Ball joints

[BeagleRock]

Hey gang I've been tearing out the front end of my old 83 because of annoying clunking and recently erratic steering behavior.
 Everything except ball joints are out,drag link,tie-rods,shocks,coil springs etc. Anyway these joints are inverted according to every video I've watched and they all have the threaded ends pointed up and also have a pinch bolt on top. Not mine. Seems like everything from the EECIII to the spare tire carrier is SPECIAL on this truck lol.
 Is this normal and are there any SPECIAL tools required to remove them other than a BJ removed as they seem to be pressed into the I beam rather than the knuckle.
 Thanks Randy

[Gary Lewis]

The instructions from the factory shop manual are at Documentation/Suspension & Steering/Front Suspension then the Instructions tab and the Twin I-Beam tab.

It says "Strike the inside area of the spindle as shown in Fig. 7 to pop the ball joints loose from the spindle."  But in my experience it hasn't always worked that easily.  It also says "CAUTION:Do not use a pickle fork to separate the ball joint from the spindle as this will damage the seal and the ball joint socket."  I've had to use a pickle fork several times, and while it did damage the seal that's not a problem as it is getting replaced.

So if the ball joints don't pop out you may have to get a pickle fork and a large hammer.

Also, there are specific instructions on the order in which you need to tighten up the nuts on the ball joints.  HEED THEM!  I didn't and could not get one of the ball joints to take.  So I had to remove the knuckle and start over.  

[BeagleRock]

Gary nothing's just popping out on this thing as it's original and the parts seem to be forever married to one another via rust and time.

I'll check it out tomorrow afternoon and thanks for the information!

[Rembrant]

I had to use a press to remove and install all 4 of my 2wd ball joints. The old/original joints were pretty tough coming out as it was all rusted together. The new ball joints were the Moog ones with the splines on them. I got the press kit from a local shop through a loan a tool program, so it didn't cost me anything other than the time to pick it up and drop it off. Same as this kit below.

https://www.amazon.com/RAM-PRO-Service-Removal-Installer-Adapters/dp/B01MT5HA0X?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_5

[old55pete]

I was just going to say the same thing, go borrow a ball joint press from O Rillies or Car Quest, soak them down with PB Blaster and press them out. It is a lot less work then swinging a 5 lb shop hammer on a pickle fork.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Or use the two in conjunction.
Wind a bunch of pressure on it and then smack it with a three or four pound drilling hammer.

I have a small oxy/acetylene setup, but not everybody does.

[Gary Lewis]

ArdWrknTrk wrote

Or use the two in conjunction.
Wind a bunch of pressure on it and then smack it with a three or four pound drilling hammer.

Yes!  That's the process I've used, both on ball joints as well as pitman arms.  The smack with the hammer usually allows another partial turn on the puller, and pretty soon it comes off.

[BeagleRock]

Press won't fit as these particular ones don't have a pinch bolt and the threaded end points down on both joints rather than up as do everyone on YT. It looks like they must come out through the tops. I finally got the camber adjustment nut out and there's no way it comes out of the bottom But I can't budge it hammer or not. I'll just sit around and think and heal as I did get the pivot bushings out and in yesterday.
 I actually thought the ball joints would be a cakewalk compared to the pivot bushings as they were in there good too.

[BeagleRock]

Just broke pickle fork. I'm abit stronger than I care to be 😆

[Gary Lewis]

Randy - I bought a ball joint press from Harbor Freight and it has worked on two trucks so far.  Don't know what else to tell you.

[Rembrant]

BeagleRock wrote

Press won't fit as these particular ones don't have a pinch bolt and the threaded end points down on both joints rather than up as do everyone on YT. It looks like they must come out through the tops. I finally got the camber adjustment nut out and there's no way it comes out of the bottom But I can't budge it hammer or not. I'll just sit around and think and heal as I did get the pivot bushings out and in yesterday.

I assume you're still trying to remove the knuckle/spindle from the axle beam?

When you say camber adjustment nut, you mean the upper ball joint nut?

Once you get that removed and out of the way, you can use a press like linked above to press the ball joints out, and they do press down out of the axle beams (to remove). When you install the new ones, they press up into the beams, assuming the beams are still on the truck? I did mine on the bench since I had them out for pivot bushings and ball joints at the same time.

I can't remember if my original Ford ball joints had snap rings on them, but my replacement Moog ball joints do.

[Rembrant]

Gary Lewis wrote

Randy - I bought a ball joint press from Harbor Freight and it has worked on two trucks so far.  Don't know what else to tell you.

It sounds like it's trying to break the spindle free of the ball joints?

[BeagleRock]

I made progress however the nut on the lower joint just spins the inside of the joint  

At a crossroad now so looks like Wednesday will be my next crack at it.

[BeagleRock]

Yes sir I got the camber nut out, in hind sight I should've just taken the whole beam out and did everything on the bench. And yes I see now that the joint does press down, it also does have a snap ring which has been removed. I swear everything is very tough to remove but hey it's been there a long time as it's all original.
 Thanks for responding.

[BeagleRock]

Getting myself one tomorrow evening.

[Rembrant]

BeagleRock wrote

I made progress however the nut on the lower joint just spins the inside of the joint  

I don't have acetylene at home to turn stubborn nuts like this into liquid, so I will usually do one of two things:

1. Use a Zip cut disk on my mini grinder to just cut the nut off...or the end of the joint, whatever. They're cheap and if you're replacing it anyway, it doesn't matter.

2. If/when I can't access something with a zip cut disk, I will often use a hand drill and drill a hole in the side of the nut. Start small...1/8", and work up to the largest drill bit you can use. One benefit of doing this is once you drill a small hole in the nut you can get some penetrating oil in there, but what I usually do once the hole is big enough is take a chisel and split the nut.

[BeagleRock]

YES!!! Thought about my dremel but never the drill method, interesting.

Thanks Rembrant

[BeagleRock]

Success! On one side,had to buy  cutoff wheel to get the nut off of the lower joint.
 Now onto the other side tomorrow, it will hopefully go much faster!  

Funny how you say I'm gonna replace the ball joints and you end up replacing tie-rods, drag links ,brake hoses and calipers along with new pads. Why not right  
 Oh and pivot bushings.

[Gary Lewis]

Congrat's!  It is going to drive sooooo much better!