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I'm in the middle of replacing my coilovers and decided to go ahead and replace the upper/lower joints. All 4 ball joints will be here by friday so trying to get as much done as possible. Just a few questions.
Upper:
I have the upper control arm off and noticed the ball joint has 3 rivets. What's the easiest way to get them off? Can they be drilled off?
Lower:
Are the ball joints hammered off to get them out?
Also read most people take them to shops to have them removed and installed. Roughly what would it cost to do this?
Pretty sure there was a thread recently about this...
But, yeah some people drill the rivets out. I use a a grinder to knock down the heads and them hammer & punch to get the remaining out. The new one will come with the 3 bolts to put it back in. Pretty simple.
The bottom can be a different story, but the easiest way I've found is to use a removal/installer tool. Can pick one up fairly cheap at Harbor Freight or Sears. Comes with a big C-clamp and different spacers to fit your application. Can maybe even rent one from Autozone, not sure.
Local machine shop may do it for ...30-40 bucks?
Pretty sure there was a thread recently about this...
But, yeah some people drill the rivets out. I use a a grinder to knock down the heads and them hammer & punch to get the remaining out. The new one will come with the 3 bolts to put it back in. Pretty simple.
The bottom can be a different story, but the easiest way I've found is to use a removal/installer tool. Can pick one up fairly cheap at Harbor Freight or Sears. Comes with a big C-clamp and different spacers to fit your application. Can maybe even rent one from Autozone, not sure.
Local machine shop may do it for ...30-40 bucks?
Thanks! I'm gonna try to drill the top rivets out tonight and go from there.
Top ones you should be able to do yourself, just grind the rivet heads off and punch/drill them out from there. Bottom ones I'd agree you'd probably need a installer or puller tool, 20 ton press or something along those lines. My local Napa machine shop charges $16 minimum for a bushing/ball joint removal and another $16 for installation as well, provided you bring the ball joints/bushings yourself
I'm in the middle of replacing my coilovers and decided to go ahead and replace the upper/lower joints. All 4 ball joints will be here by friday so trying to get as much done as possible. Just a few questions.
Upper:
I have the upper control arm off and noticed the ball joint has 3 rivets. What's the easiest way to get them off? Can they be drilled off?
Lower:
Are the ball joints hammered off to get them out?
Also read most people take them to shops to have them removed and installed. Roughly what would it cost to do this?
Thanks
I'm a fan of using an pneumatic chisel for those rivets. Makes life so easy. The 20 ton press pays for itself right away. But that's my preference.
The job is possible with a rental from autozone but it's not fun. Much easier to pay a little extra and have someone else mess with the lowers. For the upper joints I used a Dremel and a hammer.
Great, thanks! I didn't get a chance to do the tops last night. Hopefully I can start on them tonight and remove the lower control arms. I'll definitely have a shop do the lowers.
Took less then 10 mins to hammer and drill put the rivets for the pass side. I'm working on getting the lower control arm out put cant get the bolt removed from the left side. I removed the nut from underneath but the bolt head hits when pushing upwards.
After you get the nut off, you have to slide the lower a-arm in or out, until there is clearance to push the bolt up and out. I'm sorry I can't be more specific, but the last time I had the lower a-arms off my Z/28 was YEARS ago. Therefore, I don't remember if you slide it in or out, but one or the other, WILL allow you to remove the bole.....
Wait a minute, I just remembered. It was 1999............
When you assemble everything back are yall using any kind of lube/grease to make everything go back easier?
I would use a little "Super Lube" on the faces of the rubber bushings, and anti-seize on the shafts of the bolts, so they don't rust to the metal sleeves in the bushings.
If the bolt you mentioned is still not coming out, it is more than likely seized in the bushing sleeve. I rebuilt the front end on my 99 SS this past summer and had this issue arise. I soaked it in wd-40 (prior to knowing about pb blaster) and beat the living hell out of it after attempting to cut it out.
I would use a little "Super Lube" on the faces of the rubber bushings, and anti-seize on the shafts of the bolts, so they don't rust to the metal sleeves in the bushings.
Thanks!
Originally Posted by joeformula
If the bolt you mentioned is still not coming out, it is more than likely seized in the bushing sleeve. I rebuilt the front end on my 99 SS this past summer and had this issue arise. I soaked it in wd-40 (prior to knowing about pb blaster) and beat the living hell out of it after attempting to cut it out.
It's out. It was loose but just not enough room to pull it out all the way. I either pushed the arm in or out and it came right now.
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Apr 25, 2016, 05:20 PM
Replacing upper and lower ball joints 
