Ball Joint Removal and Replacement

[Funmart6]

I finally had some time today and removed the right side spindle and removed the wheel bearing/hub assembly. I am going to replace the ball joint also, it is really beat up. I don't see any sort of snap ring on this ball joint. There was a metal band that was all twisted up but I have no idea if that was what used to be a snap ring. Does anyone have any instructions for me on how to remove and replace a ball joint on a 1997 SHO?
I figure I will get a loaner ball joint press kit from Autozone or Advanced Auto Parts and have at it but how are the ball joints held in place in the spindle. I am assuming these are the factory ball joints by the way as I have had this car since 2003 and they have never been replaced. Here are some pics.

 

[gamefanatic]

No snap ring, just held in by the two parts being mashed together with the bolt. There is some friction at the knuckle side and typically rust will make things hard to seperate. I recommend using a light coat of antisize for the new ones.

 

[Irish Pride]

See if you can find one of these kits at the auto parts store. They used to offer these in their rental tool program and are specific to the Gen3/4 ball joints in conjunction with a regular ball joint press. Makes removal and installation a breeze. I got mine on ebay for like $15 shipped.

-Chad

 

[gamefanatic]

I think I got one of those kits from Harbor Freight as well. It was a few years ago.

 

[Irish Pride]

I would like to point out that there is supposed to be a snap ring. Every one I've ever done had one and I just looked at my 91+ that I recently did a Gen3 SF swap on and it has them.

-Chad

 

[gamefanatic]

I would like to point out that there is supposed to be a snap ring. Every one I've ever done had one and I just looked at my 91+ that I recently did a Gen3 SF swap on and it has them.

-Chad

You are correct. It will be on the inside. I should have double checked before I answered. Funmart6's is clearly gone.

 

[Irish Pride]

You are correct. It will be on the inside. I should have double checked before I answered. Funmart6's is clearly gone.

Yeah, the twisted metal band that he mentioned was more than likely what holds the rubber boot in place.

-Chad

 

[Funmart6]

Yep, there was no snap ring at all on the passenger side ball joint. I think you are right, the twisted metal I saw was probably the wire that is around the rubber boot, in the pictures you will see just how bad this ball joint was. I got a "loaner" ball joint removal and installation kit from Advanced Auto Parts and was able to remove the old ball joint. I started to install the new one but it wasn't going in straight and didn't want to damage it so I took it back out, and then ran out of daylight, so I will install it tomorrow. Here are a few pics.

 

[Funmart6]

I installed the ball joint and wheel bearing assembly today, making progress. Now the ball joint has a proper snap ring in place also. The spindle is all ready to be installed along with a new sway bar end link.

 

[Funmart6]

Well I finally got the SHO all back together. The front now has new wheel bearings, ball joints, sway bar end links, tie rod ends, brake pads and newly painted black calipers. It took way longer to do all of this than I had anticipated but that's how it goes when working in the driveway and at the mercy of the weather. When we started this, we were only replacing the wheel bearings and we did just that on the driver's side but when we discovered that the sway bar end link and ball joint were both in bad shape on the passenger side, then I ordered ball joints and end links for both sides as well as rear end links. Yesterday we discovered that the tie rod ends were in pretty bad shape also so, yep, we went ahead and changed those also. We finished up the passenger side this morning and then took the driver's side all back apart and replaced the ball joint, I was surprised at how quickly we had it all apart and put back together with the new parts. My son and I drove the car for a few miles and when steering I could hear a pop sound coming from the driver's side, it wasn't really loud but we could hear something for sure. We will take a look at it again this weekend, I figure something didn't get tightened down enough, although we did use a torque wrench on the main things.
Thanks for all the help guys, I really appreciate it.

 

[Texas Marauder]

Well I finally got the SHO all back together. The front now has new wheel bearings, ball joints, sway bar end links, tie rod ends, brake pads and newly painted black calipers. It took way longer to do all of this than I had anticipated but that's how it goes when working in the driveway and at the mercy of the weather. When we started this, we were only replacing the wheel bearings and we did just that on the driver's side but when we discovered that the sway bar end link and ball joint were both in bad shape on the passenger side, then I ordered ball joints and end links for both sides as well as rear end links. Yesterday we discovered that the tie rod ends were in pretty bad shape also so, yep, we went ahead and changed those also. We finished up the passenger side this morning and then took the driver's side all back apart and replaced the ball joint, I was surprised at how quickly we had it all apart and put back together with the new parts. My son and I drove the car for a few miles and when steering I could hear a pop sound coming from the driver's side, it wasn't really loud but we could hear something for sure. We will take a look at it again this weekend, I figure something didn't get tightened down enough, although we did use a torque wrench on the main things.
Thanks for all the help guys, I really appreciate it.

Check the inner tie rods. They will develop slack and make a popping noise.

 

[Funmart6]

Check the inner tie rods. They will develop slack and make a popping noise.

Well, the popping noise wasn't there before we changed the sway bar end links and outer tie rod ends, but yeah, that is something to look at also. I really don't want to get into changing the inner tie rods, I don't know how to do that but hey, I didn't know how to do any of this other stuff either, I just really hate to take it all back apart. Lol.