Something a local mechanic said...."pressing out the ball joints."

I don't know much about lower ball joints, except that I should get OEM Toyota units and get those installed before I start using my new-to-me Tundra with 200,000 miles.

A mechanic I spoke with today talked about how hard those were to replace. He spoke of those having to be "pressed out" and the proper press did not exist. How he would "weld on a ring for that task then grind that off."

These units I have been advised to get from Toyota, do those need to be pressed in or out? Are those instead whole units that avoid the need for a press?

 

It’s a pretty simple job, no welding required. A C type ball joint press easily pops out the upper ball joint. The upper is pressed into the knuckle.

 

Found this video....

How to Replace Lower Ball Joints 2000-2006 Toyota Tundra (youtube.com)

Is this video accurate as to replacing the lower ball joint on a 2006 Tundra?

 

It’s a pretty simple job, just rent the tool from autozone and use a torque wrench

OEMTOOLS 7/8in Fork Opening Ball Joint Separator
https://www.autozone.com/test-scan-...-joint-separator/787834_0_0?vehicleId=3056802

 

Don’t use that mechanic.

 

Mechanic is either full of shit, or talking about the uppers (or confusing lowers & uppers).

You really probably don't need to replace the uppers. All the stress in our front suspension rides on the lowers, which is why they're the ones you hear everyone talk about. As long as they're not dry, and show no symptoms of wear ...

Uppers are a bitch to press out. You'll find a way with a decent kit. Based on what the mechanic said, I think he's aware there's no silver bullet to press them out.

 

After some thought, it appears he's confused the upper and lower ball joints.

That video I've linked above, is that accurate in your experience, as to the difficulty of the job?

See if that video is what I can expect, I'll replace my own lower ball joints.

 

That video mostly covers it. I don't use a hammer to hit mine out, but I use a pitman arm puller instead. Effortless for me.

Watch this video as he goes over a puller tool kit, then shows how to use a pitman arm puller on both the tie rod end and the LBJ. Some auto parts stores have these tool kits to rent out. You can also use a pickle fork.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/bfLvtEnX9qk?start=242&wmode=opaque

 

Pickle fork will ruin the boots on the TRE, and tou have to unbolt the brake shield so you can move it to run the picklefork in perpendicular to the tire. I didnt have any luck trying from behind the spindle.

 

Here are some torque specs and instruction I wrote for myself like 4 years ago. Excuse the typos and grammar

 

Ditto all this ^^

It truly was a painless experience.

 

LOLLLLLLL

fuck that mechanic. Even the fact that he got them Confused would be a red flag. To me, that means he possibly misses the details and "small things"

but yea the lower ball joints is 4 bolts, the castle nut and cotter pin.

Get new bolts (they like to sheer)

the new lower ball joint will come with a new castle nut and usually the cotter pin falls out of the bag so grab a pack from the auto parts store.

As stated above, I'd stay away from the big fucking hammer for separating the ball joint from the lower control arm. Pitman arm pulled 100%. Even those 3 armed pulley pullers can work (that's what I personally used)

 

I've never been able to find a puller or fork that wouldn't tear the grease boot. I use a version of the hammer method, just not like in the video above.

Spray pb blaster (wd 40 whatever) on the lower control arm for two week prior to replacing the ball joint. Put some upward force on the threaded stud with a jack (castle nut to protect threads), back up the lower control arm with a 3lbs hammer and lightly but firmly strike the front of it with the flat side of a ball peen hammer. You don't have to "hit it with your purse" hard, just give it a firm, square strike and it will pop out. If you feel like you are hitting too hard, then put your tools down and reassess.

 

Great information guys, I really appreciate it. I may go buy a puller but I can also see the benefit of just using a hammer with castle nut on there.

Not sure when I get to this job but I expect to do so in a couple of weeks.

I'm short on cash and like to learn new things + overcome challenges, definitely want to do this.

 

Very happy! Just ordered the left and right lower ball joints from Orisman (Toyota of Richmond). Got the bolts too plus a couple of extras as I'll be doing this job in the backyard not the driveway.

 

Make sure you flip the castle nut upside down and get it near-flush with the stud, for three reasons: One, you'll damage the flares on the nut otherwise and two, you'll offer a wider, flatter surface to land the hammer on, and three, if anything drops suddenly, the nut being threaded down a bit should help catch the part nicely.

 

Thanks man, I appreciate that bit of advice. Hope to get onto this project just as soon as I can, mowing and weather permitting!

 

Was hoping to do this today but still recovering from what I think is food poison. I worked yesterday but think I should take it easy today since I was up literally up all night last night.

Next week is the plan now.

