Adjustable Ball Joints

Adjustable Ball Joints
Removal and Installation, or how to gain 3.5 degrees of caster!

by Andreas Ritterbusch
Posted: January 31, 2001
Last Revision: August 26, 2007

The following is a detailed article regarding the installation of adjustable (and regular) upper ball joints as well as regular lower ball joints with adjustable split ring seat. The upper ball joints can compensate for up to 2 degrees of caster/camber (positive/negative) and the lower sleeve ('84-'89 XJ/MJ only) can add another 1.5 degrees of caster/camber (positive/negative). Caster and camber (positive or negative) are not explained within this article and are assumed to be known concepts. This will hopefully be added to the "General" section at some point in time. Several high-qualitiy special tools are required for this procedure. With the correct tools, this procedure is not very difficult to perform by the average home mechanic.

For some time now I noticed that one side of my front axle seemed to be loose. This became noticeable by clunking noises. Such noises are of course not enough evidence to blame the ball joints! Additional checks need to be performed. One such check was to use a regular floor jack. With the floor jack placed under the lower control arm, I slowly raised the vehicle. Watching it going up, I noticed that the axle assembly moved upwardly, but the wheel stayed on the ground. After a 1/8" to 1/4" the wheel would finally go up with the axle. Clearly, the ball joints on this side were heavily worn out. Ball joint replacement became a high priority. Since I had planned on eventually installing adjustable upper ball joints to compensate for the lost caster angle at 6" of lift, I decided "now or never" is the time to get those fancy pieces of equipment. A little bit of research revealed that these can be bought at several select places (you have to call Specialty Products, Inc. to find out about their dealer network) or you can now simply stagger into the next best NAPA store and order them. Even Jeep dealerships seem to offer the adjustable ball joints (up to 1.5 degrees only, but with the installation sleeves!).

NAPA Online lists the 2 degree ball joints for around ~$85. To my surprise, the in-store prices were around ~$73 per ball joint. The (greasable) lower ball joints were around ~$35 each. The little adjustable sleeves for the lower ball joints (from Specialy Products, #23026) were $12 each.

The Parts:

I bought two upper ball joints (2 degrees) from my local NAPA store (NAPA# NCP264-2975). These upper ball joints are available from 0.5 to 2.0 degrees (in 0.5 degree steps).

These can be found on-line at:
[ http://www.napaonline.com]

Or at Specialty Products:
[ http://www.specprod.com]

Notice the template! This template can be used to turn the adjustable ball joints in the desired position (to match potential results from a alignment shop). The ball joints come with instructions and all the necessary hardware.
Another adjustable upper ball joint (and installation tools) can be found here at Ingalls.

Shown here are regular upper ball joints.
The Mopar part number is: ...
The Moog part number is: ...

The lower ball joints are also from NAPA but sold under the "Master Ride" brand name (#10459). I have no idea about their quality, etc. I trusted NAPA on this one and hope they'll last.
These can be found on-line at:
[http://www.napaonline.com]
Or similar products can be found at several other auto parts stores such as AutoZone: [http://www.autozone.com]
Notice the big castle nut on the right. This one is fairly big and requires a 1-5/16" socket.

These are the adjustable sleeves for the the lower ball joint from Specialty Products (#23026). In the image to the right, "A" is the sleeve (detail view below, installed). "B" is a wedge shaped washer to compensate for for the 1.5 degree off-set. These sleeves are available from 0.5 to 1.5 degrees in 0.25 degree steps. They are for '84 to '89 XJs. Later XJ D30 axles must use a different ball joint similar to the uppers shown here.
The lower ball joint stud gets pressed into this sleeve ("A" and again in detail below).

Here the lower ball joints for later front D30 axles, but they may actually fit all years.
MOOG part number: K7403
Front Suspensioin, Lower; 4WD, Problem Solver, adjustable ball joint --allows up to 1-3/4 Degrees adjustment of camber and/or caster.
Information and photos provided by Mark Kornowski.
[Large Image]

The Tools:

These are some spanner wrenches that are helpful for the lower ball joint sleeves. Not really necessary, since those sleeves seem to come out easily once the knuckle is removed. Strike it with a screw driver and you might be able to turn them by hand. If not, you can grind up a tool out of a piece of pipe. If you have an 4-prong antenna nut socket (available at any better auto store, such as NAPA "Evercraft Service Tools" #775-9033]), it might help quite a bit. The prongs aren't the strongest, though. For heavily rusted sleeves (neither of mine were), you could get the OTC tool (#7080), which is less than $15. You could also get the Kent-More tool (matching number in the Factory Service Manual: J-23447) for around $45. Specialty Products (#4169, ~$42) lists something like that as well.
The OTC 7080 tool is more than adequate!
Some bicycle tools to remove the rear bicycle sprocket set may work as well (Sun Pro).

