Replacing Ball joints

According the ups tracker my new ball joints for my Dana 30 thats for the '73 Cj5 should be here tomorrow, but I've never replaced a set of ball joints before. I consulted my ever useless Haynes manual and it doesn't mention them at all. Did a search but was unable to find anything useful, but then again my search-fu is weak. Any advice would be nice, pointers or a link to thread that discussed this before. Thanks in advance, Don

 

There are some real Jeep manuals online here... http://oljeep.com/edge_parts_man.html

You will end up removing the axle in order to get at the ball joints. If you have the time and money you should seriously consider replacing all the hub/wheel seals, and at least inspecting, repacking the bearings, since all of that will be exposed. I had a thread over the summer that talked about this very issue...seach ball-joint or something similar.

Autozone and/or Advance Auto, and maybe others, will have a "loaner" tool available for the ball joint. I suggest waiting to get it until they are exposed and ready. Basically you leave a deposit that is equivalent to buying the tool, but you get it back if you return the tool...not sure how long you have, but I think it's measured in days, not hours.

 

You'll need a special wrench for the upper ball stud split collars.

Rich

 

Harbor Freight makes a ball joint removal kit which will work a few times before you bend it ($25). This might be something you can rent as well. It looks like a big c clamp. Handy.

 

I do mine with a press. X2 on the spanner socket for the top pre-load split collar.

 

If you have access to a press that is the way to go. Follow the service manual specs for the preload collar and its pretty easy, you will need a torque wrench though.

 

This book walks you through it in a pretty detailed manner:
Jeep Rebuilders Manual 1972-1986 by Moses Ludel

 

my write-up of my front disc conversion from a few years ago. includes ball-stud replacement. on another forum/site mehh



so, if you've contemplated doing it, it isn't particularly difficult, but it is time-consuming.

tools: basic wrenches/sockets, allens wrenches, tap, reciprocating saw, assorted cold chisels, tie rod/ball joint separator (pickle fork), snap ring pliers, dead blow/lead hammer, bench vise, drill, cheater bar.

if you've got an older cj like mine, you'll want the ball joint separator, rather than just hammering on the threads, as the joint tends to be rusted to the seat face, and doesn't want to come apart.

first, i lifted the front end on to jackstands, and removed the wheels. removed all of the drum brake components. i took the warn locking hub cover off by removing the six allen head screws. this allows access to the snap ring on the end of the stub shaft, which must be removed in order to remove the bearing hub. after taking the ring off, i removed the six bolts (9/16) that attach the locking hub mechanism to the wheel hub, and removed it.

now the spindle nuts/washers need to be removed. there is an outer and inner pair. the outer is usually "locked" by the outer washer, so the washer needs to be bent out of the way using a drift/chisel. after that, remove the outer spindle nut, slide off the inner washer, and remove the inner spindle nut.

the outer bearing/cage will now come out, so remove it carefully. grab the hub at 3/9 o'clock and pull outward. this should allow the entire remaining hub/bearing assembly to come off. using a 9/16 socket, remove the spindle retaining locknuts/washers (there are six). the drum backing plate should now be removed.

using a chisel and hammer, gently work at separating the spindle from the steering knuckle. work around the outer edge in a circle. one of my spindles was actually bent, so i didn't try to reuse them. the old drum spindles used the same inner/outer bearing assembly, while the disc spindles for dana 30's used a larger inner diameter inner bearing, but use the same outer bearing as the old drum spindles.

after removing the spindle, carefully pull the axleshaft out through the knuckle. now it's time to remove the tie rod end (and drag link end on the passenger side). punch out the cotter pins using a drift/nail set, or chisel them to break them off. use a 3/4 socket to remove the castle nut on the t-r-e. if they are really stubborn, use a cold chisel to break them in half, by working from the top of the nut.

once removed, apply some downward force on the tie rod while smacking the knuckle near the t-r-e. should pop the t-r-e out. once the t-r-e (s) are removed, it's time to go after the ball joints. remove the lower locknut first. mine was a 1-1/4, but the donor had 1-1/8. remove the cotter pin from the upper castle nut (or drill it out). use a 1-1/4 to remove the castle nut (you can also break it in half using the chisel if it's really stubborn).

now you really want the ball joint separator fork, and work on the upper ball joint. put the fork between the bottom of the upper yoke (of the axle) and above the upper part of the steering knuckle. (if this is confusing, just place the fork where the rubber seal is on the ball joint). hammer away at the end of the fork, to drive the face/seat apart inside the upper yoke. this may take a while. you'll be glad you borrowed the fork, just hammering on the top of the stud sux, and doesn't always work. plus, there's not a lot of room under the fender to generate a powerfull blow.

this should result in the upper and lower ball studs releasing from the yoke, and freeing the knuckle. now, using a ball joint spanner wrench, loosen/raise the inner ball seat from the yoke. mine wouldn't budge, and i snapped the spanner wrench my next option was to use a small sabre saw with a metal blade to cut through the locking seat. i ended up cutting it in three places. the sawing worked to loosen the seat, and i could use the br0ken wrench to remove it fortunately, the donor axle's seats came out easily, so i used them.

repeat for the other knuckle.

clean everything that is to be reinstalled/donated. i cleaned the new disc spindles, the disc hubs (which have two machined surfaces on the flange - inner and outer, rather than just the outer for the drum hubs), the old bearings (since i reused them ), brake stuff, EVERYTHING.

