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Any Ideas?

Kittrell

Kittrell

NAXJA Member
NAXJA Member
Location
Thornton, CO
So I am at wits end here. I am in the middle of doing my Tera Steering. Which I decided would be a good time to do my ball joints. I have broken one and tweaked one HF Press. All of the Pep Boys in the area have theirs loaned out. Checker does not carry them, and there isn't an Auto Zone anywhere close to here, with the closest one not having one. I managed to get all of the old joints out before I tweaked the second press. So now I just need to get the new ones pressed in. Suggestions?
 
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get a 4 pound hammer and start wailing away......it takes a while but it's how I got mine out. don't apply heat to the joint, a little heat on the axle may help a bit but be sure not to get the joint itself hot
 
Harbor Freight Tools has them fairly reasonable - that's where I picked up mine. There's one at Bowles and Kipling if you're working down that way.

And no, you can't borrow mine...... it appears you're a bit rough with 'em.
:D :D :D
 
YELLAHEEP said:
Harbor Freight Tools has them fairly reasonable - that's where I picked up mine. There's one at Bowles and Kipling if you're working down that way.

And no, you can't borrow mine...... it appears you're a bit rough with 'em.
:D :D :D
Click to expand...

What do you think HF stood for smart guy......:D I broke one, and noticeably bent another. Those POSs aren't gonna do the job, I need something else.
 
91 Jeep Project said:
What do you think HF stood for smart guy......:D I broke one, and noticeably bent another. Those POSs aren't gonna do the job, I need something else.
Click to expand...


Heh heh.... I see.

Well, heat and hammers are about the only other solution now. Since you don't have a torch set, you need to use two of the biggest hammers you've got and hit each side of the knuckle around the joint simultaneously. Many times getting a good "shock" to them will bust the rust loose and get them moving.

Call me if that simply doesn't work.... later today I may be hauling the project XJ to the storage lot and I might be able to load the torch onto the trailer or sumpthin.... but yer SOOOO gonna owe me..... :D
 
91 Jeep Project said:
Alright people, since no one can seem to grasp this. OLD JOINTS ARE OUT. I need to press in the new ones.......:twak:
Click to expand...
I saw that from your first post, but then again I read and think about things before I reply. My problem is that I have no suggestions for what to do next.

DAryl
 
Put the nuts on and tighten them down.......that's a very silly question. Sorry I missed the fact that you had the old ones out. Just clean the surfaces, grease them up and tighten them down with a nice sized breaker bar.
 
Um, the nuts hold the ball joint to the outer knuckle, they don't hold it in the inner knuckle.

The problem with the HF press is the cups don't really fit. Find something that fits, like an old ball joint with the ball and stud out of it, and use that to press. I'll bet the bent press might still work, unless it's really tweaked. You need to have the press square to the surface it is pushing on.

Fred
 
goodburbon said:
UM just mock the fawker up and use the knuckle to pull against

Why are you making this rocket science?
Click to expand...

Cause that won't work. I used parts from the press and used the weight of the vehicle via a jack to try and press a lower in. It didn't budge. I have a buddy getting a press from Vatozone and dropping it off tomorrow. Granted its not made out of the same tin as the HF press, I should be fine.
 
Just remember to keep the press square to the balljoint, and the balljoint square to the knuckle mounting surface. If they aren't going in, it's because an edge is catchingin the hole the balljoint goes into. I've broken a balljoint doing it wrong.
:)

Fred
 
you can use a round file to take the edge off the knuckle if you're having that much trouble. If you can also heat the knuckle a bit that will help

sorry I forgot which way they went in for a minute there. I used the weight of the vehicle and a RBFH.
 
DJ, try this for ease of install...make sure the inside of the seat where the Balljoint is gonna sit, is a smooth as possible. Heat it up as best possible with a torch first as well. I would also try a SMALL amount of grease to make it slide in a little bit easier. The VatoZone one should work, at least it did for me.
 
I have the autozone press and have done two 3/4 ton trucks and my jeep with it and it has worked great for all these jobs. I would go rent one from the zone and give that a shot. Put anti-seize on the joints before pressing them in this made a ton of difference when I did mine.
 
heat on the inner knuckle and put the joint in the freezer.
 
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