helpful those will be since almost everything involved uses castle nuts and cotter pins, but you may be able to use it as a guide? Otherwise you can just tighten it as tight as you can get it and still line up the cotter pin hole with the castle nut...

 

[pistonhead72]

2003 Durango lower ball joint replacement

Has anybody replaced lower ball joints on a 2003 Durango? If I'm not mistaken, they are different on '03 models. I have the "basic" OTC ball joint/U-joint press, I'm just wondering if the spacers and sleeves in the kit will work for this job.

 

[rrob5382]

since the ball joint press is basically a glorified C clamp, could i just use a c clamp instead? I gotta replace the ball joints, tie rod ends, cv axles, and wheel hubs on my rango, possibly brakes at that time too since everything is gonna be off, and i dont wanna get anything that I dont need. Im kinda short on cash and dont have money to buy the press, and i also wont have the money for the deposit of the press without waiting a few more weeks after i can get the parts.

 

[Newbie]

Steering wheel not centered afte tie rod end replacement

I just replaced my outer tie rod end on the driver side and now the sterring wheel is not centered. I thought it might be because new tie rod was longer and I trie to adjust jam nut first in, the out then back to original position but not change at all. Do you have to hold the "pitarm"? from moving when adjusting the jam nut to be able to adjust? I was setting the tie rod inside the knuckle, then rotating the jam nut. Is there a fix for this other then an alignment? It's out quite a bit.:huh:

 

[vacationtime247]

Doing this job right now. Got everything removed from the passenger side. The lower ball joint, upper ball joint and inner tie rod were all bad. The rotor is toast. Purchased one from RockAuto for $30 shipped. Bought a combo deal off eBay for $59.51 and $15.70 shipping, $75.21 total. Includes the inner & outer tie rods plus the upper & lower ball joints. Search eBay Durango Suspension.

1999 Dodge Durango SLT 4X4

Of course this makes the job sooo much easier. Got this set up off Craigslist for $150. Tank exchanges are cheap and infrequent.

VT247

 

[rrob5382]

Hey thats my durango! Im gonna be doing this tomorrow cause I was extremely frustrated and I ran out of time today.

 

[deaver]

I love this thread! Rep for you

 

[Mt.Hoodlum]

Hey there guys, just an update here. I don't know if I mentioned or not but when I did this the first time, I didn't know to remove the rubber boot on the lower ball joints when you press them in and consequently I cut a nice circle completely through the boot, well I finally replaced that joint today. I also found that one of the bolts holding the upper joint on had completely fallen out, glad I checked on this and got it replaced!

So I had to tear back into it completely down again to press out the old one and in the new one. I learned (some of you may already know this) that it isn't necessary to remove the brake caliper assembly at all. Just un-bolt or grind the rivets off the top joint and remove the nut on the lower joint, then you can swing the whole assembly to the side as the axle shaft comes out. Then tie up the axle out of the way and you're good to go, much faster this way.

Also, in reference to greasing it up, both tims i've done this I sprayed the A-arm hole with brake parts cleaner and wiped it out and then lubed it up with W-40 to help the new joint press back in.

I think I said in the beginning that the ball joint press you can borrow form O'reilly's, AutoZone etc. wasn't large enough to work on our trucks. However, if you remove the boot and don't have to worry about cutting it anymore it works perfectly as it should. An electric impact wrench made quick work of the pressing for me. Experience and an impact wrench saved me probably half a days work over last time. Good luck and happy wrenching!

- Joe -

Ha ha same for me. I bought the cheap kit from ebay for like $90 that came with inner/outer tie rods and upper/lower ball joints. With my luck lately, of course when I was on my way to get my heater core last night my right lower ball joint went out. Tons of play, it looked crushed and with no grease and when i regreased it it just ran out the bottom of the boot.

I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY suggest if anyone does this to find lowers with a REMOVABLE BOOT, it will save you all the headache. Autozone has them for $28, they gave me the first kind and I checked and they had another kind that has a removable boot. I cut mine also when I first did it hence the failer I think. Since I did mine not to long ago it was pretty much cake last night with the bj press, pickle fork, and my new 1/2 inch electric impact wrench, took all the work out of it. I also didnt even unbolt the outer tie rod, just swung the whole knuckle out of the way. 3 1/2 hours from start to finish with a dinner break and waiting on my sis to go get the pickle fork which i forgot. Not to bad. The rent a tool bj press I got from autozone worked just fine for me, still not sure if i used it right but it worked......

 

[Rahhstah]

this thread might be old, but it certainly is helpful.

Just swapped my lower ball joints on my '97 with 190k on the originals (I'd done the uppers a few months ago because they're so much easier)

I didn't have to heat anything up once I got the tops ground off, just a few good whaqs with the 3lb sledge to get it started and then used the ball joint press and 1" drive 7/8" - pressed right out. Was also able to get the press to fit putting it back on without much issue. Though, the MOOG ball joints I got didn't have zerks for greasing.