upper ball joint questions

[quick vic]

I need to replace my upper ball joint, I was wanting to know if it is easier to just replace the upper control arm since the ball joint already comes pressed in the control arm because I will be doing the repair myself and, I dont have a press. Thanks

[Spectragod]

You will have to replace the whole upper control arm, but you will need to remove the shock/spring assembly.

And really, if you are going that deep into it, I would just go ahead and replace the lower ball joint, sway bar end links and possibly the tie rod ends. All of which will have to come loose to get the shock/spring assembly out.... easily.

The job can be a little overwhelming if your not mechanically inclined.

[quick vic]

I will be replacing the sway bar links, sway bar bushings,tie rod ends,upper and lower ball joints,idler arm,front shocks.

[Spectragod]

There is no idler arm, the car has rack and pinion steering. If your going to replace the shocks, you may want to consider buying the shocks with the spring assemblies on them. A spring compressor is required to remove the springs from the shocks.

You will need a press for the ball joints in the lower arms, unless you replace the whole arm assembly, which, unless it's damaged, is a lot of extra $$$ for no real benefit.

[quick vic]

Thanks the mechanic that looked at my car said the idler arm was also bad, He is a new guy at my local shop, I will have the lower ball joints pressed, They were a little pissy with me because Im doing the repairs myself , and all they got was their 50 bucks for the front alignment

[quick vic]

Thanks spectragod for all your help, I appreciate it.

[JOEMERC]

Yeah i guess he is pissy cause he tried to convince you your car has a idler arm and it does not,might want to go to a differant shop that knows what your car actually has....

[fastblackmerc]

If doing it yourself be very careful.

You need a spring compressor to get the struts apart.

[quick vic]

I took the car to my uncle today, He put in on the lift and showed me the parts that were bad and he got a kick out of what the other guy said about the idler arm, so I got all the new parts and im getting ready to take it apart, And Big o tire has a spring compressor and it is only 10 bucks for both to be done. Thanks guys for all your help and you saved me about 30 bucks on the idler arm.

[MyBlackBeasts]

Thanks the mechanic that looked at my car said the idler arm was also bad, He is a new guy at my local shop, I will have the lower ball joints pressed, They were a little pissy with me because Im doing the repairs myself , and all they got was their 50 bucks for the front alignment

If this place said you have a bad idler arm, turn around and RUN!!! WOT!!!! Also, save yourself a huge headace, if you can get replacement coil-overs, get them and don't mess with just replacing shocks. It sucks to go thru the expense and hassle of doing the shocks and then have the spring break 15,000 miles later - you get to do the whole job again! :mad2:

[burt ragio]

Thanks the mechanic that looked at my car said the idler arm was also bad, He is a new guy at my local shop, I will have the lower ball joints pressed, They were a little pissy with me because Im doing the repairs myself , and all they got was their 50 bucks for the front alignment

There is always a reason for piss poor attitude displayed. Perfect example the insecurity of not knowing what one is talking about.
See if you can get Moog susp parts ball ect.

[Spectragod]

I need to replace my upper ball joint, I was wanting to know if it is easier to just replace the upper control arm since the ball joint already comes pressed in the control arm because I will be doing the repair myself and, I dont have a press. Thanks

If you need help doing the job, and have all the parts, I have a lift in my garage, we can probably knock it out in less than a day, and get an alignment done too at the local Firestone dealer.

I just did all this to a 03' Vic about a month ago.......... and then some, took about 6 hours.

[Paul]

I need to replace my upper ball joint, I was wanting to know if it is easier to just replace the upper control arm since the ball joint already comes pressed in the control arm because I will be doing the repair myself and, I dont have a press. Thanks


Yes! and the sway bar end links - I broke one when removing it, so had to take the wife's car to the FLAP to buy whatever they had in stock, regardless of price.