Ball joint reuse? And assorted other 5 lug ?'s

Topic: Ball joint reuse? And assorted other 5 lug ?'s (Read 2586 times) previous topic - next topic

Ball joint reuse? And assorted other 5 lug ?'s

January 29, 2010, 08:47:51 PM

So, I picked up complete "Knee" assemblies off a 95 Stang, but since I can't use the A-arm, I was wondering what the chances of me being able to pop out the SN95 balljoint and reuse it on the 83 Arm are? I'm gonna try the stang springs, see if the front end gets any softer. I suppose the 83 Struts bolt up to the 95 Spindles? Apparently I need to go to the junkyard and pick up the steering arms, I was unsure about how to remove when I was pulling parts. Beyond that I think I'm ready for the swap....

Ball joint reuse? And assorted other 5 lug ?'s

Reply #1 – January 29, 2010, 09:24:58 PM

SN-95 ball joints don't work with Fox spindles. They are too short. That being said I have SN-95 ball joints on my T-bird since I bought 03-04 Cobra control arms for the car. They are just tall enough for the nylock nut to engage (two threads above the nut). I would bet that this wouldn't work for you though.....

Ball joint reuse? And assorted other 5 lug ?'s

Reply #2 – January 30, 2010, 12:46:52 AM

Apparently I was not clear. Yes, I am doing the 5 lug swap with the spindles of the 95. I wanted to know how hard it is to pop the ball joint out of the 95 A-Arms and install it into the 83 Arms. thanks for trying though.

Ball joint reuse? And assorted other 5 lug ?'s

Reply #3 – January 30, 2010, 12:56:13 AM

Swapping ball joints is not hard with the proper tool.

Ball joint reuse? And assorted other 5 lug ?'s

Reply #4 – January 30, 2010, 01:22:10 AM

Thanks for the response Chuck, I remembered that there is such a thing as Google.

Ball joint reuse? And assorted other 5 lug ?'s

Reply #5 – January 31, 2010, 08:25:23 PM

Quote from: jrad235;308420

Apparently I was not clear. Yes, I am doing the 5 lug swap with the spindles of the 95. I wanted to know how hard it is to pop the ball joint out of the 95 A-Arms and install it into the 83 Arms. thanks for trying though.

Or I read it wrong:hick: Yeah swapping ball joints is easy enough.

Ball joint reuse? And assorted other 5 lug ?'s

Reply #6 – January 31, 2010, 09:31:56 PM

I installed mine at Autozone using their tools and impact wrench.Took about 5 minutes to pop the new ones in the SN-95 control arms.

Ball joint reuse? And assorted other 5 lug ?'s

Reply #7 – January 31, 2010, 10:27:53 PM

Vinnie~How much did they charge you to rent the Ball Joint Tool? And your using the SN-95 A-Arms on your T-Bird?

Ball joint reuse? And assorted other 5 lug ?'s

Reply #8 – January 31, 2010, 11:52:11 PM

Man, you must have a really nice Autozone.

The SN95(94-98) Arms can be used on the 87-88, 83-86 must use Fox Stang arms according to: http://www.coolcats.net/tech/advanced/controlarms.html

I picked up a couple "Pickle" forks, so I suppose I should go buy some tires for my rims and get on with it then. :)

Ball joint reuse? And assorted other 5 lug ?'s

Reply #9 – February 01, 2010, 01:34:35 AM

whats with everyone and thier ball joint tool? dont need no stinking ball joint tool:hick:

Ball joint reuse? And assorted other 5 lug ?'s

Reply #10 – February 01, 2010, 01:46:46 AM

Well, I almost didn't, but you didn't speak up quick enough! What do you use? A hammer?

Ball joint reuse? And assorted other 5 lug ?'s

Reply #11 – February 01, 2010, 03:39:49 AM

uh, yeah. I just un threaded the nut till it was covering the threads then tapped it with my 3lb sledge once each side while I was at the junkyard.

Ball joint reuse? And assorted other 5 lug ?'s

Reply #12 – February 01, 2010, 06:55:11 AM

The tools are on their "loan a tool" program.I did it right at the store at the end of the counter,so,no money.If you take the tool home,you pay what they ask and when you bring the tool back,they give all your money back.Nothing to it.

