I am changing the front drum brakes on my 72 to disc brakes from a 71. I am down to the spindles and decided t go ahead and replace the ball joints since I am here. The springs and struts were replaced already. While I am removing the lower ball joint do I need to take any precautions for the spring, or does the strut hold the spring onto the A arm while I am working? Just curious before I do something fatal.
the lower ball joint is what holds the spring in place and holds the spindle to the arm. it would be very bad to remove this w/o releasing the tension on the spring. are you swaping spindles with this brake swap? if so you will need a spring compressor to remove the spring. nate.
Yeah, it has spindles off of the 71. I guess I am not seeing how the spring will come loose if the shock is bolted in place.
Rent the tool from Autozone for free with just a deposit. Be careful. I have seen the tool break. If the spring gets loose something bad can happen. You will need an air gun too.
Place a floor jack under the lower control arm. Dont rely on a shock absorber to hoold the spring in place! [note- I edited my initial post. I thought he was talking about removing springs. In my defense, I just came back from the dentist and Im shot up full of novicane!] my beak hurts!!!
OK, I got the spring compressor from Autozone. I figure I will use that and place the jack under the spring for support. Can I just take the air hammer and hit it with a punch on the center of the Ball joint bolt to knock it out? I did that on a Passat I owned and it worked quick and easy. The manual says to use tool J-23742 and I can't find that anywhere.
You dont need a spring compressor. A floor jack under the control arm will do just fine. Jack the control arm till the weight of the car is on it. Make sure you also put a jackstand under the frame also. J-23742 is a Kent Moore tool number. A universal ball joint press will work just fine. You should of gotten one of those instead from Autozone. You could probably knock it out instead of pressing it out, but you'll need the press to install it When you pop the lower ball joint ( you'll need whats known as a "pickle fork" to do this), place a piece of scrap 2x4 under the upper arm to get it and the spindle out of the way.
I just replace one and jacked it up. Put a jack stand under the frame behind the wheel. Put the jack under the a-arm, remove the tire removed the drum. Took the steering link off the backing plate. Moved the drum to off to the side. Loosened the nut on the ball joint. Let the jack down a bit until the load was back on the ball joints used the pickle fork to break the ball loose from the spindle. Jacked it back up to get the load off the ball joint nut and then used the pall joint press I rented from Schucks (best thing ever!!!!) joint comes right out. Clean things up. Center the new joint and press it in. less than 2 hours... RENT A BALL JOINT PRESS you won't be sorry.
Well, I am slow worker, but I got both ball joints out on the drivers side. My question is, since the rivets appear to be welded in and it seems easier to just remove the control arm, should I replace the bushings while I am at it? They seem to be fine when we were grinding the tops of the ball joint rivets out, springy and all.
Your falling into the "while Im at it" trap!. before you know it the car will be off the frame and in a million pieces! But seriously, once you chisel or drill the tops off the rivets, take a hammer and punch and punch the remaining part of the rivet through. They arent welded in. If you remove the upper control arm, be sure to put the shims back in the same place Your going ot have to re align the front end anyway after this work is done
To remove the upper control arm, drivers side, do I need to remove the Steering shaft? The manual just says undo the nuts and pull it out, but it doesn't appear to be that easy. And I am afraid I will mess up something pretty good if I try and pull the shaft out.
the 2 nuts that are toward the engine are all it is. This will also loosen up the shims if you have any in there so take note where they go. You can then get the arm out then you'll figure out how to take the shaft out of the center. I'd recommend removing the bolts for the lower arm and doing those bushings too, however depending on how you removed the spring. In my case the upper bushings were in good shape and the lowers had nothing left. nate. your front suspension is one of the most important parts of your car. and if your paying for an alignment why not have everything tip top?
Thanks, I got everything out, except I jacked the spring up to hold it in, so I probably won't be doing the lowers right now. I might look into different front springs at some point, and fool with that then.
OK, I have the front upper control arms out and I am removing the bushings to put in new ones. I removed all of the rubber from one bushing and I thought that would in turn allow the bushing to slide out, or at least the bar and then let me press the bushing out with a ball joint press or vice. Well the bushing is still in their and I can't figure out how to get it out. Any ideas? Jason Cook, I had seen an older post where you said you could use an air chicsel, but I can't seem to figure out how that worked.
You can air chisel them out pretty easily. Use a sharp flat tip. Go around the diameter of the bushing and collapse it. Then hit it from under the lip and push it out. Kind of hard to explain, but you'll get the idea once you start chiseling. They do make a tool to press them out too- http://www.brandsonsale.com/ht-001555.html
Ok, Thanks! I went and rented the tool from Checker and they came out very nicely. I guess while I am here I mine as well do the bottom bushings and springs while I am it... :Brow:
Yeah, go for the entire front end refurbishment. (balljoints, bushings, springs, shocks) all at one time if possible; no sense having to re re re-align car each time :dollar: .Your wallet will appreciate it. especially when your tires wear out from change in alignment. Make sure you keep the shims from each section of uppers with its correct location.Get car to alignment shop ASAP after all this; possibly using old tires with new rubber waiting to be installed. Performance alignment? Sure!
