I've seen more and more of these new type ball joints where the boot is separate. the boot also apparently has a metal ring that is cast inside the rubber and is one piece.

its impossible to just push the boot on and my balljoint press kit doesnt have a sleeve small enough. I've tried using large sockets that fit the rim and using them but they just tear the rubber boot...

is there some sort of trick or specialty tool for these things??

parts store guys are clueless.

here's an example, 99 altima lower balljoint:
you can see the very top lip on the joint itself where the boot is supposed to sit on...

 

sometimes you can tap them in with a hammer or dead blow fairly easily

 

nope, just ended up tearing the boot surface. and "sometimes" doesnt really work for me. I like "always".

 

The ball joint pictured looks like you would use snap ring pliers and spread the ring open enough to get it into the groove. Does yours have a snap ring exposed, or is the ring molded inside of the rubber boot?

It may be a very tough spring clip that needs to be "stretched" over the ball joint. Much like the polar opposite of the C clips used to hold most aftermarket pistons to the wrist pin.

 

i seen some of the after market ball joint where the boot just sits there. no grove or anything. (cheap design)

 

nope, the snap ring goes on the second landing you can see on the joint body itself. its goes there to prevent the balljoint from possibly backing out of the socket.

there's a ridge between that landing and the boot mating surface.

 

those ball joint look like old american cars and trucks....1960-70. you press the ball joint with a regular c clamp then install the c-clip the `zeint`fitting then you just put the boot on and it will be hold by the knuckle and then you grease til the grease come out. don't forget to grease every 2 oil change.... about

denis

 

i remember doing those on my prelude at the beginning of the year.. man those things were a pain.. i used a hammer and greased it up and tapped it in, i didnt want to break the top and ruin the joint so i kinda gently tapped it with my hammer untill it finally went in.. it took me a lot longer to do it that way but i didnt break it.. took something like 15 minutes to get each one in.. the hardest part for me was getting that stupid clamp on there... idk why but it was such a pain and didnt want to go on.. hard to do it with two hands and not the correct tools.. took me like an hour to get them in completely for both front. I bought a universal tool to get the little ring clamp thing on there but it didnt open wide enough!!!! and it was the only one that advanced and autozone carry...the same universal one.. lol. but i finally worked it on there..

 

it isn't actually. the joint is pressed between the knuckle and the lower arm. the ring isn't a bad idea but it's not really a needed part since the boot has no possible way of coming free. the energy booties are slide ons as well. i've tested a pair for roughly 1yr now with no grease leakage.