Ball joint in FLCA

[Bigsyke]

I spent about 8 hours trying to change a front lower ball joint. When it came time to press the new one in on the FLCA, it woulndt even dare fit. So I had to open up the hole in the LCA, and pound it in.

Once the suspension is loaded and in normal conditions, how likely will the ball joint fall out of the LCA if not pressed in?

Its not loose in any way, but its not "pressed" in. It seems like the only other thing holding the wheel on would be the tie rod.

[WoolyS14DET]

From what I understand and what the parts catalogue says is that the ball joint is not supposed to be pressed out !! It's only available as a whole LCA. I wouldn't be to sure/ comfortable about "opening the hole" to make it fit !!! That spells accident. Maybe take it to a NAPA and have them press it in for you ??? IMO

[eek]

You should be able to bring it to any mechanic shop and they should be able to press it in for you. Shouldn't take very long to do. I don't see how the ball joint could pop out when the locking crown nut is there and the cotter pin it locking that nut from moving.

[^fraktal^]

enlarging the holes in the lca was stupid. you shouldn't have to do that if you have the correct ball joints. hopefully you have the snap ring on there too? the snap ring is what actually will keep the ball joint from falling out. the cotter pin only keeps the crown nut from spinning off because that nut is not torqued on.

just bang the old ball joints out with a bfh. the new ball joints press in easily as long as you seat them evenly.

wooly, you can order new aftermarket ball joints. moog is a prime example. however the only way to order oem ones is with a whole new lca.

[tt99ol]

sounds like they gave you the wrong ball joints
opening up the hole is not a very safe thing to do either
try putting a socket on each side of the ball joint and putting a washer on between the nut and sockets,
then tighten the nut and it will pull the ball joint into place
once you get the snap ring on your good to go
the way the suspension is on s-chassis the ball joint is not loaded
it is there to keep the suspension travel in the proper arc
it's more of a brace, the strut/spring is what handles the load since it bolts directly to the spindle
if it bolted to the lca then the balljoint would be the loaded part and i would recommend new a lca
that does not mean its ok to leave it without the snap ring on though
just pull it into place and call it a day

[s13dan]

Yea i would say get a new control arm all together. hopefully everything works out.

[Firestorm]

since you messed with the hole i'd suggest you get new LCAs. they're not that expensive. otherwise i wouldn't feel comfortable driving around like that, even with the snap ring on.

[Forge_55b]

new lca or the risk of the lca disconnecting itself from the spindle resulting in broken everything on that side.......?

id get a new LCA, also i think i remember reading that you are supposed to freeze the ball joint to press in if its a tight fit

[louisdaboois]

yea.... bad idea on trying to "open up" the control arm to make the ball joint fit, because now the ball joint isnt completely 'centered' (if you will) in the opening and it'll have small gaps here and there that it can move around a little, which over time will cause problems. rule of thumb, if it doesnt fit.... dont force it. a ball joint usually only takes a couple hours at most. just need a hammer and a huge ass socket to catch the ball joint when it falls.

my advice, just buy new flcas man.

[Bigsyke]

Thanks for the replys. I used a moog ball joint, froze it for a day. Everything seems snug right now, but Im looking for new LCA's and they are effing expensive for the s14.

When I opened up the hole, I still needed to pound in the new ball joint which took about an hour. Didnt open the hole up that much...

I jsut dont want the lower portion of the ball joint to pop out...you guys think its safe to drive like this untill I get a new LCA in?

How often do these go bad?

[MangoDorifto]

Was there a new snap ring supplied with your ball joint? Sounds like it's in there pretty good. You should be alright driving on it.

It takes quite a bit of mileage and years of abuse for a lower ball joint to go out.

[burnsauto]

yeah if its in there pretty good, I wouldnt worry about it too much. Use your own judgement. If you trust it, fine. If you doubt your work, then change it.

[Bigsyke]

I had to use the old snap ring. The snap ring is loose because I stretched very little, but could NOT get the new snap ring on with any of the tools I had.

Im worried so I might just place an order for another LCA if I have to. looks like justin at thenismo shop has them for $130/per. I just REALLY dont want to go through that again.

[WERDdabuilder]

what happened to renting the tool from autozone?

i just did my 5lug swap and put in fresh new s14 ball joints. their tool worked like a charm.

[Bigsyke]

The ball joint was so siezed in the LCA it would have broken every tool I threw at it. It took hours with a torch and a whole can of pbblaster to even loosen the ball joint from the hub, the LCA part was even worse.

I tried C-clamps everything which probably bent my LCA to shit (hopenot)

Sorry, im just in a great depression esp when things dont go right on the car.

[surreybc]

The ball joint was so siezed in the LCA it would have broken every tool I threw at it. It took hours with a torch and a whole can of pbblaster to even loosen the ball joint from the hub, the LCA part was even worse.

I tried C-clamps everything which probably bent my LCA to shit (hopenot)

Sorry, im just in a great depression esp when things dont go right on the car.

you should have searched because control arms only cost $60

[Vision Garage]

get a ball joint remover from HF. Works pretty good and will save you a LCA which is like 200.