The ball joint provides a secure connection between the wheel hub and suspension arms. It is the ball joint that allows the wheels to be turned in a horizontal plane, but does not transfer movement to the suspension arms.
Necessary
- - keys set;
- - ball puller;
- - wheel chocks;
- - jack;
- - safety support;
- - a set of new ball joints with anthers and nuts.
Instructions
Step 1
Prepare your vehicle for ball joint replacement. No matter what kind of drive your car has, be sure to install chocks under the rear wheels. Rip off the bolts on the wheels, and then raise one side of the car on a jack. Only after the side has been raised can the bolts be completely unscrewed and the wheel removed. It is advisable to put a support under the car, because the jack is not always reliable.
Step 2
Look, there are small differences between front-wheel drive cars and rear-wheel drive (for example, domestic classics). On the front-wheel drive, a MacPherson-type suspension is used, in which one ball is used on each side. In the classics, a double wishbone suspension system is used, each of the levers has a ball joint, there are four of them.
Step 3
Unscrew the nut located on the ball joint pin if you have a front-wheel drive vehicle. Take a special puller designed to remove the pins of the ball joints from the hub. Put it on the ball, after which it is necessary to tighten the puller bolt. But do not pull too much, since the finger will not come out just like that, because it is conical in shape and sits firmly in its place. Therefore, you have to tap with a hammer. The blows should be not so much strong as sharp. After two or three strokes, pull the puller bolt slightly. And so on until the finger comes out of the hub. But there are pullers that don't need a hammer. It all depends on which one you have in stock. If the balls go to a landfill, then you can knock them out with just a hammer.
Step 4
Remove the bolts that secure the ball to the suspension arm. That's it, now the support can be replaced with a new one. Change it along with the boot, under which it is advisable to put a little grease. Installation of a new ball is made in the reverse order of removal. The only thing to consider is the tightening torque of the threaded connections. Of course, you do not need to use any pullers during assembly. By the way, on some cars, for example, Renault Logan, the ball joint can be removed much easier, no pullers are needed. Just her finger has a groove, which includes a bolt located on the hub.
Step 5
As for the domestic classics with a double wishbone suspension system, everything is the same here, only the work is exactly twice as much, because there are four ball wheels on two wheels. The best option would be to replace the lower support first, then the upper one. The main thing is not to confuse the lower and upper ball. The first has a bolt screwed into the lower part of the body. This is a plug, through it you can measure the development of the support, or you can press in new grease.
