Things You'll Need:
- Ball joint press
- 1/2-inch ratchet and socket set
- Replacement ball joint
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Step 1
Place the ball joint press over the ball joint on the control arm. There are several different cups included with the ball joint press kit, and you should orient the press so that the deep cup goes over the threaded end of the press, and the two stepped inserts are on both ends.
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Step 2
Position the press itself so that the long, threaded connection is pointing up toward the hood of the vehicle with the deep cup over the ball joint cup.
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Step 3
Tighten the upper nut on the ball joint press using the 1/2-inch ratchet and sockets. This is going to force the top of the ball joint through the hole in the control arm. You may need to apply lots of force to make this happen, but it's OK to do so. The ball joint will pop out.
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Step 4
Insert the replacement ball joint in the hole left by the previous ball joint. Make sure the ball joint swings in the same arc and direction that the previous one did.
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Step 5
Install the ball joint by placing the ball joint press over the ball joint, but reorient your top adapter so that the ball joint cap will slide inside of it, as opposed to pushing on it. This may take some tweaking of the cups, but it will work.
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Step 6
Tighten the ball joint press until the ball joint is completely seated in the arm. Remove the ball joint press.
