trex

i have someone replacing my ball joints and now im worried after reading some threads. He wants to remove the whole a-arm assembly to remove the ball joints in a vice. he was beating the old ones out with baby sledge and it wont budge. is it a good idea to remove that much of the front end?

DL1221

Yes, the easiest way to change ball joints is to remove the A-arms, but don't beat the ball joints out with a hammer, and absolutely do not ever, ever beat the new ones in with a hammer. Take the A-arms to your local machine shop and have them press the old ones out, and the new ones in. I just did mine and it took one hour and $10 for the shop to change the joints.

Now there are small ball joint presses (they look like big C-clamps) that can be used to remove and install the ball joints with out removing the A-arm. You can rent these at your local parts store. Here is an example of one:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=38335

Again, don't beat the new ball joints in, if they get damaged you could seriously compromise their integrity. The other advantage to removing the A-arms is that you can inspect and change the bushings. Mine wire all torn up, so I replaced the ball joints and bushings at the same time. Probably the most common, and the best, aftermarket ball joints to use are the Moog ones. I've heard some bad stories about TRW ball joints.

torquefan

Keep in mind it'll DEFINITELY need an alignment when it's done. It'll probably be right out to lunch.

dslpower

Its easier to remove the arms like DL1221 said to replace the joints. Some have tack welds on them holding them in from the factory, so pounding with a sledge is likely to bend something.