jeepguy56

does the lower ball joint on a 3500 ram come out from the bottom or does it come out from the top?

d-rod

on my 4x4 i put a punch on a floor jack and pushed up on ball joint while i tapped on nuckle and it finally poped out. didn't want to beat on it and screw up nuckle.

buckied

bottom, this is so the weight of the truck pushes it into the knuckle instead of trying to pull it out... I got mine out in another one of these trucks I had with a torch, alot of smoke and extra flame with the grease and plastic but if you know what you're doing you can cut it out without hurting the knuckle

johnh

two wheel drive or four???

d-rod

good call, scratch my comment had my head in rear.

jeepguy56

4x4

jeepguy56

so the ball joint pushes up from the bottom towards the upper ball joint and the fender not down towards the ground.

amesff01

I'm pretty sure to get it out, you press from bottom to top. Get a ball joint press(rental) from napa. Worked for me. Also, when you put it back it, it wants to tilt, so go slow and watch it.

Purplezr2

It appears from the Write up on Wiki link that you need to press from the top down. that is the way he has it setup in the picture. Makes sense the weigh of the the truck holds the joint in.

buckied

Sorry for the clarity issue, to remove it you push from the top down pushing it out the bottom of the knuckle. What I was saying is how it's installed so the truck's weight keeps it in. We wouldn't want the front of our trucks support by a snap ring or something of the sort!

jeepguy56

thanks for the info. have tried to push it from out from the top and it just doesn't want to come out. have tried heating it and using a ball joint tool and it still doesn't want to come out.

vzarich

I have done several of these ball joints and have found that they can be very difficult to get out. The ball joint press threads will need to be lubricated with grease and you will need a good impact gun if you are trying to remove the joint with a balljoint press. You load the ball joint press up as much as it can take without distroying it, you then heat heat the knuckle all the way around with a rosebud tip on a welding torch if you have a joint that is seized in. Recommend soaking with some good penetrating oil such as Zep 45 to start. I have had the old joint gall all the way up the joint on the way out when pressing it out. To break the old joint loose it may take a lot more force than you might think. You will need the ball joint press to install the joint, lube the new joint and knuckle before installation. Installation will be a lot easier.

jeepguy56

thanks for all the advice. finally got the old one out and the new one in.

amador

hello. I am working on 2004 dodge ram 3500 with a 5.9 cummins engine, it truns over but it will not fire up.I install the cam and crank sensor. I also check the fuel pressure and it is oky. can you hlep me. thank you chief

buckied

You may have a bad injector, post your question in the help forum so more people will see it instead of just the few following the ball joint discussion...