spectastic

so this past weekend, I replaced the front bushing on the driver's side in the lower control arm. I couldn't get the ball joint loose because I couldn't get the wheel hub off. So I had to basically dissemble the control arm with the ball joint still attached, rotate it outwards and access the front bushing that way. Shown in picture. I put a hammer to the bushing quite a bit, and I can see how that might ruin the ball joint.

Now, when I drive, I first hear a creaking noise as my car accelerates from stop. And when I'm driving slowly, I hear rattling, like something is loose. I propped the car up, and couldn't find anything loose. I'll try to prop up the hub later to see if there's any play in the ball joint, and if so how big. Is this likely caused entirely by the ball joint, or do I have another problem on my hands?

toyomatt84

iTrader: (1)

What did you replace the bushing with? Polyurethane or rubber?

spectastic

rubber. moog.

I also noticed the hub is rubbing quite a bit with the caliper.

BluerEM2

The lower control arm bushing has alignment marks on it. Did you make sure it was aligned properly when you pressed it back in? Neat press BTW. I don't really understand why you couldn't break the ball joint loose. Are you saying that you couldn't remove the axle nut or you couldn't actually remove the hub. You don't need to remove the hub to release the lower ball joint from the control arm that's why I'm asking.

spectastic

I didn't see any alingnment marks. But it's not too far off from how the other side looks, and it's holding together pretty well, so I doubt it'll be a real issue. As for the ball joint issue, here's why (see pic). The axle nut was hammered town like a m-f. There was no way I was going to use a chisel to lift that bend. The more I worked it, the more metal chipped away. And eventually, a flat screw driver tip broke off. So with that, I couldn't get the axle nut loose, couldn't take off the hub, and therefore didn't have access to the ball joint. But I just got a cheater bar, and I'll try to force the axle nut free tomorrow.

The main problem is whether the noise I'm describing is consistent with a bad ball joint, or if there's something else wrong. It sounds like something is loose down there, especially when I drive slowly. I also noticed that some of the wheel nuts were a bit loose when I checked it today. I torqued them just yesterday to 80 ft-lbs. Maybe it's my torque wrench; it was only $25 on amazon. But I really want to get this noise fixed, whatever it may be.




P.S. that press setup shown does not work. Those metal plates are circuit boards from homedepot, and they bend really easily. I stacked like four of them together, and they still bent like noodles in this setup. The problem with that is that when you put the bushing in, it won't go in straight. I had to use a floor flange, which was made of galvanized steel to seal the deal in the end. Now that I know, it won't take me two days to do this next time. haha

BluerEM2

Hmm... My method of releasing the axle nut is pretty easy. I actually use a broken off flathead screwdriver for it. Hammer it in straight and it bends the axle nut back up. Those are supposed to be smashed in to keep it from coming loose, and your supposed to replace it every time you take it off. That being said, I'm almost positive you could have released the ball joint without removing the spindle nut.

Shazam:


Worked for me!!! When you do it, make sure the two bolts that attach the knuckle to the strut housing are still there or that won't work.

spectastic

you have no idea how many times I've tried that. my ball joint was really stuck in there. Every time I try to put something in between there, the whole suspension would move, but not the ball joint. Besides, how are you supposed to fit the control arm back into the ball joint once you're done?