Links:
NAPA:
[http://www.napaonline.com]

OTC tools:
[http://www.otctools.com]

Kent-More (SPX):
[http://www.spxkentmoore.com]

Here are the sleeves for the upper adjustable ball joints. (Specialty Products #23580, ~$45). These sleeves match perfectly the angle of the upper axle yoke. I tried to install the ball joints with some sleeves that I made form regular iron pipe (above the silver sleeves in the picture to the right), but that didn't work. The ball joint didn't go in straight and started to bind up after some time. I had to back it out before I damaged either/or the yoke or the ball joint.

Specialty Products:
[http://www.specprod.com]

Get a good press! This "3-in-1" tool from Harbor Freight failed! (You can see how it is bent. It barely fits in the case!)
This is Harbor Freight #38335-0VGA ($30 on sale-$40 regular).

For example Specialty Products offers a good press (#7250, ~$122) as well as Miller Tools (SPX) offers one (~$189).

Links:
Specialty Products:
[http://www.specprod.com]

Miller Special Tools (SPX):
[http://www.spxmiller.com]

Harbor Freight:
[http://www.harborfreight.com]

In this picture, the "real thing" is shown! This is the high-quality press from Specialty Products (#7250). In the upper right corner --in the green circle-- is an extra set of sleeves which is for Jeeps (#41570). This is not really necessary, but handy.

The big difference between those two presses is that the Specialty Product press doesn't flex, i.e. all the power applied goes straight where it belongs --onto the ball joints! The difference in operating this press was noticeable right away. Not nearly as much effort was needed to keep turning the ratchet handle. The breaker bar was only in use for a very short moment. Almost all the pressing in and out could be done with just a regular ratchet. It is definitely worth getting the right tool!

Next is a partial list of other tools. It is not complete, but some of the necessary items are listed.

From top down the center:
-Breaker bar
-C-clamp (for brakes)
-Steel brush
-Short hammer
-Long hammer
-Ratchets
-"Smoke Wrench" (gas torch)
-Gloves

From top along the left:
-Adapter (for big socket)
-Socket for castle nut of lower ball joint (1-5/16")
-Socket for axle shaft (36mm)
-Socket for castle nut of upper ball joint (7/8")
-Hex socket (7mm for disk brakes)
-12-point socket (13mm for knuckle bolts)

From top along right:
-Vise-grip
-Paper towels
-Tool bag (red item)

Not shown:
-Slide hammer (to remove hub assy.)
-Pickle fork (to remove tie rod)
-Torque wrench (recommended!)
Those tools depend on personal preferences and are therefore not listed.

The Procedure:

Place vehicle on jack stands. Remove the front wheels and make darn sure that the vehicle is placed securely on those stands! Lateron, you'll excert great torqing forces on the axle yoke.

Remove the ball studs (drag link and tie rod) from the steering knuckles. Use a pickle fork or a ball stud puller, otherwise the threads of the ball stud could be damaged when using a hammer, for example.

Remove the brake calipers (7mm Allen wrench needed) and place the caliper over the lower control arm (don't let them dangle on the brake lines.)
Remove the discs and hub nuts (36mm socket needed).

Carefully remove the axle shaft (A) after the hub assembly was removed (a 12-point 13mm socket [B ] is needed). Pull the hub with a puller or use a slide hammer to remove it. Sometimes a wheel mounted reverse will work as well.
The picture shows the hub already removed (D) and the 36mm socket resting on the tire (C).

Now the fun begins...

The arrow points to the little striking edge (on knuckle) where to strike it order to remove it. The factory service manual simply states: "strike knuckle with a brass hammer". That's a bit optimistic, because you'd go through ten of those. Even though I heated the knuckle up to ease the amount of stress, it still took me about 10 to 15 minutes of severe pounding until the knuckle finally fell off!

