changing a front knuckle....hard?

[SuperHO]

So I've got a wheel bearing going to shit on the left front. Is swapping a knuckle all that difficult? I'm reasonably mechanically proficient (i can do rod bearings on a gen II..) but for some reason, suspension stuff intimidates me.

 

[Silvapain]

Not hard at all - strut pinch bolt, outer tie rod end, axle nut, and ball joint nut and you're golden. My suggestion is that once you loosen everything, push the knuckle a little further up the strut, then get the ball joint out of the lower control arm. Then you can pull the knuckle down off the strut.

 

[ultimatesho]

id say a 6/10 difficulty not to bad......just frustrating at times

 

[SHOmaniac1975]

They are not bad.

1. Take the wheel off

2. Disconnect the ABS Sensor, and Ride Height sensor off the control arm if you have SARC struts.

3. Remove the cotter pins and ( I Think 18mm) nuts off the tie rod and ball joint.

4. Remove axle nut and washer.

5. Disconnect the Tie Rod from the knuckle

6. Remove lower strut bolts

7. Disconnect the Ball Joint from the Control arm

8. Push axle out of hub

9. Work knuckle off bottom of strut.

 

[SuperHO]

Sweet. You guys rock. Thanks! I figured if I can tackle rod bearings on a 3.0, all the brakes and time the car without a lower timing belt cover, I can do this. Just wanted to make sure there weren't any special tools involved.

 

[ultimatesho]

nothin special other than a 29 or 30mm axle nut socket ........autozone rents out 30mm's think theyre like $15

 

[SHOZ123]

I take my axle and hub off in one piece. Then put the hub in a vise. Then pound the axle out of the hub while holding on to the axle. Very easy actually.

The small and large pitman arm poppers at AutoZone work great for the tie rod end and ball joint.