Ball joint reuse? And assorted other 5 lug ?'s

Reply #13 – February 01, 2010, 09:54:02 AM

here is what i do , which prob isnt what everyone suggests.

jack up body of car not on the control arm at this time, insert jack stand.

remove wheel

loosen tie rod end nut till nut is flush with tie rod end nut

strick tie rod end nut and pop out tie rod end. the above underlined word is very important.

loosen spindal assembly nut till its flush atop the ball joint stud

strick with hand sledge on top of ball joint stud

the force from the coil spring will assist in your downward efforts

once ball joint is loose, it will instantly pop down.

insert jackstand towards the outter portion of conroll arm in effect simply jacking the car up on the control arm which compresses spring. dont be in the way of ball joint with your jack stand. ALso, jack up the control arm a pretty good distance which you will see why later.

remove other jack stand which was under the car frame.

remove nut on ball joint then lift spindal / strut out of the ball joint stud.
**the above is the critical point of caution. if your jack stand isnt right, the CA arm will pop down and the coil spring will shoot out at you. Be steady and sure of your jack stand location and always have a safe backout plan. now move on to next step.

remove ball joint, sand paper the hole, add lube oil to hole and insert new one observing its seating correctly. lightly tap ball joint from bottom to get it started.

lift spindal/strut assembly atop the stud and add the nut by hand till its on a few threads.

remove jackstand via your hydralic jack.

lower the control arm and pressure is now applied to the ball joint pulling it up.

tap the outter top available edges of the control arm and observe the control arm lower on the ball joint due to your hand sledge and the spring pressure.

tighten nut, add cotter pin , button up everything and your done,,,unless you have a grease fitting in which case, install it then greas up the ball joint until you see a little seeping out the boot or you feel the boot is hard.

Before you install the ball joint, observe the lower portion where it is machined. there will be about a 1/16'' gap between the ball joint lip and the control arm when you are done. this is on visible from the bottom loooking up into the area where you inserted the ball joint.

if your ball joint goes all the way in with no problem, is probably due to the hole in the control arm is now too large.

Ball joint reuse? And assorted other 5 lug ?'s

Reply #14 – February 01, 2010, 10:13:42 PM

Quote from: jrad235;308738

Man, you must have a really nice Autozone.

The SN95(94-98) Arms can be used on the 87-88, 83-86 must use Fox Stang arms according to: http://www.coolcats.net/tech/advanced/controlarms.html

I picked up a couple "Pickle" forks, so I suppose I should go buy some tires for my rims and get on with it then. :)

D'oh! Missed that.
Couldn't you make the SN95 Arms work on a 4eye? seeing as its the same platform as an 87-88...
Might bring out the track a bit but...
From Erics write up, You potentially get "better control and ride".

Quote from: Haystack;308767

uh, yeah. I just un threaded the nut till it was covering the threads then tapped it with my 3lb sledge once each side while I was at the junkyard.

Great Idea!

Quote from: vinnietbird;308776

The tools are on their "loan a tool" program.I did it right at the store at the end of the counter,so,no money.If you take the tool home,you pay what they ask and when you bring the tool back,they give all your money back.Nothing to it.

Mine has that program, But i always hear that it costs a $100 or more per tool on loan + you break it, you buy it.
But i didn't think of just bringing the parts in and doing it. :hick:

Quote from: jcassity;308789

here is what i do , which prob isnt what everyone suggests.

jack up body of car not on the control arm at this time, insert jack stand.

remove wheel

loosen tie rod end nut till nut is flush with tie rod end nut

strick tie rod end nut and pop out tie rod end. the above underlined word is very important.

loosen spindal assembly nut till its flush atop the ball joint stud

strick with hand sledge on top of ball joint stud

the force from the coil spring will assist in your downward efforts

once ball joint is loose, it will instantly pop down.

insert jackstand towards the outter portion of conroll arm in effect simply jacking the car up on the control arm which compresses spring. dont be in the way of ball joint with your jack stand. ALso, jack up the control arm a pretty good distance which you will see why later.

remove other jack stand which was under the car frame.

remove nut on ball joint then lift spindal / strut out of the ball joint stud.
**the above is the critical point of caution. if your jack stand isnt right, the CA arm will pop down and the coil spring will shoot out at you. Be steady and sure of your jack stand location and always have a safe backout plan. now move on to next step.

remove ball joint, sand paper the hole, add lube oil to hole and insert new one observing its seating correctly. lightly tap ball joint from bottom to get it started.

lift spindal/strut assembly atop the stud and add the nut by hand till its on a few threads.

remove jackstand via your hydralic jack.

lower the control arm and pressure is now applied to the ball joint pulling it up.

tap the outter top available edges of the control arm and observe the control arm lower on the ball joint due to your hand sledge and the spring pressure.

tighten nut, add cotter pin , button up everything and your done,,,unless you have a grease fitting in which case, install it then greas up the ball joint until you see a little seeping out the boot or you feel the boot is hard.

Before you install the ball joint, observe the lower portion where it is machined. there will be about a 1/16'' gap between the ball joint lip and the control arm when you are done. this is on visible from the bottom loooking up into the area where you inserted the ball joint.

if your ball joint goes all the way in with no problem, is probably due to the hole in the control arm is now too large.

Nice! Thanks for the write up.