To avoid more damage than necessary, place a piece of steel between the hammer and the knuckle. Make sure to hit the far end of the metal piece, otherwise the pounding force of the hammer will be painfully transferred into your (gloved!) hand that is holding it.

The way shown here turned out to be vastly more useful. Securely place one hammer on the knuckle, slightly resting against the brake caliper bracket (which does not to be removed for this procedure). Now, with all that you've got, STRIKE the lower hammer with your big hammer repeatedly. Don't give up, at some point, --rather suddenly-- the knuckle will fall to the ground (keep your feet out of harm's way!)
If you have to pound hard, it may be best to reinstall the hub assembly (arrow) to avoid damaging the knuckle's press-fit area. A deformed press-fit could require a new knuckle.

Finally, the knuckle is down! The two arrows point to the ball studs of the upper and lower ball joints. Both ball joints will be removed in the next few steps.

Alright, now the interesting part begins. With a good press, this step will be easy! With a bad press, this step can easily turn into a nightmare. Place the press sleeves accordingly and start cranking the press.
A bigger-than-the-ball-joint sleeve must be placed over the upper ball joint on top of the yoke. Underneath the yoke a little (but very sturdy) sleeve is placed over the stud. The press now pushes the ball joint from underneath upwardly into the upper big receiving sleeve. The arrows represent the "force vectors" in this image. A good press will not flex and all the torque is applied directly to where it is supposed to be --at the ball joints. At some point, with a little clunk, the upper ball joint will give and move up just a little bit. Now, the majority of the pressure is relieved and removing the upper ball joint out of the upper axle yoke should be easy.

The upper ball joint is out!

This image may appear a bit intimidating at first, but this is essentially the same procedure but now for the lower ball joint.
Again, the red and green arrows represent the force vectors. Cranking direction of the ratchet is always the same: Clockwise. (The "crank direction" arrows don't really show up correctly).
The cyan (light blue) arrows point to the following parts of interest:
A: This is a little cardboard "protector" in the upper axle yoke, so that the thread of the press's forcing screw won't damage the inner surface of the yoke.
B: This time the bigger sleeve (receiving sleeve) will be placed below the yoke. The lower ball joints are pressed in and out from underneath (as opposed to the uppers which go in and out from top). If the upper ball joint were not removed, the press could be turned around for that. However, this way (as shown) is more comfortable to operate.
C: This is the upper axle yoke.

It may be necessary to use a breaker bar for a few turns.

After the "clunk", press out the remaining part of the lower ball joint with a socket that is just a bit less in diameter than the ball joint itself. Cranking the ratchet will be easy now and only a few turns are required until the lower ball joint will fall out.

Finally! Both ball joints are out!

It would be easy now to describe the rest in a similar manner the factory service manual tends to do: "Install in reverse order"...
No, that would be a bit cruel! :-)
In this image, the lower ball joint is about to be pressed in. The green and red arrows again show the force vectors. The cranking direction (curved arrow) doesn't show up the way I wanted it. Again crank clockwise to force the press towards "closing".
A points towards the massive installation adapter. This adapter sits on top of the sleeve and transfers the power to the sleeve.
B points to the receiving sleeve.
C points to the little sleeve that pushes the lower ball joint up into the lower axle yoke. The stud is not visible. It is hidden in the lower sleeve and the lower end of the C-clamp (i.e. press).
D points to the visible part of the lower ball joint that is about to be pressed into the lower axle yoke.

The lower ball joint is firmly pressed into the lower axle yoke!

Next step: This one is a critical one. Shown in this image is the upper adjustable ball joint. Notice the position of the ball joint in relation of the driving direction (arrow). These ball joints come with a template than can be placed on the upper axle yoke to aid the installation of critical angles. However, in this case, I wanted all of the 2 degrees of positive caster that I could get. Since the placement of the template isn't quite an exact science anyway, I decided to just ignore it and install the upper ball joint as precise as possible by eye-balling it. I couldn't think of anything better than that, since there isn't much that could be used as an alignment guide.

