Ball joint replacement

i think u can press them out and press them in.. im not for sure.. u have to take out a snap ring first..

Does anyone know if this a process requires a machine to press the joint out or can it be done in the garage with a hammer?

a press would be better and easier, but can be done without it. I use a hammer and brass punch to drive the old one out and use a large vise and some thinwall shockets to install the new ones. you have to be carefull not to damage the boot on installation.

You may be able to rent a ball joint kit from Autozone and get your money back when you return it. That'll press them out and press back in.

Well, beat the old balll joint out after you take out the snap ring. Even drill it out if needed. Clean up the a arm nice and good. put on a little lube. Put the new ball joint in the freezer to shrink it. After that you can drive the new one in with a nut on the threads. Just be careful not to hit it too hard because the threads will wreck and you will have a broken 20 dollar ball joint.

Thanks for the updates.
I've got the ball joints (or as Honda calls them "arm balls") on order.
I was leaning towards using a vice and sockets to help press the joints out of the arms.
I'll update on how this all goes shortly.

driving the old joint out is no big deal, but DO NOT try to drive the new ball joint in by the treaded stud. It will shorten the life of the joint thats if it doesn't break or send the stud through the back side of the new joint.

DO YOU THE PART # FOR '01 FOREMAN ES ???

dirty4man said:

driving the old joint out is no big deal, but DO NOT try to drive the new ball joint in by the treaded stud. It will shorten the life of the joint thats if it doesn't break or send the stud through the back side of the new joint.

Click to expand...

Yep, after I tried this with a pipe nipple (was too long to go in my vice) I put a nut on it and started hammering. Was NOT good on the stud. It trashed the nut and I had to run a die up on the threads to clean them up. I just got a press from vatozone and will see if that works any better. I didn't have the right sized socket or I would have gone that route.

Wish I would have seen this before taking the BFH to the threads.

the best/easiest way to install new ball joints is to freeze them overnight. install 1 at a time leaving the others in the freezer heat up the area the ball joint sits for 2 mins/ish with a propane torch get it good and hot and then slid the new ball joint in it will slide right in place. you have to be quick with it tho as the heat will almost instantly start making the ball joint expand. very simple no hammers sockets or presses. the same method can be used for bearings also