i then installed the disc knuckles on the yokes. tighten the lower ball joint first. then use the spanner wrench to drive the inner seat into place on the upper yoke. tighten the upper castle nut. done.

i even replaced the u-joints in the axleshafts, which was where the dead blow hammers came in handy, to pound out the caps. used a small ball-peen hammer to insert the new caps/joints, and pressed on the new snap rings. then install the axleshafts.

install the cleaned disc spindles. i cleaned and repacked the torringtons (the inner spindle needles), and installed the spindles over the stub shafts. i used some copper anti-seize around the spindle/knuckle mating surface.

now is the time to install the rotor/hub/bearing assy. carefully slide them on, without the outer cage/rollers. once the hub is fully seated, slide in the outer cage/roller assy., and then install the inner washer, inner spindle nut, outer washer, and outer spindle nut. once tightened, bend the washer to lock the nut in place. slide the locking hub body in place over the stub shaft end, and attach it to the bearing hub with the six 9/16 bolts. install the snap ring on the end of the stub shaft, and put the locking hub mechanism on to the hub body. install the six allens screws.

from here, reinstall the t-r-e's. put on the disc pads, install the caliper, and the new caliper hose. bleed brakes. install wheels/tires. drop it to the ground. done.

once all the wheel bearings were clean, i inserted the outer race into the hub first, using an old race as a helper to tap the new race fully into its seat. then i flipped the hub over and insert the inner race, again using the old race as a helper while tapping with a hammer. after packing all four bearing cage/rollers, i inserted the inners first, then tapped on the inner seal. i filled the space between the seal and bearing with grease, and then filled the area between the inner/outer race with grease, except for the center where the spindle fits.

for the dana 30, the rotor is mounted to the BACK surface of the hub flange, so the lug studs go through it, then through the hub. these should be mounted together

 

Thanks for all the help so far I was able to to get the old ball joints out and installing the new ones seems pretty stright forward. I do have one question how is the preload set for the upper ball joint? I know you need the special wrench and that's about it. Thanks in advance.
Don

 

You need the special socket plus torque wrench. Do not tighten the upper ball joint nut until the split sleeve has been torqued according to directions (see the links to the manual that I posted above). Once you have properly torqued the sleeve, then you can torque the upper nut.

 

While I had the axle torn down I ended up pulling the carrier and instaling a Lock-Right. Then, looking at the axle housing with just the pinion installed, I pulled the pinion. This allowed me to do a proper clean and paint for long term preservation.

1. Hone the guts out of the axle tubes with a wire wheel on drill extension
2. File or stone off high spots on diff cover mounting surfaces (I'll bet the bottom edge is high from hitting rocks)
3. Degrease and wire wheel the outside of the axle housing assembly
4. Wash the whole thing with Simple Green and hot water, rinse, let it dry thoroughly (like for a day)
5. Here's the cool part. Go to the kitchen cleaning section and find a spongy thing with a handle that has a hole in the end of the handle for hanging it up. Now get a piece of 5/16 or so rod, maybe 3 feet, and bend a hook on the end for the brush. Bend it into an eye so the brush won't come off. Bend the other end into the shape of an old tractor or Model T starter crank. Drizzle some POR15 or other good paint onto the sponge, shove it in the hole, and crank it as you push and pull, like you are honing a cylinder. Keep doing it until you're pretty sure you've coated the entire ID. Take care to not paint seal seating surfaces if you've already removed them. If you get paint on the seal seating surfaces you'll have a heck of a time installing new seals straight.
6. Now paint the outside.
7. Retap the air vent fitting hole. Do it now vs when the carrier is installed.

Having gone this far I figured I should upgrade my axles since I had installed a locker. I used Alloy USA axles. Very nice. I smeared them with grease before installing. These axles, when used with drums, require a different outer spindle seal. I don't remember the exact ones but I think they were from a D44 with drums.

I have a fair amount of money into a NT D30 with drums but I wanted a more or less stock Jeep with some performance upgrades so it worked for me. Do the math to see if it makes sense for you before you spend too much money. Compare with what an entire new axle would cost.

 

So once you have the spindles off, axles out nuts loose you just take the ball joint seperator and hammer into place until the ball joits seperates from the yoke? Does the upper seat nut need to be removed before the ball joint will come out?

 

no. as long as the ball stud nuts are loose (to the top of the threads), you should be fine. the fork will provide much better leverage for getting them out vs. hammering on the top end of the ball stud.

wally

 

Ok so is this correct? Does not seem to be moving any.





We are sure this nut inside the top of the yoke does not need to come out first?

 

????????? Huh?

So that nut down inside the yoke in the last picture has to come out first or it does not matter?

Yes that is the top ball joint.

 

reading the manual
confused..stand by

 

yes
the nut needs to come out in order to remove the knuckle from the housing
according to the 1982 Jeep FSM

 

from the FSM; you decipher
(5) Unseat upper and lower ball studs using lead hammer.
(6) Remove upper ball stud nut and steering knuckle. (nut on to protect threads)
(7) Remove upper ball stud split ring seat (nut) using tool J-XXXXXX

reading thru this, it appears it does not matter
sorry for the confusion

 

Yeah thats the way I read it but I dont understand if the ball joint stud is threaded and the yoke is threaded and the ball joint seat is threaded both inner and outer then how can the ball joint release threaded on both side holding the stud in place?

 

I couldn't get the top ball joint to move at all so I got angry and showed it who was boss...With a cut off wheel came apart real easy then.