This image tries to emphasize the the angle of the sleeves that are especially made for Jeep axles by Specialty Products. The lower sleeve (C) matches the angle of the upper axle yoke (angle "alpha" shown in green between the red lines). If that angle is incorrect, then the risk is high that the upper ball joint will bind up upon installation. (Don't ask how I figured this out!)
B points to the upper sleeve that fits perfectly the upper adjustable ball joint. A points to the press adapter that is alway used when great pressure is applied. A little "lid"-like plate is part of the kit, but it can only take moderate pressure and is probably only intended to partially press in the upper ball joint. This may be necessary, since the clamp is a tad to short otherwise. I wish Specialty Products would make this part a bit stronger (not shown in this image) and also would mention this in the user instructions (check their web page).
Anyway, important is to use the sleeve adapter (A) to press in the upper ball joint until it is all the way in the axle yoke. The last turn or two may again require the breaker bar. Heating the axle yoke up a little bit prior to that may also aid the installation. Don't overheat it, though, otherwise the internals of the ball joint may overheat and damage the inner "bearings" that are made out of plastic.

This is a detail view of the above image. The arrow points to the visible part of the upper ball joint. In this case the upper ball joint is already pressed into the upper axle yoke.

Here is a little attempt to demonstrate what happened after the adjustable ball joint is installed.
"Gamma" is the angle that the adjustable ball joint just added. The two yellow lines are the additional caster. The upper and lower ball joints are circled.

Now it is time to remove the old split ring seat (arrow). The knuckle is shown up-side down in this image.

Remove the split ring seat with the correct tool (if you have it. See "Tools" above for details).

Install the adjustable split ring seats. Shown in this picture is the knuckle (on left) and the instructions (can be found on the Specialty Products web page), on the right. Use those instructions to avoid a mistake. Logic will get you there as well, but it is always good to have this logic confirmed!

The lower adjustable split ring seat is now installed. The arrow shows the driving direction (passenger side knuckle shown here). This split ring seat provides an additional 1.5 degrees of (positive) caster (see "Parts" above for details). This is only available for earlier Jeep Cherokees and Comanches. The sleeve also comes with a special wedge-shaped washer that matches its angle. Install the washer between the knuckle and the castle nut (not shown).

Now it is important not to forget to install the "misc." small hardware! In this case, install the rubber seals and the zerk fittings.
A shows the hardware for the lower ball joint. The split ring seat that came with it is not needed if you install an adjustable one from Specialty Products. B shows the hardware for the upper ball joint. One item is misplaced, though! The little black wedge-shaped washer belongs to the lower ball joint if an adjustable split ring seat from Specialty Products is used (in "B").

Install the zerks. (Self tapping, --don't overtighten!)

The little parts are now in place. Now it is time to reinstall the knuckle which is much simpler than removing it! If you bought greasable lower ball joints (as shown here), grease them now ! Once the axle is re-installed access to the zerk fitting is too limited to get the grease gun on it!

Install the knuckle, axle shaft, hub assembly and hub nut, etc. Use correct torque specs! These may vary from some years and therefore they are not shown here. Use a factory service manual (or at least a Chiltons or Haynes) find out about that..
The silvery stuff is a very thin layer of heat resistant grease to avoid rust and to make future work on this front end easier.

Re-install the disks, hub nut hardware, brake calipers, etc.

Important: After everything is back together, the front alignment should be checked! Mine (toe-in) changed by approximately 7mm! I keep my front-end well aligned and know that it was good before this procedure. I didn't check the front alignment right away and was at first a bit surprised how bad the vehicle's tracking was, especially at highway speeds. It wandered all over the place and it was difficult to drive straight (and yes, I was sober!).

After I aligned the front wheels (0 toe-in), it was fine. Now I got the full benefit of this procedure!

In summary...

Once I got my hands on the right tools (i.e. press), the installation was a smooth and relatively quick one. Without the right tools this could turn into a potential nightmare. Allow for the better part of a day for this, even though it can be done in less time. Usually, when working on an older vehicle all sorts of things pop up that can be done "while being at it". A decent ball joint press can be rented from a variety of car parts stores, including AutoZone.
There are a couple of possiblities where mistakes could happen and some damage could occur (to the vehicle or the tools). Some of them are mentioned above.
The Haynes manual, for example, doesn't cover this procedure at all ("qualified mechanic"...), mainly because of the special tools that are required. The tools are worth the money if you've got some fellow Jeepers in your area that could benefit from your newly gained expertise. In turn, they may get some special equipment that may then benefit you later on. Of course, this only works in a perfect world! :-)

