Write-Up: Front Lower Ball Joint Replacement

steve314159 wrote:

So how hard is it to get the control arm bushing out? Front/lower. Also, I couldn't really tell about how to use the pickle fork to break the ball joint loose. Are you supposed to hammer the end of it like it's a punch, or the top of it like a lever? Thanks.

If you are going to use the pickle fork because your replacing the ball joint with new, then you wedge the fork in between the ball joint and spindle and hit it straight in.
The intent is to use the wedge shape of the fork to pry the joint loose. I use a nice small 2 lb sledge that I've had forever and usually no more than two good wacks and the joint is apart. If you have the fork that goes on the end of a air chisel, that much better and quicker. Less chance of causing any problems if used correctly and you don't have access to the proper ball joint press as Albert has mentioned.
If you are buying the ball joint from your local part store they will loan you one. Otherwise you might be able to pay a small fee to rent one.
I recommend the press type on an aluminum control arm to prevent cracking or weakening of the control arm.

I'm looking to replace my lower control arm and when I was underneath the car today, I took a look around to acquit myself with the task. One thing I noticed was that there wasn't a lot of room in between the castle nut and the bottom of the CV Boot. I was only able to fit an open ended wrench in there. If I start spinning that castle nut off, will there be enough room for it to come completely off?

There's enough room to get it off, but you need to use an open end wrench unless you take the CV joint out of the hub and move it out of the way.

Good to know! Funny thing is, I was originally going to replace the hub assembly and I was fighting the hub bolt in between the CV boot and the strut and I got pissed off so I put everything back together and when I started shaking the tire around, it was moving all over the place. Looked behind the tire and gave it a shake and the ball joint was moving all over the damn place.

KnottyEagle wrote:

I was fighting the hub bolt in between the CV boot and the strut

That one is a PITA. I had to pop the CV joint a little bit to get to it.

I couldn't get my CV joint to budge. I hit it with a very generous amount of penetrating oil and a BFH. That bolt wasn't getting any looser the more I loosened it either. I had to use a pipe over the ratchet and it was "one click, turn, one click, turn" the whole time.

Anyways, I'm going to replace the entire control arm instead of just the ball joint. Should be easier than grinding and/or drilling out those rivets. Another question; what's the point of that flag looking thing and should it go back exactly in the same spot?

Just soak it in PB every morning for a week, then try again. The nut stays pretty tight until it's all the way off. Be sure to loctite it back on and/or replace it.

What flag thing? Picture?

Flag thing probably wasn't the best way to describe it.



It's whatever that thing is sandwiched in between the nut and the lower control arm bracket.

That is part of the nut.  It helps stop it from spinning around.

Not to sound irrational, but why would you need that if you can just put a wrench on the nut to keep it from spinning that way? Maybe I'm missing something?

Re: the castle nut. I believe if you raise the car with suspension compressed (like on a ramp, or jacking up the control arm), the CV boot will give you more clearance. Once you break the nut loose, lower the jack, or roll the car off the ramp and re-lift.)

Re: the CV axle nut, there are instructions at the link below. Basically, you need a big impact gun (~400 lb-ft) or a long cheater bar. These are 1/2" drive tools that will make life much easier. There some cases where the nut will not budge - that is when you break out the propane torch.

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t1569-write-up-spindle-wheel-bearing-hub-replacement#31484

Re: the "flag" thing, it is a type of retaining washer. They put that on because otherwise the action of the control arm moving up/down would cause the bolt to spin - slowly - but this bad because over time it would wear out the mounting holes on the cradle. This is why we have engineers!

AA wrote:

Re: the castle nut. I believe if you raise the car with suspension compressed (like on a ramp, or jacking up the control arm), the CV boot will give you more clearance. Once you break the nut loose, lower the jack, or roll the car off the ramp and re-lift.)

Re: the CV axle nut, there are instructions at the link below. Basically, you need a big impact gun (~400 lb-ft) or a long cheater bar. These are 1/2" drive tools that will make life much easier. There some cases where the nut will not budge - that is when you break out the propane torch.

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t1569-write-up-spindle-wheel-bearing-hub-replacement#31484

Re: the "flag" thing, it is a type of retaining washer. They put that on because otherwise the action of the control arm moving up/down would cause the bolt to spin - slowly - but this bad because over time it would wear out the mounting holes on the cradle. This is why we have engineers!

I'll have to see if jacking up the control arm will work. I didn't think about that.

Axle nut came off with ease. Used an impact. IIRC, mine was 1/1-8th. It definitely wasn't 1/3-8 because that was too big.

Ahh, did not know that. I'll make sure it goes back on in the same spot.

Axle nut is 33 mm = 1.3"

1 3/8" is a little bit big, but it will work!

The "flag" thing will spin and grab the cradle when you loosen that bolt. When you put it back on, don't hold it with a wrench. Let it spin back against the cradle and get tight...

And technically, the car should be on the ground when you tighten the bushing bolts back up. This ensures no extra tension on the bushings. It "centers" them so they aren't loaded.

AA wrote:

Axle nut is 33 mm = 1.3"

1 3/8" is a little bit big, but it will work!

Can confirm, NAPA here didn't have metric and I was in a hurry.

Anyone else have experience changing the ball joints? Hints or tips?

