RE: Changing upper ball joints

Thanks Gary.

I already disassembled the front end, but I notice I did not follow step 3 correctly, hope I did not damage the lower ball joint but I am installing new ones anyway....

I was checking to see if anyone had changed any upper ball joints lately because I was informed by an old mechanic that those upper ball joints are a bear to remove. Earlier today I ordered an Mopar ball joint impact socket that I can use with my high power impact wrench, so we will see. Maybe they will come right out, or not. I will let you know how it goes.

-Ben

> From: 62to65mopar@xxxxxxxxxxx
> To: 1962to1965mopars@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Changing upper ball joints
> Date: Sat, 20 Aug 2011 20:28:11 +0000
>
> Returning member Ben asked about this procedure. I was looking into this topic myself. Below is one method, excerpted from this source:
> http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_Replace_the_ball_joints_on_an_old_mopar_ABE_body.
> It is talking about both upper and lower ball joints.
>
> Any corrections / other methods welcome!
>
> ===
> Back off the torsion bar adjusters....Make sure they're loose in their mounting slots so that no tension remains on the front end components.
>
> 1. Remove brake drum, caliper, and/or rotor. On a drum brake car, you don't need to worry about removing the brake line from the cylinder, or the cylinder from the backing plate. They will all come off as an assembly in the next step.
> 2. Remove the two large bolts from the lower ball joint. Note how these bolts sandwich brake components together so you can reassemble them in the correct order later.
> 3. Remove the lower ball joint's cotter pin from the tapered shaft, and back the nut off 2-3 turns. Do not fully remove the nut at this point. Place the proper puller over the spindle and press the tapered shaft out. Make sure to get one of the small, thick-armed puller designed especially for this. Using the typical hinged "gear puller" will cause you a lot of grief. Believe me; it's worth it to get the correct puller! Obviously, you'll need to remove the nut before you can go any further. I leave the nut on during this operation to avoid damaging the threads while using the puller. This will completely separate the lower ball joint from the car.
> 4. Pull the upper tapered shaft the same as you did with the lower ball joint.
> 5. Next is the special socket that fits over the upper ball joint. The ball joints have very shallow threads formed into their sides that pull them into the control arms, so they're unscrewed just like a huge, short bolt....
> ===
>
> Thanks,
> Gary H.
>
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