� Copyright 2001-2003 Andreas Ritterbusch
All Rights reserved.
Photos: Andreas Ritterbusch

[MADXJ]

The following is a detailed article regarding the installation of adjustable (and regular) upper ball joints as well as regular lower ball joints with adjustable split ring seat. The upper ball joints can compensate for up to 2 degrees of caster/camber (positive/negative) and the lower sleeve ('84-'89 XJ/MJ only) can add another 1.5 degrees of caster/camber (positive/negative). Caster and camber (positive or negative) are not explained within this article and are assumed to be known concepts. This will hopefully be added to the "General" section at some point in time. Several high-qualitiy special tools are required for this procedure. With the correct tools, this procedure is not very difficult to perform by the average home mechanic.
For some time now I noticed that one side of my front axle seemed to be loose. This became noticeable by clunking noises. Such noises are of course not enough evidence to blame the ball joints! Additional checks need to be performed. One such check was to use a regular floor jack. With the floor jack placed under the lower control arm, I slowly raised the vehicle. Watching it going up, I noticed that the axle assembly moved upwardly, but the wheel stayed on the ground. After a 1/8" to 1/4" the wheel would finally go up with the axle. Clearly, the ball joints on this side were heavily worn out. Ball joint replacement became a high priority. Since I had planned on eventually installing adjustable upper ball joints to compensate for the lost caster angle at 6" of lift, I decided "now or never" is the time to get those fancy pieces of equipment. A little bit of research revealed that these can be bought at several select places (you have to call Specialty Products, Inc. to find out about their dealer network) or you can now simply stagger into the next best NAPA store and order them. Even Jeep dealerships seem to offer the adjustable ball joints (up to 1.5 degrees only, but with the installation sleeves!). NAPA Online lists the 2 degree ball joints for around ~$85. To my surprise, the in-store prices were around ~$73 per ball joint. The (greasable) lower ball joints were around ~$35 each. The little adjustable sleeves for the lower ball joints (from Specialy Products, #23026) were $12 each.
The Parts:
I bought two upper ball joints (2 degrees) from my local NAPA store (NAPA# NCP264-2975). These upper ball joints are available from 0.5 to 2.0 degrees (in 0.5 degree steps). These can be found on-line at: [ http://www.napaonline.com] Or at Specialty Products: [ http://www.specprod.com] Notice the template! This template can be used to turn the adjustable ball joints in the desired position (to match potential results from a alignment shop). The ball joints come with instructions and all the necessary hardware. Another adjustable upper ball joint (and installation tools) can be found here at Ingalls.
Shown here are regular upper ball joints. The Mopar part number is: ... The Moog part number is: ...
The lower ball joints are also from NAPA but sold under the "Master Ride" brand name (#10459). I have no idea about their quality, etc. I trusted NAPA on this one and hope they'll last. These can be found on-line at: [http://www.napaonline.com] Or similar products can be found at several other auto parts stores such as AutoZone: [http://www.autozone.com] Notice the big castle nut on the right. This one is fairly big and requires a 1-5/16" socket.
These are the adjustable sleeves for the the lower ball joint from Specialty Products (#23026). In the image to the right, "A" is the sleeve (detail view below, installed). "B" is a wedge shaped washer to compensate for for the 1.5 degree off-set. These sleeves are available from 0.5 to 1.5 degrees in 0.25 degree steps. They are for '84 to '89 XJs. Later XJ D30 axles must use a different ball joint similar to the uppers shown here. The lower ball joint stud gets pressed into this sleeve ("A" and again in detail below).
Here the lower ball joints for later front D30 axles, but they may actually fit all years. MOOG part number: K7403 Front Suspensioin, Lower; 4WD, Problem Solver, adjustable ball joint --allows up to 1-3/4 Degrees adjustment of camber and/or caster. Information and photos provided by Mark Kornowski.	[Large Image]
The Tools:
These are some spanner wrenches that are helpful for the lower ball joint sleeves. Not really necessary, since those sleeves seem to come out easily once the knuckle is removed. Strike it with a screw driver and you might be able to turn them by hand. If not, you can grind up a tool out of a piece of pipe. If you have an 4-prong antenna nut socket (available at any better auto store, such as NAPA "Evercraft Service Tools" #775-9033]), it might help quite a bit. The prongs aren't the strongest, though. For heavily rusted sleeves (neither of mine were), you could get the OTC tool (#7080), which is less than $15. You could also get the Kent-More tool (matching number in the Factory Service Manual: J-23447) for around $45. Specialty Products (#4169, ~$42) lists something like that as well. The OTC 7080* tool is more than adequate!* Some bicycle tools to remove the rear bicycle sprocket set may work as well (Sun Pro). Links: NAPA: [http://www.napaonline.com] OTC tools: [http://www.otctools.com] Kent-More (SPX): [http://www.spxkentmoore.com]
Here are the sleeves for the upper adjustable ball joints. (Specialty Products #23580, ~$45). These sleeves match perfectly the angle of the upper axle yoke. I tried to install the ball joints with some sleeves that I made form regular iron pipe (above the silver sleeves in the picture to the right), but that didn't work. The ball joint didn't go in straight and started to bind up after some time. I had to back it out before I damaged either/or the yoke or the ball joint. Specialty Products: [http://www.specprod.com]
Get a good press! This "3-in-1" tool from Harbor Freight failed! (You can see how it is bent. It barely fits in the case!) This is Harbor Freight #38335-0VGA ($30 on sale-$40 regular). For example Specialty Products offers a good press (#7250, ~$122) as well as Miller Tools (SPX) offers one (~$189). Links: Specialty Products: [http://www.specprod.com] Miller Special Tools (SPX): [http://www.spxmiller.com] Harbor Freight: [http://www.harborfreight.com]
In this picture, the "real thing" is shown! This is the high-quality press from Specialty Products (#7250). In the upper right corner --in the green circle-- is an extra set of sleeves which is for Jeeps (#41570). This is not really necessary, but handy. The big difference between those two presses is that the Specialty Product press doesn't flex, i.e. all the power applied goes straight where it belongs --onto the ball joints! The difference in operating this press was noticeable right away. Not nearly as much effort was needed to keep turning the ratchet handle. The breaker bar was only in use for a very short moment. Almost all the pressing in and out could be done with just a regular ratchet. It is definitely worth getting the right tool!
Next is a partial list of other tools. It is not complete, but some of the necessary items are listed. From top down the center: -Breaker bar -C-clamp (for brakes) -Steel brush -Short hammer -Long hammer -Ratchets -"Smoke Wrench" (gas torch) -Gloves From top along the left: -Adapter (for big socket) -Socket for castle nut of lower ball joint (1-5/16") -Socket for axle shaft (36mm) -Socket for castle nut of upper ball joint (7/8") -Hex socket (7mm for disk brakes) -12-point socket (13mm for knuckle bolts) From top along right: -Vise-grip -Paper towels -Tool bag (red item) Not shown: -Slide hammer (to remove hub assy.) -Pickle fork (to remove tie rod) -Torque wrench (recommended!) Those tools depend on personal preferences and are therefore not listed.
The Procedure:
Place vehicle on jack stands. Remove the front wheels and make darn sure that the vehicle is placed securely on those stands! Lateron, you'll excert great torqing forces on the axle yoke.
Remove the ball studs (drag link and tie rod) from the steering knuckles. Use a pickle fork or a ball stud puller, otherwise the threads of the ball stud could be damaged when using a hammer, for example.
Remove the brake calipers (7mm Allen wrench needed) and place the caliper over the lower control arm (don't let them dangle on the brake lines.) Remove the discs and hub nuts (36mm socket needed).
Carefully remove the axle shaft (A) after the hub assembly was removed (a 12-point 13mm socket [B ] is needed). Pull the hub with a puller or use a slide hammer to remove it. Sometimes a wheel mounted reverse will work as well. The picture shows the hub already removed (D) and the 36mm socket resting on the tire (C).
Now the fun begins... The arrow points to the little striking edge (on knuckle) where to strike it order to remove it. The factory service manual simply states: "strike knuckle with a brass hammer". That's a bit optimistic, because you'd go through ten of those. Even though I heated the knuckle up to ease the amount of stress, it still took me about 10 to 15 minutes of severe pounding until the knuckle finally fell off!
To avoid more damage than necessary, place a piece of steel between the hammer and the knuckle. Make sure to hit the far end of the metal piece, otherwise the pounding force of the hammer will be painfully transferred into your (gloved!) hand that is holding it.
The way shown here turned out to be vastly more useful. Securely place one hammer on the knuckle, slightly resting against the brake caliper bracket (which does not to be removed for this procedure). Now, with all that you've got, STRIKE the lower hammer with your big hammer repeatedly. Don't give up, at some point, --rather suddenly-- the knuckle will fall to the ground (keep your feet out of harm's way!) If you have to pound hard, it may be best to reinstall the hub assembly (arrow) to avoid damaging the knuckle's press-fit area. A deformed press-fit could require a new knuckle.
Finally, the knuckle is down! The two arrows point to the ball studs of the upper and lower ball joints. Both ball joints will be removed in the next few steps.
Alright, now the interesting part begins. With a good press, this step will be easy! With a bad press, this step can easily turn into a nightmare. Place the press sleeves accordingly and start cranking the press. A bigger-than-the-ball-joint sleeve must be placed over the upper ball joint on top of the yoke. Underneath the yoke a little (but very sturdy) sleeve is placed over the stud. The press now pushes the ball joint from underneath upwardly into the upper big receiving sleeve. The arrows represent the "force vectors" in this image. A good press will not flex and all the torque is applied directly to where it is supposed to be --at the ball joints. At some point, with a little clunk, the upper ball joint will give and move up just a little bit. Now, the majority of the pressure is relieved and removing the upper ball joint out of the upper axle yoke should be easy.
The upper ball joint is out!
This image may appear a bit intimidating at first, but this is essentially the same procedure but now for the lower ball joint. Again, the red and green arrows represent the force vectors. Cranking direction of the ratchet is always the same: Clockwise. (The "crank direction" arrows don't really show up correctly). The cyan (light blue) arrows point to the following parts of interest: A: This is a little cardboard "protector" in the upper axle yoke, so that the thread of the press's forcing screw won't damage the inner surface of the yoke. B: This time the bigger sleeve (receiving sleeve) will be placed below the yoke. The lower ball joints are pressed in and out from underneath (as opposed to the uppers which go in and out from top). If the upper ball joint were not removed, the press could be turned around for that. However, this way (as shown) is more comfortable to operate. C: This is the upper axle yoke.
It may be necessary to use a breaker bar for a few turns.
After the "clunk", press out the remaining part of the lower ball joint with a socket that is just a bit less in diameter than the ball joint itself. Cranking the ratchet will be easy now and only a few turns are required until the lower ball joint will fall out.
Finally! Both ball joints are out!
It would be easy now to describe the rest in a similar manner the factory service manual tends to do: "Install in reverse order"... No, that would be a bit cruel! :-) In this image, the lower ball joint is about to be pressed in. The green and red arrows again show the force vectors. The cranking direction (curved arrow) doesn't show up the way I wanted it. Again crank clockwise to force the press towards "closing". A points towards the massive installation adapter. This adapter sits on top of the sleeve and transfers the power to the sleeve. B points to the receiving sleeve. C points to the little sleeve that pushes the lower ball joint up into the lower axle yoke. The stud is not visible. It is hidden in the lower sleeve and the lower end of the C-clamp (i.e. press). D points to the visible part of the lower ball joint that is about to be pressed into the lower axle yoke.
The lower ball joint is firmly pressed into the lower axle yoke!
Next step: This one is a critical one. Shown in this image is the upper adjustable ball joint. Notice the position of the ball joint in relation of the driving direction (arrow). These ball joints come with a template than can be placed on the upper axle yoke to aid the installation of critical angles. However, in this case, I wanted all of the 2 degrees of positive caster that I could get. Since the placement of the template isn't quite an exact science anyway, I decided to just ignore it and install the upper ball joint as precise as possible by eye-balling it. I couldn't think of anything better than that, since there isn't much that could be used as an alignment guide.
This image tries to emphasize the the angle of the sleeves that are especially made for Jeep axles by Specialty Products. The lower sleeve (C) matches the angle of the upper axle yoke (angle "alpha" shown in green between the red lines). If that angle is incorrect, then the risk is high that the upper ball joint will bind up upon installation. (Don't ask how I figured this out!) B points to the upper sleeve that fits perfectly the upper adjustable ball joint. A points to the press adapter that is alway used when great pressure is applied. A little "lid"-like plate is part of the kit, but it can only take moderate pressure and is probably only intended to partially press in the upper ball joint. This may be necessary, since the clamp is a tad to short otherwise. I wish Specialty Products would make this part a bit stronger (not shown in this image) and also would mention this in the user instructions (check their web page). Anyway, important is to use the sleeve adapter (A) to press in the upper ball joint until it is all the way in the axle yoke. The last turn or two may again require the breaker bar. Heating the axle yoke up a little bit prior to that may also aid the installation. Don't overheat it, though, otherwise the internals of the ball joint may overheat and damage the inner "bearings" that are made out of plastic.
This is a detail view of the above image. The arrow points to the visible part of the upper ball joint. In this case the upper ball joint is already pressed into the upper axle yoke.
Here is a little attempt to demonstrate what happened after the adjustable ball joint is installed. "Gamma" is the angle that the adjustable ball joint just added. The two yellow lines are the additional caster. The upper and lower ball joints are circled.
Now it is time to remove the old split ring seat (arrow). The knuckle is shown up-side down in this image.
Remove the split ring seat with the correct tool (if you have it. See "Tools" above for details).
Install the adjustable split ring seats. Shown in this picture is the knuckle (on left) and the instructions (can be found on the Specialty Products web page), on the right. Use those instructions to avoid a mistake. Logic will get you there as well, but it is always good to have this logic confirmed!
The lower adjustable split ring seat is now installed. The arrow shows the driving direction (passenger side knuckle shown here). This split ring seat provides an additional 1.5 degrees of (positive) caster (see "Parts" above for details). This is only available for earlier Jeep Cherokees and Comanches. The sleeve also comes with a special wedge-shaped washer that matches its angle. Install the washer between the knuckle and the castle nut (not shown).
Now it is important not to forget to install the "misc." small hardware! In this case, install the rubber seals and the zerk fittings. A shows the hardware for the lower ball joint. The split ring seat that came with it is not needed if you install an adjustable one from Specialty Products. B shows the hardware for the upper ball joint. One item is misplaced, though! The little black wedge-shaped washer belongs to the lower ball joint if an adjustable split ring seat from Specialty Products is used (in "B").
Install the zerks. (Self tapping, --don't overtighten!)
The little parts are now in place. Now it is time to reinstall the knuckle which is much simpler than removing it! If you bought greasable lower ball joints (as shown here), grease them now ! Once the axle is re-installed access to the zerk fitting is too limited to get the grease gun on it!
Install the knuckle, axle shaft, hub assembly and hub nut, etc. Use correct torque specs! These may vary from some years and therefore they are not shown here. Use a factory service manual (or at least a Chiltons or Haynes) find out about that.. The silvery stuff is a very thin layer of heat resistant grease to avoid rust and to make future work on this front end easier.
Re-install the disks, hub nut hardware, brake calipers, etc. Important: After everything is back together, the front alignment should be checked! Mine (toe-in) changed by approximately 7mm! I keep my front-end well aligned and know that it was good before this procedure. I didn't check the front alignment right away and was at first a bit surprised how bad the vehicle's tracking was, especially at highway speeds. It wandered all over the place and it was difficult to drive straight (and yes, I was sober!). After I aligned the front wheels (0 toe-in), it was fine. Now I got the full benefit of this procedure!
In summary... Once I got my hands on the right tools (i.e. press), the installation was a smooth and relatively quick one. Without the right tools this could turn into a potential nightmare. Allow for the better part of a day for this, even though it can be done in less time. Usually, when working on an older vehicle all sorts of things pop up that can be done "while being at it". A decent ball joint press can be rented from a variety of car parts stores, including AutoZone. There are a couple of possiblities where mistakes could happen and some damage could occur (to the vehicle or the tools). Some of them are mentioned above. The Haynes manual, for example, doesn't cover this procedure at all ("qualified mechanic"...), mainly because of the special tools that are required. The tools are worth the money if you've got some fellow Jeepers in your area that could benefit from your newly gained expertise. In turn, they may get some special equipment that may then benefit you later on. Of course, this only works in a perfect world! :-)
� Copyright 2001-2003 Andreas Ritterbusch All Rights reserved. Photos: Andreas Ritterbusch