 

I just change my upper and lower with OEM, the only thing you need to press out on the bottom is from the LCA. The new one is just 4 bolts and I'd suggest getting new OEM replacments and the nut to tighten the ball back on.
The upper on the other hand needs to be pressed out the UCA, clip removed and ball pressed out, then the new one pressed back in with a new "C" clip and tightened back on the UCA.
The lower is easy but I wanted to make sure after 98k so replaced both.The upper a little more difficult but if you rent the press with the right cups it's not bad, I ended up using my large socket set in place of a cup from the kit.

 

I helped my son do his a year or two ago. Nothing remarkable stands out from the project that I can recall.

 

Thanks man. I think this mechanic was confused and was thinking about something else.

I've since bought the OEM parts and once I get a chance, I plan to do this job myself.

 

Tomorrow looks to be the day......

Renting a front end puller kit from O'Reilly's here in a few minutes.

 

Don't hesitate to pull the knuckle if needed! I found it so much easier. But you'll need an impact and proper sized larger socket to pound it off once the wheel is off.

I recommend printing out the torque spec sheets, here are some images to use for 2005-2006, in reply #24: https://www.tundras.com/threads/torque-specs.53443/#post-3353761

NOTE: Those torque specs show 59ftlb for the LBJ bolts. That is apparently a typo, and high, but it's what many of us here have used with OEM bolts, with good success. I used blue Loctite along with that 59ftlb torque number.

 

Shifty, thanks for those specs.

OK, here is where we are at....I "rented" (actually bought but have a week to return it for a full refund) a universal ball joint press kit from O'Reilly Auto as Advance and Napa didn't have it. I don't care for how big it is and it looks nothing like the tools in the embedded video. I still plan to give it a go tomorrow assuming it doesn't rain.

I got a Zoro.com coupon today with 20% off on the same OTC kit in the video embedded above. I just now ordered that kit and got $33.00 off. No idea on when it'll get here but if I can't get things apart with the hammers and the press I rented, I'll give that a go.

I wanted to do the job today but my dad wanted me to pick up a mower for him and bring it to his house and that took longer than expected. On top of that it finally rained a bit today....enough to keep me from trying today.

Tomorrow?

 

OK, about to start.....today is finally the day!

Just been too busy, bad weather, too cold, etc.

Reviewing torque specs and videos now.

Bought an OTC puller kit some weeks ago.

***
OK, here is where we are:

Driver's side LBJ is off! Wow the 4 small bolts were crazy tight! I had a 15 inch breaker bar on those WITH a 3 foot cheater bar. The breaker bar was beginning to flex! BOOM! Broke free. Others were tight but not that tight.

LBJ nut was definitely not at 105 foot pounds....maybe 20 foot pounds?

Should I be able to hold the LBJ in one hand and easily move its bolt with the other?

****
Bad news: puller slipped, didn't notice it, managed to screw up some outer tie rod threads. Used a different puller, not the one suggested in the video above, came off easy.

The bushing seems pretty far gone anyway...how hard is it to remove and replace an outer tie rod?

Would I also have to replace the passenger side tie rod as well?

 

Outer tie rods are easy to swap, loosen the set nut and spin the outer tie rod off after separating it from the LBJ. Install new in reverse order, get alignment. If the driver's is wore out, might as well swap the passenger's as well.

 

Thanks man.

I've been reading the Bible just about every day this year and it's helped me trust Him a lot more when things go wrong. When I messed up those threads I didn't get upset, I just jokingly said "now God why did you let me do that?" but I knew that He let that happen so I could replace that part, get experience using a puller, and end up with a better truck. The delay in ordering another part isn't going to affect things one bit.

Today was the first time I'd ever used a puller on anything.

 

If you buy the same part number that’s installed, you can use a paint marker to mark your thread/nut position where the OTR meets the ITR, then thread the new identical OTR to that same spot and you should be near identical on alignment. You may be able to do it with different part also. Either way I’d get an alignment if it was truly mangled. But before I even considered replacing it, I’d break out my small file kit and try cleaning up the damaged threads! I’ve salvaged many a thread in my lifetime and saved myself a gaggle of hassled. Work smarter, not harder.

 

I forgot where I would go for the part numbers but I was planning to call Ourisman Toyota of Richmond, VA tomorrow. That's where I got my LBJs from. I assume I could just ask and the parts guy would know what to send.

Dad thinks he can fix those threads, be worth it to watch him go.

I had thought about counting the number of exposed threads, get an OEM part, see if I could get close. It's going in the shop this fall for a timing belt and new CV axle anyway.......alignment inbound.

My first time using a puller....learning experience. (And in my case, anerobic workout!)

 

You're going to have to un-bolt the ball joint to do that job, that would be a great thing to do right now while it's apart.