Re: A procedure/ some notes on replacing Ball Joints
I just got done with this job, so I'll pass on a few notes and lessons learned, and a general procedure.
[Disclaimer: I take no responsibility for these instructions; use them at your own risk. As with any free advice, it's worth everything you paid for it, so if you don't agree, append an improvement rather than questioning my intelligence or parentage.]
Procedure:
Park the car and set the emergency brake.
Loosen the wheel nuts. Block the rear wheels just in case.
Jack up the front of the car and put it on jack stands
Remove the wheels
Loosen the clamps for the brake sensor wiring, disconnect the wiring at the hub, and tuck it away somewhere so it doesn't get damaged.
Loosen the 18mm nut on top of the balljoint. Use a balljoint removal fork to break the balljoint loose from the hub. [I'm assuming here that you are replacing the balljoints, so you don't care if the rubber boot is damaged. Otherwise use a tool designed to do the job by pushing on the end of the stud] Dont remove the balljoint from the hub yet; leave the nut on a few threads.
Loosen the swaybar endlink bolt, so the bar won't try to hold up the lca.
At this point let me stop and give some advice. Unless you have an air chisel to knock off the rivet heads, attempting to drill out the large rivets with a hand drill is a real problem. First, you're operating in a limited space, second, you're attempting to accurately drill a center hole on a hemispherical rivet head surface (good luck with that). Third, you're trying not to damage the holes in the LCA.
My suggestion is to remove the lower control arm assembly, take the whole thing to a machine shop, and have them accurately machine new 1/2” holes to drill out the old rivets. [The bolts which come with the new balljoint are usually 1/2”] Then you can install the new balljoint before putting the LCA back in the car, saving yourself a ton of aggravation. Plus, you can change out any bushings while it's at the machine shop.
Even if you do the drilling yourself, you should take of the LCA so you can drill more accurate holes. A t55 torx bit will be required.
The instructions below assume you're doing this on the car.
If you are determined to do the job yourself, realize that drilling out large rivets is a time consuming, dirty, and physically demanding task. Eye protection is NOT an option.
Okay, so you have to do it in your driveway or garage; So here's what you do:
If you have a Dremel tool and a supply of larger cut off wheels, cut the rivet heads off as well as you can. This will leave a flat surface that's easy to start a drill on. Either way, you'll probably have to cut the heads off some way, unless you can successfully use a 1/2” drill under the car.
Use a countersink drill bit (short bit used to drill countersinks in wood so screw heads are flush) and a hammer to create points for the drill to start in. [short bit, so you have room to swing the hammer] Drill 1/8” pilot holes thru the rivets. If you are diligent and lucky, the holes will be centered and straight through.
Use a 10mm drill next to drill out most of the rivet. [It may be easier to use several drills in ascending sizes if you have them, rather than going immediately to the large drill.] My Haynes manual says to use 1/2”, but that's a really big bit to get in a drill and fit under the car, unless the car is WAY up in the air. [What I did was to drill up to about 10mm, then use a screwdriver, Dremel, and hammer to get rid of any remaining rivet head, and then pushed the rivet out from the bottom.]
If you did not use a 1/2” drill, then when the rivets are removed you'll notice that the 1/2” screws don't fit the existing rivet holes. You'll have to find new screws about 10-11mm in diameter to fit. [another reason to have this done by a machine shop]
When installing the new balljoint, you'll have to work it into place. It helps to have an assistant leaning on a large crowbar or pipe run thru the hole in the LCA, to lever the LCA down to separate the balljoint from the hub, and allow it to be removed/installed.
Before you install the new balljoint, look at the cotter pin hole. If it is pointing into the LCA when installed, you won't easily be able to install the pin, so turn the shaft so the hole will be parallel to the brake disk when installed.
When the new balljoint is installed, use a mirror to look at it's position relative to the LCA. Lock the bolts down and tighten the castellated nut on the balljoint/hub joint.
Tighten the nut, and then tighten a bit more as needed to align the nut spaces with the hole for the cotter pin.
CAUTION: Make sure, when you bend the legs of the cotter pin around the nut, that it's not going to snag the wiring for the ABS sensor when the hub rotates during steering. My Haynes suggests putting the head of the cotter pin towards the wiring, which sounds like a great idea. Or just use Loctite on the threads and skip the cotter pin altogether. The original nuts weren't castellated/pinned on my car.
You may find that the replacement balljoint has a 19mm nut instead of the 18mm nut from the original. That's important, because a standard 18mm open end wrench will fit to allow tightening the castellated nut, but a 19mm usually steps up in length, and will not. I had to bend a cheap 19mm wrench to allow it to clear the LCA while tightening the nut. [Again, a reason for removing the LCA to replace the balljoint.]
The replacement balljoint may have a zurk/grease fitting which should be scewed in, and the abs wiring should be put back in place.
FINALLY: Put the wheels back on, drop the car off the jack stands, tighten the wheel nuts, and you're back in bidness.
When all is done, you may need to have the car aligned, as the balljoint probably isn't in exactly the same position. 'Can't say for sure. If this was done by the machine shop, then the new part should be close enough not to require alignment, which makes the machine shop option about the same cost as doing it yourself [you're probably getting tired of me saying that].
As of this writing, I was successful at doing one side by the drill/Dremel method, but I broke off two large bits on the other side, one of which could not be removed. So after all this, I'm still going to the machine shop with one LCA [although if it comes out easy I may detach the other to get a matched set]
Bottom line: It can be done, but it's not easy, and it's easy to screw up. Buy or borrow an air chisel, or take the LCA's to the machine shop [oops, I said it again].
