ball joint install

[darthqwo]

Im having trouble with the new ball joint (For reference it is the mevotech cms80181 control arm and ball joint) going in on driver knuckle; the passenger side went in easily just like all the youtube videos, but driver side got me scratching head. I even got a second knuckle and the same thing happened; it does not go in. It sits on top of the bore and just slips when you apply pressure; sledge is ineffective.

 

I pulled my ball joints using the astro pneumatic tool 87620. I have the advance auto loaner tool to try to press it in, but the pressure would be applied on the ball joint threads; seems to stabilise the ball joint somewhat, and i tried just once, but it still slips, and i am not going to force it. Either i need a brand new knuckle or a third used knuckle; or my new ball joint is out of spec in terms of size; or the astro puller tool is altering the knuckle.

 

Appreciate any input; omg thanks

[Tehnation]

??

i am having a hard time trying to visualize this.. is the ball joint not going into the knuckle? on the back of the knuckle is a slit, there is also a bolt that is used to lock it in place. if the ball joint doesn't go in you have to ram something into that slit and pry it apart some until the ball joint goes in, then you bolt it back together.... did you remove the bolt?

[Tehnation]

or is the ball joint not going into the control arm? make sure your not missing the black cone thing that goes over the ball joint to fill in that conical space.

[awfulwaffle]

What he said. I couldn't get one of my Mevotech ball joints to fit the knuckle and had to spread the ears a little bit to get it to clear. Don't go overboard or you could crack the knuckle.

[darthqwo]

The driver side knuckle cracked already between the ears after applying air hammer; a second knuckle broke at the pinch bolt; i am on third knuckle and have the ears spread, but it is unrealisticto spread further without damage, and still ball joint does not go in. For reference, the old ball joints that were pulled all go in without issue.

 

The mevotech driverside ball joint is too big; i am thikning it is a manufacturing specification defect; how do i know? As i mentioned i had no issue with passengerside ball joint; i removed it from the passenger knuckle to see if it fits in the driverside.

 

Unbelievable, mevotech. That is three fuckles over this manufcaturing defect.

[darthqwo]

or is the ball joint not going into the control arm? make sure your not missing the black cone thing that goes over the ball joint to fill in that conical space.

 

Do you have a link to the 'black cone thing'?

[Max Capacity]

I think if you look up the ball joint for a Spec B you'll see that piece.

[Ares3985]

I just replaced my control arms the other day. With the air chisel spreading the ears it was quite easy to get in. Definitely clean up on the knuckle with a wire brush. A few good taps and it goes right in. You need to manipulate the ball

Joint to make sure it’s pretty straight though. If it goes in the slightest angle it gets bound up and stops. I had to adjust a few times before it popped in. I didn’t even spread the knuckle that much. Maybe 1/16th of an inch.

 

 

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[darthqwo]

I don't think you need to spread the ears. The ball joint has a recess where the pinch bolt secures it to the knuckle; the pinch bolt does not apply pressure on the ears itself, and the spec is only about 34 ft-lbs.

 

So if anyone has kept track of the number of my fuckles, the third one was spread at the ears without cracking to insert a defective ball joint, and here is a an update on that fuckle. I reheated the ears before operating and put the old ball joint back in to bring the ears to their original place using the pinch bolt (here I used a brand new pinch bolt for fear the old ones would just break inside). The threads of both the bolt and the bore stripped almost completely due to the thread angles being unaligned, and it now just spins freely.