Spinning Ball Joint Fix
09-02-2012, 05:19 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Spinning Ball Joint Fix
HEllO
I recently swapped the knuckles on the S2000 because me right wheel bearing went bad. So I swapped out both rears as a precaution so I wouldn't have to do the other side in a few months. If you have done this you may realize that the ball joints after they are taken apart from the knuckle while re-installing they spin causing you to not be able to tighten the castle nut back down.
It is easy enough to fix this the lower control arm ball joint you can easily put a C-clamp on and squeeze the ball joint tight enough to the control arm to stop it from moving, The toe arm I just used a jack to apply some pressure and viola it worked like a charm. The upper control arm however doesn't catch a C-clamp well because there is really no where to put it. It will either be on a crazy angle and slip off or it will be too far from the actual ball joint to apply the pressure where need to squeeze it enough to stop it from spinning and there-in lies the problem.
I used the following:
C-Clamp
Vise Grips
12" 2x4
Long 5/8 hex-key
First I put the 2x4 on top of the upper control arm so I had a stable area to put the C-Clamp on.
Then I slid the hex key through the top brake caliper hole on the knuckle.
I attached the vise grips two inches from the end of the C-Clamp to stop the hex key from sliding away.
Worked like a charm, and it looked like this
Hope this helps someone, someday.
I recently swapped the knuckles on the S2000 because me right wheel bearing went bad. So I swapped out both rears as a precaution so I wouldn't have to do the other side in a few months. If you have done this you may realize that the ball joints after they are taken apart from the knuckle while re-installing they spin causing you to not be able to tighten the castle nut back down.
It is easy enough to fix this the lower control arm ball joint you can easily put a C-clamp on and squeeze the ball joint tight enough to the control arm to stop it from moving, The toe arm I just used a jack to apply some pressure and viola it worked like a charm. The upper control arm however doesn't catch a C-clamp well because there is really no where to put it. It will either be on a crazy angle and slip off or it will be too far from the actual ball joint to apply the pressure where need to squeeze it enough to stop it from spinning and there-in lies the problem.
I used the following:
C-Clamp
Vise Grips
12" 2x4
Long 5/8 hex-key
First I put the 2x4 on top of the upper control arm so I had a stable area to put the C-Clamp on.
Then I slid the hex key through the top brake caliper hole on the knuckle.
I attached the vise grips two inches from the end of the C-Clamp to stop the hex key from sliding away.
Worked like a charm, and it looked like this
Hope this helps someone, someday.
The following users liked this post:
DOXI (11-23-2022)
I'll add to the FAQ. I'm sure it'll help someone.
09-30-2012, 03:27 PM
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Ok, i see what you did, but how do you tighten the bolt down? It looks like the clamp has pressure on it. I'm having an issue with one of my upper rear control arms and the spinning bolt.
09-30-2012, 04:09 PM
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For anyone else that views this....
Easiest way to fix this:
Put a jack on the lower ball joint and jack up the suspension, quite a bit. The castle nut should tighten down now. Worked for me.
Easiest way to fix this:
Put a jack on the lower ball joint and jack up the suspension, quite a bit. The castle nut should tighten down now. Worked for me.
12-17-2012, 05:22 AM
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I just did the cv cup swap on my car and cannot get the lower ball joint castle nut to tighten down. I have already tried jacking up the lower control arm and even using a baby impact.
The bolt just free spins on me. Any ideas?
Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX using Tapatalk 2
The bolt just free spins on me. Any ideas?
Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX using Tapatalk 2
12-17-2012, 09:31 AM
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