I'm gearing up to replace all 4 of the ball joints on my 2001 4x4. I ordered the FSM tonight. I'm looking at tools now. Ball joint presses range anywhere from $90 to $580 (for the bling snap-on). Can anyone give me a link to a press that they know will work? How about the size fork that you used to get the knuckle off? Thanks.

 

Check out quad4x4.com. They have all the goodies. I used an air hammer to get my knuckles off.

 

We used a combination of me twistin on the press and the kid beatin it with an air hammer, took a while but finally broke loose. Go to Auto zone and rent the press, no need to buy it.

 

great site. wish i could put their disclaimer on my business card. the one about not answering the phone bc of fishing, hunting or bailing hay

 

I bought a ball joint press from autozone $90 it worked just fine it was the hub assemb. that didnt want to come off
Be very carefull when pulling and installing axle shafts I screwed my self doing it i tought iwas being real carefull but now the right side leaks like a stuck PIG

 

Thanks for the replies. I ordered one from Harbor Freight. Hopefully, it will do the trick.

 

The Harbor Freight one works fine. Done mine on my 01 twice with it. Took about 4 hrs & 2 respectively

Cole

 

I broke the harbor freight press doing mine. I did three ball joints ok but the 4th was just too much. The press broke right in half. Luckily there was a place nearby where I could barrow one.

 

Be careful doing this. My roommate just had his done by a shop and they ended up spending 2 hours per side cutting the lower ball joints out with a torch. This place does front end work on lifted trucks and RV's. They said this was one of the worst ball joint experiences they've ever experienced.

 

It may have been the wrong thing to do cause I've never heard anybody talk about it but when we put mine back together I smeared em with anti sieze. This was a prep for the next change.

 

Smart man.

 

We have had to use the torch on a few 01 dodge's. I think Dodge put them in with jb weld.

 

there in tight i had to rap the press with a hammer to get it to start moving
"anti sieze " is what you want to put it back together with

 

That sounds familier

 

How many miles do you guys get out of a set of balljoints? My truck has almost 65K on it and I think they are done but I'm wondering what everybody else gets. I've owned my truck for 20K and have had nothing but front end problems but haven't changed the balljoints.