bigcivic9

Ball joints are spinning while i am trying to reinstall the steering knuckle. I get the castle nut on about 2 full turns and then the ball joint bolt starts spinning and i can not get the darn thing to tighten. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I have no air tools, only hand tools.

98civdx

Replace the ball joint(s)

raidacaipo

Your ball joint thread is probably stripped or jacked up that's why the nut won't turn. In the words of another member...

murdered sol

uuuummmmm... I've heard that you can put an OEM jack between the frame and the ball joint to put pressure on it and prevent it from spinning... never tried it myself though

oh and I'd make sure to clean the threads on the ball joint the best you can and put a few drops of oil on the threads

raidacaipo

You can do this but you risk your ball joint nut getting stuck forever when you try and remove it because it will keep on spinning. However, you can also do the same method as described earlier but I wouldn't risk it. My advice is just to replace it and next time make sure you keep the threads on the new Ball joint clean and not stripped or jammed. good luck

Brick Top

if the threads are ok, they just might be a bit dirty. get a big pair of channel locks and have someone squeeze the knuckle and arm together while you tighten it. other than that, air tools are probably your only other option.

D16SiHatch

^x2

epic.fail

just put a jack under the lower arm and jack it up so that there is pressure holding the balljoint in the tapper on the spindle..this will allow you to tighten it without air tools...just check the threads on the ball joint and the castle nut to make sure they arent damaged

98civdx

doing this could end up screwing you in the long run.

The only correct way is to replace them, it isnt worth the risk of wrecking your car, or most importantly hurting yourself or someone.

bigcivic9

Thanks for the advice, This will be my first ball joint removal and replacement. . . Any tips on that?

ken9

You don't need air tools to screw the castle nuts back in. Getting another ball joints would be much work depend which ball joint you're talking about. Impact wrench gun can do this but i suggest you clean on the thread and lubricate it..

raidacaipo

x2.. if you try and force the nut by screwing it in, chances are that your nut will get stripped because of the messed up thread on the ball joint. Eventually, when you go up a bump and your wheels push up, the whole knuckle that's attached to your ball joint will come out of the LCA and it will rest on your inside wheels ****ing up your axles, damaging your ball joint, and worst damaging the inside of your wheels. This happened to me before trust me you don't want this.

raidacaipo

NO NO and NO... any job will require some time but you can't just say I'll duck tape it instead of properly fixing it. Do that with your seats but not with your suspension.

How is it much work? Just go to autozone or Oreillys and ask for your model. How hard is that?

OP its not that hard at all to replace your balljoint. I do it in 2 hours max with an autozone tool. The tool isn't designed for a Honda but it still works. You can loan it, pay it up front, then get your money back when you return the tool.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/cat...&brandName=OEM

Alot of people complain that its not able to press out the ball joint but it works you just have to know how to use it. You can also get a duralast ball joint from autozone while your at it. Its lifetime warranty and you can just return it for another one when it gets busted again.

eg-greeny

where did my posts go???

Former User

I have read nothing yet in this thread that indicates the need to replace the ball joints. It still remains possible that cleaning and lubricating the nut and bolt threads and applying some pressure to the ball joint will solve this problem.

eg-greeny

same here< i suggested a few ways of helping the OP but all my posts were removed i think?

Former User

Did you post in the OP's other thread? He has duplicate threads on the same topic.

eg-greeny

haha must of been that, my bad

raidacaipo

Do you not understand? He will eventually strip the nut that goes into the bolt if that balljoint thread bolt is bad. Regardless it will keep on stripping the nut. Its not the ball joint that is the concern its the nut. If theres nothing strong enough to hold the ball joint down with the lca then theres danger involved. Eventually when he hits a bump it will force the ball joint out of the lca which causes harm. Trust me this happened to me and I have pictures to prove it. If you want him to die then do it that way

You can keep replacing the nut but it will eventually strip again once he forces it to screw onto the ball joint. The balljoint bolt is usually stronger than the nut so you get the idea.

eg-greeny

if the balljoint is ok with no excess play, and the thread on the nut and the stud are good then theres no problems at all, the balljoint is just turning in its socket, he needs something to stop the ball spinning so he can wind the nut on

raidacaipo

If its spinning in its socket then thats too much force being used to turn it. It should be able to go in freely. This is a sign that the nut or the thread bolt is stripped. Bad sign if he decides to try and force it on.. There's a reason why that thing spins freely. If you guys don't have any pass BAD experiences to back this up then don't talk please.

eg-greeny

the ball is supposed to spin freely! a brand new 1 will turn in its socket, they are just tighter as they have never been driven on

the nut or stud have probly got a bit of road **** on meaning that the threads arent spotless and also the balljoint is used so spins easier!

believe me, i know what im on about, i do this all day every day

raidacaipo

Who hasn't done this everyday? you must be special.. Please don't comment if you don't have any BAD experiences in the past. Thank you

Former User

You are creating the absolutely worst case scenarios, none of which we currently have reason to believe based on the information provided by the OP. Stop being extreme without a reason to be so. Let the OP start simple. Now, if the ball joint is clearly damaged or its boot is ripped open, then replacing the ball joint is necessary.

OP -- Posting some pictures may help.

eg-greeny

i do it as my job, im a technician! hence why i havent had bad experiences, i know what im doing!

your right, if the nut or stud has bad threads then it shouldnt be re-used, but he hasnt stated this so i dont see the problem!