'A' frame ball joint replacement, has any one..

[bambamjj]

Has any one replaced the 'A' frame ball joint, i get a clunk every now and again and the vehicle is 12 years old so would be worth doing as a matter of course.

Any one done it and if so any hints, is it difficult, can it be done with everything in situ......

Help appreciated

[robert francis]

hi, i had a banging noise and changed it and the noise went, now theres a different noise, but atleast im chasing them out.

right im usless on cars but il try anything might just take me longer than a normal person, i left everthing onit a 30mm spanner you need, and where the a frame balljoint sits in, i was told to give it a clout with a club hammer to loosen it, only took me a couple of hours i was impressed with myself,

hope it goes well for you

[Disco_Stu]

It can be a bitch, really really bad. Mine was stuck fast, I used plus gas, heat, hammers, bigger hammers, pry bars and alsorts and that was with the axle off the car. I spent about two hours beating the hell out of the bolts to get the last arm detached from the balljoint assembly, in the end i shifted the bolts about half an inch but they were mushroomed so badly I just cut the heads off the bolts with a hacksaw and fitted the new balljoint with new bolts and copious quantities of copper slip.

Mines 14 years old, I hope yours are much easier.

Stu.

[robert francis]

stu mines a 1994, i always put new bolts in any job i do as if igot to do anything else i no it will be ok, but it sounds like you had a fight on your hands,
hope yours goes better bambam

[Disco Matt]

Has anyone seen/tried those adjustible ball joints from Paddock? I just had a standard one fitted but was intrigued by them.

[bambamjj]

thanks for info Guys, hoping to use the weight of the vehicle to my advantage when undoing the nuts/bolts.  gonna soak everything for a week or so with a few squirts of WD each night.

[clbarclay]

To remove the casting with the ball joint in it start by slackeneing the nuts on the 2 bolts holding the A frame together and slacken the nut holding the ball joint to the axle a couple of turns. Using a long bar between the axle and A frame, pry the 2 apart (may need an assistant for best effect) and with a big hammer hit the side of the axle casing next to the taper. If done properly the taper is split in just one hammer blow.

The 2 long bolts holdign the a frame together can be jammed depedning on the angle of the A frame, certainly on earlier designs where the A frame bushes are not in line with each other, so its best to try removing these once the ball joint has been removed from the axle.