down or up anyone know. I need to change mine and i dont know which way to push it out towards the ground or up towards the upper control arm.

 

Just slide the fork in there between the knuckle and ball joint, and smack the back end of the fork with a hammer and the joint will pop up and out of the knuckle.

 

Un bolt it and hit the side with a big hammer and dont hit the bolt

 

You can only replace the lower ball joint, the upper has to be replaced with the upper control arm. When replacing the lower ball joint use a tie rod end separator (it's a wedged shaped U on the end of a rod) and place it between the lower control arm and the spindle (the part that the hub is attached to) and hit it with a big hammer. When it separates use a big hammer to knock out the ball joint (towards the ground), don't worry about hitting the treads because you'll be putting a new one in. To put the new one in you'll need a ball joint press and you can rent one from AutoZone for free. Good luck.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by vtecmissle &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">down or up anyone know. I need to change mine and i dont know which way to push it out towards the ground or up towards the upper control arm.</TD></TR></TABLE>

The ball joint is pressed up and out from the bottom. Remember to remove the snap ring if there is one, otherwise it will never press out (I can't remember if the 97s have the rings or not). You can use an air hammer and punch bit to take it out, but will need a ball joint press to put the new one in. To air hammer it out, take the boot off and use a firm grip on the air hammer. I have seen people beat new ones in with a hammer, but I would not recommend that.

The author is asking how to press out a ball joint, and not how to separate it from the lower control arm.