Purp240

Hello,

for those of you that have done this job....i am about to replace my ball joints at all four corners...i noticed today when searching for parts that i can buy a brand new oem lower control arm for less then $30 with ball joint and bushing already installed?

my question is, what am i missing? why in the world would i break my ass trying to replace just the ball joint when i can just unbolt the entire control arm and put a new one in with brand new everything already installed from factory?

this seems too easy..someone tell me what the catch is..lol

thanjks
Anthony

dbeiler

You can replace the arm for cheap on an S13. S14 owners are stuck with replacing either a $200 OEM arm or just the ball joint. Hope you have a 13.

zombiewolf513

Where are you getting this 'new oem' control arm from?

Magnezee

No catch, that easy, don't over think it.

http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/n...oo.com+URL+%2F Moog $30-$33 ea.

http://www.pdm-racing.com/products/pdmcontrolarms.html A little more at $95 for the pair but it's supporting small business

zombiewolf513

The PDM arms will take longer to get, because they'll ship from Canada and may or may not be in stock. Either option will do you well. I ran moog ball joints, not a hard install, worked well.

rawgarage

eBay or rock auto all day if you have s13

Purp240

yea well i have an s14 so i was wrong....but its still ridiculously cheap..I have a supra and shits dumb expensive for that thing so it sucks...

what is easier to do..replace the whole arm or just press out the ball joints for new ones?

i already replaced tension rods, sway bar bushings and links but now im thinkin to get the whole arm so i can get new control arm bushings as well...


but i still wish i searched these out before i did the job...

anti tyler

What's easier depends on who you ask, want new arms with ball joints because you want to spray them nice 100% grease free arms a nice pretty color? Get new arms. Want to get just ball joints and don't care about nice grease free arms? Get just ball joints.


Only reason I say that is because I spent the time to remove every arm, clean it, spray it, install energy bushings. So you decide for yourself what's worth the time and effort.

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rawgarage

for S14 get ball joints and ES bushings on the inner portion...

done and done

steveff

It's only an extra 2 or 3 bolts per side to remove the whole arm as opposed to just removing the ball joint. I think it's worth the extra 5 minutes to just yank the whole arm out. Chances are it'll need to be out to use a press for the balljoints anyway. I swapped my OEM arms out for the Moog R series a while back. Had em extended 25mm and gusseted. Definitely worth it.

g14novak

I have almost new MOOG s14 balljoints. They came in some S14 arms I bought a while back. Had them pressed out to put in S13 MOOG balljoints. 40$ shipped to your door.

TheRealSy90

I thought s14 arms used a C-clip balljoint that doesn't really need a press for install or removal?

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dbeiler

The C-clip is for security only. The ball-joints are held in by friction/press fit. You won't need a hydraulic press. The C-clamp type Autoboys rental tool works just fine. No need to remove the LCA.

Purp240

only reason I would change out the whole arm is to have the inner bushing to be brand new also...anyone know how hard it is to press out the old on and put in new one on the inner part of the arm??

its kinda bothering me now that it would be the only bushings that are still old if i dont replace them...thats why im thinkin just buy the arms and bolt them up...I just put the new sway bar end links and shit on all locktited on there and all

Purp240

update...

I ended up biting the bullet and i just bought brand new lower oem control arms...I went to do the job of changing just the ball joints and i had so many problems i got frustrated and said fuk it....

Basically the ball joint press you rent from autozone sucks...it doesn't have the correct sizes to fit the control arm properly to press out the ball joint...i think the one from advanced auto parts has more sizes to choose from...but i already gave up and i got my new arms already


anyone know if my old ones are worth anything to anyone??

im gonna toss them if noone wants them

steveff

You could probably sell em for a few bucks. Someone will use them as a core to extend them.

Sent from my SM-G925T using Tapatalk

Purp240

Also ive been reading about nightmares while doing this job....Alot of people get to the very last bolt that holds the control arm to the frame and they cant remove it...so can anyone tell me the size and specs on these bolts in case i have to destroy them to get them out...the new arms didnt come with any new hardware...

hopefully i can pick them up at home depot or at least an autoparts store if i need them.....i have to do this job tommorow no questions so i dont have time to be waiting for new bolts to ship to me...

SoundEfx

The dealership might have them in stock.

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[240sx]

I'll be doing this same job today/ tommorrow with OEM Nissan FLCA and no air tools This is the first I hear of damaged hardware upon removal. Anyways, just wanted to mention that I've never had luck w/ home improvement stores & auto parts stores and finding automotive grade bolts. OSH or ACE hardware stores have come thru in the past tho.(ball joint flip on a buddys tacoma). Good luck man, SHOULDN'T be a tough job... shouldn't. Lol

Purp240

ok well i finally got it done...this was a waaaay easier job then pressing out the ball joints. plus now i have brand new lower control arms and bushings...car feels very solid now..almost like a new car..

as far as the job went....it wasnt hard at all i have some good tools which came in handy...i broke a few tools in the process but nothing major...having a good breaker bar was key and i have an air ratchet so once i broke everything loose with the breaker bar i used the air ratched to speed up the process a little....also i bought a puller from home depot which was worth its weight in gold to separate the ball joints from the spindles..i first tried one of those forks with no luck....then i went to the puller which is kinda scary to use since u have no idea when its going to give until it literally explodes and everything comes apart....i was turning very slowly feeling the pressure and then BANG the spindle pops off....
the bolts that hold the control arm to the subframe were actually the easiest...they came right out (of course i drenched every bolt with lubricant before this job so that helped) but they werent damaged at all..actually they were in very good shape so i was able to reuse them with no problems...
all in all, other then the fact that this job cost me alot more then i wanted to spend (parts and tools) it wasnt too bad and i have peice of mind that i have everything brand new in the front end..

[240sx]

^ Nice work.:thumbup: