Anyone ever done this?

My DII has 70k miles and since purchase at 56k, the lower ball joint boots have been broken. Driving has been normal except for a few clunks during braking that i have have noticed the last month or two.

doing the driver side first, I got the steering knuckle off (which was a ROYAL PITA) and come to find the lower ball joint had a lot play and i think it is broken.

next is trying to press the joint off and at 5'5 and 125lbs i don't have much strength turning the C clamp tool but i'm slowly getting there.

while separating the top ball joint off the knuckle I hit my noise and it starting bleeding lol. then while loosening the ball joint removal tool off the lower ball joint, it shot off and hit my left knee...

[exhale]

Write up coming soon.

 

My ball joint tool is MATCO, so I am stupid. Being stupid I use an impact gun to save the sweat and blood that comes with working so hard. And yes the tool is still in perfect shape.

 

I like to work hard not smart. =)

ANYWAY my electric impact wrench is too big to fit between the ground and the end of the tool. can't jack up the axle any higher either.

=)

what does your tool look like?

 

Josh, you just can't stay out of trouble, can you???

 

OK i finally finished the driver side. Turns out that my Harbor freight ball joint tools



and my second set of this one.. (it bent out of shape removing the lower ball joint)


helped do the job.

I did however run into some slight challenges as I had to grind two of the adapter to mate "flush" with the surface of the axle casing.

And for anyone who has done this before, how tight/free should the steering knuckle move once finished? before the repair, the knuckle moved very freely and without problems. Now there is a good amount of resistance and if torque the upper and lower ball joint bolts to 100ft and 110ft respectively as shown in RAVE....I can barely move the knuckle. So until someone tells me otherwise, I have backed off the nuts slightly to allow better movement.

PLEASE ADVISE...

pics and write-up coming soon...maybe.

ps.... This is the hardest job i have ever done on ANY car....

 

Resistance turning them by hand, or with everything back together and driving it.
Though I've never done a DII, my experience is that things tend to loosen up in use and I'd go with the torque spec in then manual.

 

jycsalas,
So did you use the Harbor Freight tool? I have to do this soon on my 03 Discovery, and I bought the Harbor freight tool.

 

Actually I saw more wheel bearings and tie rods go on disco twos then ball joints. Hell I saw more after market shops throw in them cause they thought they were the problem then the tie rods and broken springs put together.

Did you actually diagnose the ball joints or just thought since some other guy said his balljoints went then yours must be bad as well.

 

The boot on my lower passenger side is damaged, not much remaining. I was thinking about just replacing the boot. I can't feel any play in the joint. Now that there is no boot to keep the dust out and grease in, may not last very long. I can take the boot off the new joint and replace it. I would prefer to do that, because you can only change the joint 3X before having to replace the axel housing, per Rave.

 

Are the replacement Ball Joints serviceable like the replacement u-joints? I really like the ability to grease things.