[DeTomaso] Fwd: Ball Joints
jderyke at aol.com
jderyke at aol.com
Mon Jun 30 17:48:02 EDT 2014
Most of the Pantera vendors sell a replacement boot Speedway Motors in Lincoln NE sells all kinds of ball joints for racing and street, on-line or by phone. One or more of their offerings should fit; contact them. About 10 years ago when replacement ball joints for Panteras cost about 6X what they are now, I converted all the ball joints on our '72 L model to '68-'82 Chrysler-type upper ball joints in light-alloy holders replacing the cast iron. Same geometry, less friction and slightly less weight in a cheaper assembly. My boots then cost $1 each but dunno if they fit stock ball joints.
Ball joint presses also work without damaging the boots but tale some wrench-effort. If the stud is tighter than normal, a press may balloon the upper end where I advocate adding a zerk fitting, so it tends to wreck still-useable ball joints during removal. If you're sure the part is junk, fine; I prefer the hammer method. Presses will not work on tie rod ends. Glad to see you're considering doing your own work! Cheers- J Deryke
-----Original Message-----
From: John Donahue <demongusta at me.com>
To: jderyke <jderyke at aol.com>
Cc: DeTomaso <DeTomaso at poca.com>
Sent: Mon, Jun 30, 2014 1:29 am
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Fwd: Ball Joints
Question:
I am going to look at a ball joint press. Sounds kinda neat, and less brutal. Also, can I buy the ball joint boots without the ball joint? The person who did this last time obviously used a fork. Thank you for the helpful information.
On Jun 29, 2014, at 10:43 PM, jderyke at aol.com wrote:
Not unless you have extra money. The 4 front ball joints bolt in while the 3 rears are lightly pressed into the upper a-arms only. Rears will come out with a big hammer or with a vise if you also remove the a-arm. On each ball joint, there is a raised round "whacking point" built into the upright about midway on the ball joint stud. By untightening the nut but not completely removing it, there will be an outward tension imparted to the stud from the suspension spring, but the assembly will still be restrained. Tension is not much. Judicious whacks on the round raised whacking point will release the ball joint stud taper from the upright
TIPS
1)- Light hammer-taps will only make you tired- you really need to hit the thing in the right place to loosen the taper!
2)- A large punch held by someone else with a pair of Vise-Grip pliers may help your hammer accuracy & power.
3)- If you own an air hammer, use a blunt anvil and apply the end to the whacking point. The ball joint will fall out so fast you'll wonder why you even own a hand-held hammer! Also works wonderfully well on tie-rod ends.
4)- Pickle-fork balljoint or tie-rod removers are absolutely guaranteed to ruin any rubber boots that are still useable. New boots are not always included with replacement ball joints or tie rod ends: inquire before ordering.
5)- Before ordering new ball joints, also check for zerk fittings so the new parts can be occasionally be greased. If there are no zerks, they can easily be added if you own a drill bit set and a 1/4-28 SAE tap. You will only get about 2 threads but that's enough. Grease the drill and tap before cutting into the ball joint to collect metal chips. New zerks are around 15¢ each at chain auto parts stores everywhere. Again, applies to tie rod ends too.
Good luck- J DeRyke
-----Original Message-----
From: John Donahue <demongusta at me.com>
To: detomaso <detomaso at poca.com>
Cc: detomaso <detomaso at poca.com>
Sent: Sun, Jun 29, 2014 9:25 am
Subject: [DeTomaso] Fwd: Ball Joints
Forgot to Cc The List.
Begin forwarded message:
From: John Donahue <[1]demongusta at me.com>
Subject: Ball Joints
Date: June 29, 2014 at 9:22:27 AM PDT
To: [2]detomaso at poca.com
Hi All:
I am replacing the control-arm bushings (again), and noticed a couple
"torn" rubber seals on my ball joints. Never replaced ball joints
before. Any tips?? Do you take them to a "suspension shop" and have
them pressed in?
Jack
4348
References
1. mailto:demongusta at me.com
2. mailto:detomaso at poca.com
_______________________________________________
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DeTomaso mailing list
DeTomaso at poca.com
http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
-------------- next part --------------
Most of the Pantera vendors sell a replacement boot Speedway Motors in
Lincoln NE sells all kinds of ball joints for racing and street,
on-line or by phone. One or more of their offerings should fit; contact
them. About 10 years ago when replacement ball joints for Panteras cost
about 6X what they are now, I converted all the ball joints on our '72
L model to '68-'82 Chrysler-type upper ball joints in light-alloy
holders replacing the cast iron. Same geometry, less friction and
slightly less weight in a cheaper assembly. My boots then cost $1 each
but dunno if they fit stock ball joints.
