ball joints
 

I removed the differential in my car according to chapter 15 in the factory service manual. Its being rebuilt right now. I was reading ahead to see what I have to do to reinstall it, and on page 15-29 it says to reinstall the ball joints onto the lower arms and then install the castle nuts and cotter pins.

I went out on my car to look at them, and I can get the ball joint screw to go into the hole it goes intoo on the lower control arm, but I can't get it to go all the way through so that I have some threads sticking out of the bottom of the hole on the lower control arm. I tried pusing down on the ball joint and up on the lower control arm with my hands, but they would not move together any.

Is there some secret to getting the threads all the way through the hole so that I can reinstall the castle nut?

I am letting a friend of mine borrow my jack, but the only other thing I can think of to try and raise the lower control arm is to try and jack it up, but since my hand could not move it up any, I'm worried that the lower control arm won't move any.

anyone have any advice?

Having done mine a few months ago, I never had any trouble getting enough of the thread through to start the nut. Did you disconnect the ABS line bracket? Maybe something is getting hung up if you didn't. I just wiggled the complete disc brake assembly around as I tried to get that ball joint into the hole and it went pretty easily. It may also have something to do with the angle of the assembly such that the hole is not lined up with the ball joint bolt. The ABS line might be preventing the hole from lining up just right. I got enough of the thread through to start the bolt real good. Then tightening the bolt pulled the rest of it through.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by xviper
[B]Having done mine a few months ago, I never had any trouble getting enough of the thread through to start the nut.

Squeezer, as you may recall when you removed the diff, there is a rod that sticks out of the inner CV end of those shafts. When you undo that from the diff output shafts, you still need to move the 1/2 shafts laterally about 2". You can't do this if you don't pop those ball joints. I know. I tried it and failed - ended up popping the ball joints.

I watched a Honda mechanic do this once. He only popped one ball joint and was then able to swing the knuckle out off the axle.

yea, that's one of the short cuts they learn after doing so many of the warrenties. The chief mechanic at the dealer I got the clutch warrenty done replaced everything and flywheel in about 1.5 hours, very impressive as he learned how to remove the tranny without taking as much crap off as stated in the helms. The helms isn't a bible, just a simple guide.