#BALL JOINT RIVET REMOVAL TOOL HOW TO#
#BALL JOINT RIVET REMOVAL TOOL FREE#

With everything out of the way you can remove the nut on the ball joint.Remove whatever is needed to gain access to the ball joints. More than likely you will have to remove the brakes and set them aside. You are now going to need to locate your ball joints and what you have to remove to gain access to them.Remove the front wheels to gain access to your ball joints.If you don’t have a jack and jack stands this ATD7500 Jack Pack comes with a jack and 2 stands. You can now jack your vehicle up and support it on jack stands.This task can take some time and you may need to purchase extra parts that break. Park your vehicle and allow for a couple days of work.Most new ball joints will have bolts to hold them in place, unless they are the pressed in kind. Removal is the most difficult part for the most part.

These ball joints are sometimes very difficult to remove and if you are not confident that you have the skills to replace your ball joints, then you should not attempt this and simply take your car to a trained technician. This article will focus on the pressed in or riveted in ball joints.

#BALL JOINT RIVET REMOVAL TOOL HOW TO#

That article will tell you how to properly diagnose and replace bolted on or threaded in ball joints. If you have ones that are simply bolted in place or threaded in take a look at this Ball Joint Replacement and Inspection. They can be easy to replace if they need to be or else they can be difficult to replace if they are riveted or pressed into place. Remember, all the links in the article above take you to a reputable online retailer so you can make sure you have all the tools to do the job right the first time.Ball joints are a common cause of problems in the suspension and steering systems of new vehicles. Even a few tenths of a degree can cause tire wear and handling problems. Now it’s off for a test drive! Don’t forget to take your vehicle to a shop for an alignment after any major steering or suspension work like this. The left was completely destroyed! To see how these destroyed ball joints damaged the control arm, check out this article I wrote a while back.īolt the new ball joint in with the included hardware, torque to specs (you do have a torque wrench don’t you?), and reassemble the rest. Here’s what the lower ball joints looked like once they were removed. I used a 2″ die grinder with a sanding disc. Once you get the ball joints out, be sure to clean the mating surface so the ball joint seats completely and fits tightly against the control arm. Go just deep enough to weaken the head of the rivet enough to punch it out with an air chisel or a regular punch. You don’t want to go too far or the control arm will be damaged. I used a scrap 2X4 to hold the upper control arm up where I could get to it and commenced to drilling! These are from the lower control arm, but I wanted to show you about how deep to drill. You can imagine that after 15-20 years or more the rivets are pretty stuck in there. I suppose it was a bit cheaper and/or easier for GM to use rivets instead of bolts for these, but it sure would have been nice to take a few bolts loose rather than deal with these things. These guys are the pesky rivets that we’re drilling out. I’ll do an article on that method, too, because that’s how I replaced Henry’s ball joints. If you choose to cut the rivets off, I recommend using a cut off wheel or similar tool to cut an X in the rivet head (shown) to make it a little easier. You can use an air chisel (or a standard old chisel if you’re a glutton for punishment or Paul Bunyan with a hammer) to cut the head of the rivets off in the direction of the red arrow, grind off the rivet heads, or drill them out.

Once you get to this point you have some options. It’s a good idea to secure the brake caliper with a ratchet strap, bungee cord, or my new favorite, a Ratchet Rope so the hose won’t be damaged if it falls during your copious beating, banging, drilling, etc. By the way, I haven’t had very good luck with the pickle fork kits with interchangeable heads, so I would recommend getting a dedicated set. On this 2001 Chevy S10 4×4 I was able to leave the brakes in tact and remove just the ball joints using a pickle fork unfortunately you won’t be so lucky on every vehicle out there.

#BALL JOINT RIVET REMOVAL TOOL FREE#

Let’s get dirty!įirst, you’ll want to get the control arms free from the steering knuckle. This post will cover my preferred method of replacing riveted ball joints specifically. If you’re up to replacing these riveted ball joints I’ll assume you feel comfortable removing the components necessary to get to the ball joints.

Ball joint rivet removal tool