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8K views 3 replies 2 participants last post by  JRspyderGS 
#1 ·
Tried to put this on the How To section but didn't let me (can a mod move it where its supposed to)

Just like the tittle says it this is a How To to replace your worn out lower ball joint, tie rods and sway bars.


First start by removing your wheel, jacking up your car and placing a jack stand.



Now remove the pin the goes through the 32mm nut (needle nose pliers should do the trick)



Then remove 32 mm nut (this will be a pain in the ass I recommend buying a metal pole or something that will give you more leverage to loosen it) this is how I did it



Next you will take off the bolts that are holding your break line and speed sensor line (these are both 12mm)





Now take off your caliper it will have two 14mm bolts I believe (just place it on the ground but be careful not to pull the break line too much you don’t want to break it)



Now you will take off the nuts from the shock, sway bar, outer tie rod and ball joint . Remove only the ones shown on the pictures and don’t remove any of the bolts yet, it will make your job easier later on-(sorry don’t remember the sizes of the bolts)









The two bolts in the shock might be hard to loosen up so this is how I did it again use using the metal pole for leverage



Now place your jack under the control arm and lift it up until the bolt in the sway bar is completely parallel to the ground (this will make it easier to remove the sway bar and the tie rod)

This is what it should look like


Now just hit the bolt with a rubber mallet or hammer and it should pop off, also do this with the tie rod





Now lower the control arm and then you will remove the two bolts that are holding the shock to the brake disc



Now you will hit the cv joint axle and pop it off from the brake disc (I recommend hanging it with a rope so you make sure that you don’t damage it





Next remove the speed sensor and hang it on the springs so you don’t damage it (it should be a 12mm bolt)

 
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#2 ·
Now remove the brake disk this might require a little taps on the control arm and ball joint with a rubber mallet to loosen it up (just remember be patient)

With the brake disc off it should look a little something like this


Now you can go ahead and remove the other end of the sway bar and the tie rod and replace it with the new ones





Next is the ball joint (this one is a little tricky) you will have to place your jack not under the ball joint but in the middle of the control arm and jack it up until it pushes the control arm just a little, this will prevent the arm from moving when you pop off the ball joint

Before removing the ball joint completely you have to remove the rubber and a retaining ring that it has (a hammer and a flat head screw driver should do the trick







Now with those removed all you have to do is hit the ball joint with a rubber mallet or a hammer at the top of the bolt and it should come out



Now to put in the new ball joint it becomes a little complicated, the reason being you can’t just push in the new ball joint into the control arm, you will need to rent a Ball Joint Press this is a tool that will help you force the ball joint into the control arm it looks like this (you can rent this at Autozone for $100)



You will use this tool to put the new ball joint in, it will look like this



After the ball joint is in you have to put the new retaining ring that came with it and the rubber boot. An easy way to do this is use one of the cylinders that came with the Ball Joint Press and put it on top of the retaining ring and tap it all around with the rubber mallet till it locks.

Like this


Do the same for the rubber part


There you go you have just replaced your ball joint, sway bar, and tie rod now do every step backwards and put everything back together and tighten everything good, just make sure you bleed your brakes before putting the wheels back since you took off the caliper. Now drive around for a little bit to make sure everything settles down and the go get an alignment so you don’t wear out your tires.
 
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