Ball joint presses also work without damaging the boots but tale some
wrench-effort. If the stud is tighter than normal, a press may balloon
the upper end where I advocate adding a zerk fitting, so it tends to
wreck still-useable ball joints during removal. If you're sure the part
is junk, fine; I prefer the hammer method. Presses will not work on tie
rod ends. Glad to see you're considering doing your own work! Cheers- J
Deryke
-----Original Message-----
From: John Donahue <demongusta at me.com>
To: jderyke <jderyke at aol.com>
Cc: DeTomaso <DeTomaso at poca.com>
Sent: Mon, Jun 30, 2014 1:29 am
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Fwd: Ball Joints
Question:
I am going to look at a ball joint press. Sounds kinda neat, and less
brutal. Also, can I buy the ball joint boots without the ball joint?
The person who did this last time obviously used a fork. Thank you for
the helpful information.
On Jun 29, 2014, at 10:43 PM, [1]jderyke at aol.com wrote:
Not unless you have extra money. The 4 front ball joints bolt in while
the 3 rears are lightly pressed into the upper a-arms only. Rears will
come out with a big hammer or with a vise if you also remove the a-arm.
On each ball joint, there is a raised round "whacking point" built
into the upright about midway on the ball joint stud. By untightening
the nut but not completely removing it, there will be an outward
tension imparted to the stud from the suspension spring, but the
assembly will still be restrained. Tension is not much. Judicious
whacks on the round raised whacking point will release the ball joint
stud taper from the upright
TIPS
1)- Light hammer-taps will only make you tired- you really need to hit
the thing in the right place to loosen the taper!
2)- A large punch held by someone else with a pair of Vise-Grip pliers
may help your hammer accuracy & power.
3)- If you own an air hammer, use a blunt anvil and apply the end to
the whacking point. The ball joint will fall out so fast you'll wonder
why you even own a hand-held hammer! Also works wonderfully well on
tie-rod ends.
4)- Pickle-fork balljoint or tie-rod removers are absolutely guaranteed
to ruin any rubber boots that are still useable. New boots are not
always included with replacement ball joints or tie rod ends: inquire
before ordering.
5)- Before ordering new ball joints, also check for zerk fittings so
the new parts can be occasionally be greased. If there are no zerks,
they can easily be added if you own a drill bit set and a 1/4-28 SAE
tap. You will only get about 2 threads but that's enough. Grease the
drill and tap before cutting into the ball joint to collect metal
chips. New zerks are around 15A-c- each at chain auto parts stores
everywhere. Again, applies to tie rod ends too.
Good luck- J DeRyke
-----Original Message-----
From: John Donahue <[2]demongusta at me.com>
To: detomaso <[3]detomaso at poca.com>
Cc: detomaso <[4]detomaso at poca.com>
Sent: Sun, Jun 29, 2014 9:25 am
Subject: [DeTomaso] Fwd: Ball Joints
Forgot to Cc The List.
Begin forwarded message:
From: John Donahue <[1][5]demongusta at me.com>
Subject: Ball Joints
Date: June 29, 2014 at 9:22:27 AM PDT
To: [2][6]detomaso at poca.com
Hi All:
I am replacing the control-arm bushings (again), and noticed a couple
"torn" rubber seals on my ball joints. Never replaced ball joints
before. Any tips?? Do you take them to a "suspension shop" and have
them pressed in?
Jack
4348
References
1. [7]mailto:demongusta at me.com
2. [8]mailto:detomaso at poca.com
_______________________________________________
Detomaso Forum Managed by POCA
DeTomaso mailing list
[9]DeTomaso at poca.com
[10]http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
References
1. mailto:jderyke at aol.com
2. mailto:demongusta at me.com
3. mailto:detomaso at poca.com
4. mailto:detomaso at poca.com
5. mailto:demongusta at me.com
6. mailto:detomaso at poca.com
7. mailto:demongusta at me.com?
8. mailto:detomaso at poca.com?
9. mailto:DeTomaso at poca.com
10. http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
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