If you have OE balljoints, you'll have to grind off the rivet heads,pound out or air chisel out the rivets and install the new balljoints. lots of work but a few hours work if you have the right tools. If ya dont,grind off the rivet heads,drop the arm and for a few bucks a nice garage or a friend can chisel the rivets out.

I saw this video with an air chisel...



Wondering if the same method will work if it is necessity to grind/drill the heads on our ball joints. I can pick up an air chisel pretty cheap and have a pretty big compressor.

Using an Air Hammer (with a chisel bit), and ONLY an Air Hammer may damage and/or oblong the holes in the Control Arm itself. I never, ever try to blast thick, hardened rivets like those without at the very least cutting the head in half with a cutoff wheel. Whenever there's room, I'll cut a cross in it (4 pieces). I've personally damaged Control Arms using just the chisel "method".
Also, look at that CA that guy is blasting. It's thick as hell, not thin stamped steel or aluminum.

Unless you're working on a tractor, please don't beat the shit outta your Control Arms with just an Air Hammer. Cut the heads first....please.

Take the CA off the car, put it in a vice, and change the Ball Joint. Plenty of room, maybe 10 more minutes of time to remove the whole CA...and don't be surprised if your Stab Link breaks in the process. It's not that difficult of a job on this platform.

^No worries there. I have pair of spare control arms to work with as I am replacing bushings too and powder coating as well. Will be upgrading my knuckles and other parts to go with some Lucerne/DTS/et al calipers. No need for new endlink assemblies have been replaced with poly not too long ago.

Just looking for the easiest method. I do see other drill the heads off of them as well. I have a drill press. Thanks for the advice!

1998 Riv, 214,000 miles.  Son says ABS and Traction Control lights are on.  Take it to a reputable Pacific Northwest tire/suspension shop (Les Schwab).  Sez 3 of 4 hubs are shot.  Looks like originals.  Decided to try Pick 'n Pull off a '98 Park Avenue.  Removal of all, pretty easy.  Autozone loaned hub nut socket and used the 34MM with a breaker bar and cheater.  A little time and patience paid off.  Spent about $50 bucks for all 3.  Instillation however, is harder than it looks and takes 5X as long.  Always something.  Last hub nut required a BBFH as mine was a 3 pound, but a neighbor had the 5 pound BBFH.  Needed a new hub nut...back to AutoZone where they had a Dorman in stock.  And I needed a pickle fork.  Again, back to AZ.  So, everything mounted and work like a charm.  ABS and Traction Control lights off.  BUT...lower ball joint had damaged boot, as does tie rod.  Looked at Rock Auto (RA).  Cheap.  Plus some come with bolts.  But wait a sec, mine are riveted.  Look at first post and it appears to be a BITCH to remove the ball joint. Solution from Albert I believe.  Get a whole control arm w/ball joint already installed!  Mevotech CMS50114 from RA for $79.99 and $12.99 to ship.  Question boys.  1.  Do you think the Mevotech control arm is worth it, quality wise, for my '98.  Appears to be the quicker and much less stressful way to replace a ball joint complete as a unit.  I'll admit I did bang and clang the aluminum trying to remover the ball joint.  2.  The sway bar/stabilizer bar hardware is <$4 bucks.  I tried getting it off when doing the hubs (don't ask).  Likely original as the top has something like a giant 30 mm washer and the bottom nut wasn't budging.  Thoughts?  3.  How difficult is it to remove the lower control arm?  Whaddya all think and what should I be on the lookout for?  Any thoughts would be appreciated

IIRC Mevotech is a cheapie brand meant for cars at the end of their lives that need to be pushed along for just a few more months. Or for flippers looking to dupe a buyer. I wouldn't use Mevotech on a good Riviera. Only Moog Problem Solvers or AC Delco Gold/Professional. Not the cheapier Moog/AC Delco lines that are their version of Mevotech.

Appreciate the input Jack.  I think I'm just going hit the local Pick 'n Pull and pull an OEM unit off a Buick Park Avenue.  Likely I was the one that damaged the boot on a perfectly good ball joint with a pickle fork, something I was told NOT to do to a modern car...a '74 Torino maybe, but not the Riv.  I did a deep dive into Moog and sadly, Moog stuff is sourced from 16 different countries, sometimes the SAME part being sourced in 2 different countries.  Only the box tells the tale.  Was stunned to see Timken bearings made in Communist China...and when I was a kid going to high school in Newark NJ, the train went right past the Timken factory whose illuminated sign proudly ticked off the products they made.  We used to be a powerhouse in manufacturing of bearings and even military grade zippers.  Those days are gone, sadly.  Mevotech appears to be a Canadian company with plants in 6 locations, >500 people, but can't find out where they make their control arms, short of calling the company.  They seemed pretty solid to me, but what do I know.  Try finding a US made shock for the Riv.  Gabriels came from Mexico.  Rather give the biz to our neighbor in the south than the usual stuff made of chinesium.  Personal preference!

You're so depressingly correct Christen. I just told someone yesterday that I was born at the precise time to witness the decline & fall of the United States - both from manufacturers and politicians...

Damn, I wish we '97 owners could find ANY alternative for our front A-arms! I've just been putting it out of my mind since the GM geniuses decided to change the front suspension every-single-damn-year.

FWIW, I believe manufacturing will be returning to the United States. It will be new technology though, like Tesla's dry coat 4860 battery. Parts for old cars will have to be salvaged or 3D printed. If you need body panels, you may have to learn how to pull a mold and lay carbon fiber.