26 replies to this topic

[PhattJZX]

FragLord, on 12 March 2012 - 02:17 PM, said:

Fitting my new new upper and lowers this weekend.

Easy way to see if uppers are stuffed is grab on the arm and give it a good pull, mine gives off a clunk noise when you swing on it.

Cool, i'll check it out.

Another question, how many ball joints are on the rear of the car?

[Wedge]

PhattJZX, on 12 March 2012 - 03:34 PM, said:

Cool, i'll check it out.

Another question, how many ball joints are on the rear of the car?

Just the uppers on the rear!

[smiley666]

hu, with falcons at work i just bash the shit out of the control arm. will see how i go when my replacements arrive
this is where i got them http://www.ebay.com....984.m1439.l2649
will see how they turn out.

[FragLord]

smiley666, on 20 March 2012 - 10:25 PM, said:

hu, with falcons at work i just bash the shit out of the control arm. will see how i go when my replacements arrive
this is where i got them http://www.ebay.com....984.m1439.l2649
will see how they turn out.

Having done mine on the weekend I would recommend a balljoint removal tool, it will save you a lot of time!

[TRD JZX100]

I did my front lower ball joints last weekend and they've definitely made a difference to the steering feel.

For anyone interested in doing the procedure, here's a bunch of pics that might help tell the story.

Ball Joint Separator tool from Supercheap
 IMG_0770_resize.JPG   108.88K   0 downloads  IMG_0773_resize.JPG   243.42K   0 downloads  IMG_0774_resize.JPG   205.52K   0 downloads

New Front Lower Ball Joints courtesy of Nick at NST
 IMG_0771_resize.JPG   137.68K   0 downloads  IMG_0772_resize.JPG   228.1K   0 downloads

Remove the brake caliper and rest it on something to take the tension off the brake hoses. We used an old ice cream container

Then chuck the Ball Joint Separator on the ball joint like so and tighten it up, but not too tight (I'll explain later)
 IMG_0778_resize.JPG   192.68K   0 downloads  IMG_0779_resize.JPG   182.22K   0 downloads

Bob's your Uncle and she's off.
 IMG_0780_resize.JPG   227.36K   0 downloads  IMG_0781_resize.JPG   205.53K   0 downloads

Old (right) and new (left) ball joints compared.
 IMG_0783_resize.JPG   113.34K   0 downloads

Now, what was I saying about not over tightening the Ball Joint Separator?
 IMG_0784_resize.JPG   170.77K   0 downloads  IMG_0786_resize.JPG   105.43K   0 downloads

This is just my theory but, if you try to remove the ball joint using pure force, i.e. over tightening the separator, you'll probably break it like I did and have to go and get another one Supposedly, breaking these Supercheap tools is common. But, I reckon, if you tighten it just enough to get some decent pressure on the end off the ball joint and then whack the side of the suspension where the ball joint fits into with a hammer you won't snap the tool. Or, not as quick anyway. Why do I say this? Because with my new ball joint separator I did just that, I tightened it up nicely and then used a hammer and without any additional force, the ball joint popped out on it's own, so to speak.

Anyway, we finally managed to remove the last off the ball joints with the new separator and installed the new ball joints without any issues. Then it's just a matter of putting everything back in reverse order and you're good to go.
 IMG_0790_resize.JPG   92.21K   0 downloads  IMG_0791_resize.JPG   101.49K   0 downloads
My two boys (13 & 14) had a good time learning and helping out with the job

The old ball joints were as loose as a Bangkok hooker!
 IMG_0792_resize.JPG   148.11K   0 downloads

NOTE: I got the new ball joint separator from Repco, it was exactly the same design as the one that snapped but a different manufacturer and silver in colour. The problem with this one was that the metal from the separator was much harder and was stripping the thread off the bolt that tightens it So I swapped the bolt from it with the one from the tool that broke and it worked flawlessly.

[JZBOSS]

TRD JZX100, on 13 April 2012 - 06:05 PM, said:

I did my front lower ball joints last weekend and they've definitely made a difference to the steering feel.

For anyone interested in doing the procedure, here's a bunch of pics that might help tell the story.

Ball Joint Separator tool from Supercheap
IMG_0770_resize.JPG IMG_0773_resize.JPG IMG_0774_resize.JPG

New Front Lower Ball Joints courtesy of Nick at NST
IMG_0771_resize.JPG IMG_0772_resize.JPG

Remove the brake caliper and rest it on something to take the tension off the brake hoses. We used an old ice cream container

Then chuck the Ball Joint Separator on the ball joint like so and tighten it up, but not too tight (I'll explain later)
IMG_0778_resize.JPG IMG_0779_resize.JPG

Bob's your Uncle and she's off.
IMG_0780_resize.JPG IMG_0781_resize.JPG

Old (right) and new (left) ball joints compared.
IMG_0783_resize.JPG

Now, what was I saying about not over tightening the Ball Joint Separator?
IMG_0784_resize.JPG IMG_0786_resize.JPG

This is just my theory but, if you try to remove the ball joint using pure force, i.e. over tightening the separator, you'll probably break it like I did and have to go and get another one Supposedly, breaking these Supercheap tools is common. But, I reckon, if you tighten it just enough to get some decent pressure on the end off the ball joint and then whack the side of the suspension where the ball joint fits into with a hammer you won't snap the tool. Or, not as quick anyway. Why do I say this? Because with my new ball joint separator I did just that, I tightened it up nicely and then used a hammer and without any additional force, the ball joint popped out on it's own, so to speak.

Anyway, we finally managed to remove the last off the ball joints with the new separator and installed the new ball joints without any issues. Then it's just a matter of putting everything back in reverse order and you're good to go.
IMG_0790_resize.JPG IMG_0791_resize.JPG
My two boys (13 & 14) had a good time learning and helping out with the job

The old ball joints were as loose as a Bangkok hooker!
IMG_0792_resize.JPG

NOTE: I got the new ball joint separator from Repco, it was exactly the same design as the one that snapped but a different manufacturer and silver in colour. The problem with this one was that the metal from the separator was much harder and was stripping the thread off the bolt that tightens it So I swapped the bolt from it with the one from the tool that broke and it worked flawlessly.

LOL marc i did the same thing with my first separator too hahahahahaha

[dlunlimited]

I also broke my first one. I got a pitman arm puller instead, works much better.