cutty Posted August 5, 2007 Report Share Posted August 5, 2007 Well i found out that my driver's side lower ball joint is bad. So i was wondering what tools are needed to replace it, and around how much it would cost for a new ball joint. They have to be OE ball joints since they have rivets in them. Any help, advice or tips would be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOT2B GM Posted August 6, 2007 Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 you'll need a drill or grinder to remove the old rivets. Then you'll need a set of needle nose pliers for the cotter pin, and an 18mm wrench to remove the castle nut. After that you'll need a pickle fork or a couple well placed blows with a BFH to pop the ball joint. Your new ball joint will be bolted in with 1/4-20 bolts so you'll need a couple 7/16" sockets or wrenchs. I would imagine a good ball joint would cost around $50 USD. hope that helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutty Posted August 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 you'll need a drill or grinder to remove the old rivets. Then you'll need a set of needle nose pliers for the cotter pin, and an 18mm wrench to remove the castle nut. After that you'll need a pickle fork or a couple well placed blows with a BFH to pop the ball joint. Your new ball joint will be bolted in with 1/4-20 bolts so you'll need a couple 7/16" sockets or wrenchs. I would imagine a good ball joint would cost around $50 USD. hope that helps Sounds easy enough, i think getting the rivets out will be the hardest part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOT2B GM Posted August 6, 2007 Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 Yeah its not that hard really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted August 6, 2007 Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 Pickle fork plus the weight of my body standing on the pickle fork couldn't pop one of mine out. If yours is as stuck as mine was, you may be looking at borrowing an air hammer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOT2B GM Posted August 6, 2007 Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 I find smashing the end of the handle of the fork with a hammer works much better than standing on it. More of a shock impact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutty Posted August 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 looks like i definately need a pickle fork then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted August 6, 2007 Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 Tried that. Tried stuffing 2 pickle forks in there for extra leverage. Nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutty Posted August 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 ^ damn i hope line isn't that much of a pain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOT2B GM Posted August 6, 2007 Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 usually its not that bad...if it is.....find a bigger hammer LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutty Posted August 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 20lb BFH!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOT2B GM Posted August 6, 2007 Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 you got her! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White93z34 Posted August 6, 2007 Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 Tried that. Tried stuffing 2 pickle forks in there for extra leverage. Nothing. i had a stubborn balljoint recently, nothing short of removing it from the strut, flipping the cradle with control arms upside down and wailing on it with a 10lb sledge, and about a dozen well placed blows could get it out. word of the wise torque it to spec, 65ft lbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManicMechanic Posted August 6, 2007 Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 When I replaced the control arm on the '94...TAP, TAP, boing. I love rust free Texas cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gp90se Posted August 6, 2007 Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 3lb sledge hammer to the control arm hitting opposite sides each time, usually 6 good hits will get it to pop. I broke my pickle fork on the grand prix years ago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSI_MuNkY Posted August 6, 2007 Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 When I did my suspension work I had my brother helping me. He swore up and down that he could do it without a pickle fork, he had done it many times before. Then after him prying on it and messing with it for a good half hour it was nice to hear him say the words "yeah, we need a pickle fork" Mine were stubborn even with the fork, we ended up getting out the sledge hammer and wailing on it a few times, then it popped. Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mediabandit Posted August 6, 2007 Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 well when i did mine, i used a flat screwdriver to pop it out, i got lucky... but i guess never seeing winter driving makes a big difference. good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5speedz34 Posted August 6, 2007 Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 Pickle fork and hammer works best. I plan on getting the GM tool sometime. It should make life gobs easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutty Posted August 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 well it looks like i definitely need the pickle fork, and some titanium drill bits. Hopefully soon ill be able to replace it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted August 6, 2007 Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 I'd like to get a balljoint tool. links? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5speedz34 Posted August 7, 2007 Report Share Posted August 7, 2007 I'd like to get a balljoint tool. links? Its a Kent-Moore tool. Buy it through Ebay or them. Last time I checked it was close to $100. GnatGoSplat has one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q-Ball Posted August 7, 2007 Report Share Posted August 7, 2007 Simple words. If I can do it, so can you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOT2B GM Posted August 7, 2007 Report Share Posted August 7, 2007 this is true Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSI_MuNkY Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 Simple words. If I can do it, so can you. :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: I mean... uhhh... Don't be so hard on yourself Jason! Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted August 8, 2007 Report Share Posted August 8, 2007 I'd like to get a balljoint tool. links? Its a Kent-Moore tool. Buy it through Ebay or them. Last time I checked it was close to $100. GnatGoSplat has one. Yeah, I have that tool. It makes it sooooooooo easy to pop out even the most stubborn ball joints. I haven't had to do a W-body ball joint for years, but I did use the tool on my truck even though it's not exactly the right shape for it. It's sure a helluva lot easier than putting muscle into a pickle fork, mainly because I don't have any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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