Replacing lower ball joints

[dulcimerbob]

I have a lower ball joint on my 76 that's singing the blues and I have only enough $ to replace both lowers. The uppers look OK. I know I should replace the CA etc but I am severely fiscally challenged. So the " while I'm in there" scenario can't be used here. I need practical advice on changing the BJ only. The manuals are no help so I hope you will be. Ya'll have been great so far answering all my questions and Titanic is a better car for it. Thanks.

DB

[dulcimerbob]

I got under the Titanic today and the suspension is a mass of rusty , rounded off bolts nuts etc. No way can I get the ball joints off. I can see why nobody replied. Truly a fool's errand. I suppose I could blast Thanks for looking and not encouraging me .

[ga.spyder]

Bob,my advice...save the money until you can do the whole job.It is a PITA,and you dont want to do it twice.Trust me on that(I had to do mine twice!)
Craig

[BEEK]

the bolts are not rounded off those are rivets, they will need to be chiseled or cut off.

[dulcimerbob]

The nut on the ball joint shaft was what I was referring to .Definately rounded off.

[BEEK]

eww, a 22 mm wrench and some luck. i have rebuilt many control arms, not that bad to do. a little time consuming but we used to charge 6 hours labor to overhaul a front end, control arm bushings, tie rod ends, center link, ball joints, shocks, and brakes.repack wheel bearings. sway bar bushings, and allignment
what a difference it makes in these cars

[NJFIAT1981]

Just had that same job priced out at in excess of $900.00 in labor plus the parts

[So Cal Mark]

you can replace just the lower bj without doing anything else, it's not a bad job at all

[dulcimerbob]

Mark, can you give me some details. What do I have to remove etc ? Any help appreciated. PM me if you like.
Thanks
Bob

[TulsaSpider]

It is the same procedure as on 90% of vehicles. Very simply you remove the wheel. Support the body with jack stands. Turn the steering wheel to whichever side you are working on for a little more clearance room. Position another floor jack under the hub, about an inch under it, so when the spring lets go the lower control arm goes no where. On the nut you have two options. If you have an air compressor and a cutting wheel that would make quick work of it. If not a cold chisel and cut it off that way. Once the nut is off hit the old stud until it pops out. Make sure the jack is positioned correctly under the A arm at this point for safety reasons. Lower the jack grind off the three rivets and re-assemble I would use loctite on the three attaching nuts.. if the new BJ spins do a search for solutions. Also make sure you don't get a 20 year old ball joints to replace your old ones, inspect your rubber. I have got rotten rubber before and you have to do it all over again! Make sure your spring is oriented correctly when reassembling.
You can also get a free spring compressor from most auto parts retailers with a deposit. But I have found it's not necessary.
Pretty straight forward!

[Foster48x]

TulsaSpider's right, it is the same procedures for most vehicles so there's allot of good info on the internet about how to do it. If it was me (and at one time it was), I would first download a copy of the maintenance manual and parts list from this thread. It will give you a better idea of what you'll be dealing with.

http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=8703

Then watch some YouTube video on how to change ball joints. You probably won't find any on Fiat's but you'll find allot on everything else. I'm kind of a visual person so seeing it happen is easier than reading it happening.

Lastly, just be careful while decompressing the springs.

It's really not a difficult job. The toughest part of the whole job for me was getting the ball joint shaft not to spin with the nut when I was tightening it.

Good luck!
Rick

[dulcimerbob]

OK , I have the ball joint installed and put the nut on the shaft and have it to where the threads are almost to the top of the nut and now it's spinning. What do I do now ? Maybe need to go another 1/16 "

[dulcimerbob]

Got it ! BFH to the spindle and it seated so I could tighten the nut. Really an easy job. With air tools to cut off the old nut and grind the rivets. Thanks for all your help.

[mdrburchette]

Great job!

[Foster48x]

Ahhh success! congrats!