JHZR2
Staff member
I had a little time tonight after putting the kids to bed, to start putting together the lower control arm. That really means the lower ball joint to connect the knuckle, and the upper ball joint for the upper control arm.
Because there’s no shock or spring, there isn’t a force on the LCA, and I also had a hard time getting the upper one to set. Hand tools just let the ball joints spin. I cautiously tried an impact, I didn’t want to spin the ball joint fast, but I did run it in short bursts, and it seemed to move the nut and allow the tapers to cinch.
What I don’t know is if this is an acceptable approach.
When I replaced the ball joints a month or so ago, the rest of the suspension was together. I could use a long pry bar to force the upper one to hold, and I dont recal the lower one having an issue.
Maybe this is a newbie type question, but if the ball joint doesn’t spin, and the tapers come together, is using an impact an appropriate way to do this?
I’ll do final torque by hand. I just don’t want to mess something up.
Thanks!
Because there’s no shock or spring, there isn’t a force on the LCA, and I also had a hard time getting the upper one to set. Hand tools just let the ball joints spin. I cautiously tried an impact, I didn’t want to spin the ball joint fast, but I did run it in short bursts, and it seemed to move the nut and allow the tapers to cinch.
What I don’t know is if this is an acceptable approach.
When I replaced the ball joints a month or so ago, the rest of the suspension was together. I could use a long pry bar to force the upper one to hold, and I dont recal the lower one having an issue.
Maybe this is a newbie type question, but if the ball joint doesn’t spin, and the tapers come together, is using an impact an appropriate way to do this?
I’ll do final torque by hand. I just don’t want to mess something up.
Thanks!
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