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So I thought I was capable of replacing the front control arms on my '99 SVT. My first problem was actually getting the pinch bolt and ball joint out (same as this thread). A drill, a few bits and some time it is out and the new control arm is in place. Except I cannot get the ball joint to line up to the knuckle. The knuckle seems to be about 1/2" off. Does anyone have any bright ideas?
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I don't know what method you used, but what made it easier for me is...1, I pulled the strut pinch bolt then slid the knuckle up the strut that small amount, and 2, I loosened that top nut in the engine bay for the struts (as well as pulled the outer tie rod out of the knuckle) and that allowed me to swing the strut + knucke, then I was able to set ther LBJ into the knuckle at an angle, and pushed the knuckle towards car, and it slid into place.
1998 Mystique LS:
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Originally posted by amarv12:
...(as well as pulled the outer tie rod out of the knuckle)...
I did not do that. I'm going to go pull that now and see if allows me to push the knuckle back towards the car.
'99 Black SVT
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Originally posted by amarv12:
... then I was able to set ther LBJ into the knuckle at an angle, and pushed the knuckle towards car, and it slid into place.
All right, so I can swing the strut and knuckle assembly. What I cannot do is get it close enough to the ball joint in order to slide it in (1/4" maybe). I am tempted to remove the whole knuckle assembly and turn this into a huge mess (if it wasn't already).
So to recap: strut nut is loose, knuckle to strut pinch bolt is removed, knuckle to ball joint pinch bolt is removed, tie rod nut is loose, control arm (vertical bushings) is in place with bolts (no nuts yet). I can swing the knuckle forward and back along an arc. What magic can I perform to make the lower portion of the knuckle move toward the car?
'99 Black SVT
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No magic to it. You just have to push hard. I found the best way was to put the ball joint in place first, and then install the strut. The first time I did it, I probably worked 6-8 hours on one knuckle. I finally figured out how to force the control arm downward, with the ball joint in place, so that the strut could be installed. It takes a lot of force. There were a lot of posts in the past talking about it.
On the other hand, if you are putting in a new ball joint, that bolts in place rather than rivets in place, you can loosen the ball joint bolts about 1/2 inch, line everything up, and then tighten the ball joint bolts.
95 Contour Zetec, ATX (wrecked, sitting in the barn)
95 Mystique Zetec, MTX
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Your inner CV joint is out. I'd reccommend wiggling it to see if you can get it back in. You'll have to push hard. Search and you'll get some more info. If that doesn't work, rebuild the whole axle. It's not a bad idea to put fresh boots on. Get a boot kit from Autozone for each joint, and two tools: pair of snap-ring pliers, and a pair of CV boot clamp pliers. Then do this:
Cut off the old rings/boots. You'll see the problem right away. The bearings won't stay on the tripod, so take them off. Use the ring pliers to get the one behind the tripod. Pull it back (it's tough) and slide the tripod back until you can get to the inboard snap ring. Pull that off and slide off tripod and rings. If you didn't cut the boot, pull that off too. Hack off the outer boot, and wipe away all the dirty grease. There will be a lot. Make sure you don't get any dirt near the joints. Re-grease the outer joint and slide the new boot down over the axle shaft. Clamp on the new rings. Back to the inner: slide on the new boot, then the heavy snap ring, then tripod. Get the heavy ring on far enough to get the little one on, and then slide the tripod out over the little ring, and click the heavy ring into place. Put the bearings back on and slip the whole assembly back into the housing. That's going to take a little cordination. After it's in you'll get the ball joint lined up: hooray! Now pack the joint with grease and boot it up. Test drive!
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Auto-x Fil,
Thanks for the info. I did pull the CV joint out, I realized this while turning the hub (boot kinks up). I am going to follow your advice and rebuild the boots. Hell at this point I should be replacing the springs and struts also. Who knew I would be replacing the entire front end of the freakin' car.
Thanks for the help.
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It'll run you about $50-$60 to redo it, and take an hour or two. If the boots are getting old, it's always good to change them. Cheap insureance: look up CV joint prices!
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