so my car was up in the air for a long time because i was in the process of swapping in a b16 well when i took off the driver side ball joint originally i stripped it . When i finished the swap i decided i would worry about the ball joint later so i just put the castle nut on my impact and rammed it on the ball joint at the moment it seemed stupid enough to work so some time passed and i put the car back on her own 4 feet and then i hear a clunk, and sudenly my driver side just lowered itself a solid 4 inches. well much to my own stupidity the castle nut fell off of the ball joint. what are my options i have never changed a ball joint myself and would not mind doing it but am not sure how to, i think a shop press is invovled which i dont have, and dont know how much one costs. or i was thinking of just tapping a new thread on it but i tried that and it didnt work, as the bolt kept spinning with the "tap and die thing" um also i was thinking of maybe doing a front knunkle swap for big brakes or just going to the junkyard and pickin up the same exact knukle i have is swaping the ball joint requiers too much work. tell me what you guys think i should do and if anybody has a write up on ball joint removal and istall it would be great.

I'll be checking back often so please post often.

 

remove knuckle, once knuckle is removed remove the dust shield. You'll need snap ring pliers to remove a circlip. Spray the ball joint with pb blaster. Put the knuckle in a vise and beat the ball joint out with a 4 lb hammer.

it's possible to tap the new ball joint in with the hammer if you stick the ball joint in the freezer for a while or you can rent a ball joint press to install it.

pretty easy job if you have the right tools.

If you don't want to do the above buy the ball joint, remove the knuckle and take both items to a shop.

 

sounds easy enough

 

you dont even have to take the spindle off, just beat it out with the hammer, beat the new one back in-just put a piece of wood on top so you dont damage the ball joint when hammering it back in, the new honda one does not have a circlip

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Crx Jimmy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you dont even have to take the spindle off, just beat it out with the hammer, beat the new one back in-just put a piece of wood on top so you dont damage the ball joint when hammering it back in, the new honda one does not have a circlip</TD></TR></TABLE>


will an air hammer do the trick

 

Ooo, dont use an air hammer.... You can slip and bash the edge of your steering knuckle or f-up the ball joint if you are not perfect.

I suggest a socket the same size as the ball joint, freezing the ball joint and tapping it into place with a hammer. The socket will assure you go straight in and not f-up the ball joint. I call that a poor man's press, but it works really well!

Just about any machine shop will press a new ball joint in for &lt;$20.00

But if you are a do-it-yourselfer like me, the freezer thing works nicely.

 

so i should not half *** it and take off my knuckle is there anyway i can do it so i dont have to flush my brakes afterwards?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by teler86 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so i should not half *** it and take off my knuckle is there anyway i can do it so i dont have to flush my brakes afterwards?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Unbolt your caliper from the knuckle and leave the brake line attached. Zip tie it out of the way while you remove the knuckle or whatever.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by teler86 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so i should not half *** it and take off my knuckle is there anyway i can do it so i dont have to flush my brakes afterwards?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah it is allot easier to exert the hammers forces with the knuckle removed. Also just remove the caliper like formentioned and wire tie to a shock so the line doesn't get stressed. I just did all of my balljoints a couple of months ago, there is a place in canada on ebay selling a whole kit to do the whole frontend. Thats what I got, seems like pretty good stuff. Good price too.