I need help, I need to remover the upper and lower ball joints to replace them. I do not see how to remove the Camber/Caster. Can anyone please direct me on removing the upper and lower ball joints. THis is an 83 Ford F150 4X4. Thanks.

 

I did the ball joints in my 94 4x4 not long ago. I left the bushings alone, I'll let the alignment shop have the joy of removing them. I might even watch to see how they do it

 

To service the ball joints you'll need to spray the top ball joint with the caster/camber bushings and hit it with a
Hammer to get it to free up. To actually get them out of the spindle you'll need a ball joint press cause they press in tight. Replaced all 4 in my old 95 f150 before selling it bAck to my brother

 

i hit it right on top and does the nut on the lower ball joint need to be loose first for it all to come apart?

 

And do you have to remove the Caster/Camber nuts? If so How?

 

Loosen the lower nut but do not remove it or else it'll crash down.when you hit it enough times the caster/camber bushing should work it's way up then take it out. Hit on the knuckle to get the whole assembly to come out

 

Avoid hitting the ball joint shaft cause if you ping it over, it'll he a pain to remove from the housing and the bushing

 

I just done mine you need a ball joint fork and drive it in under the ball joint. The ball joint fork is wider than a tie rod fork. The alignment bushing will come out after the ball joint is out. Both nuts need to be loose.

 

First, grind or file off the burr on the upper ball joint threads so it will slip down. Do this before loosening anything as it is easier when solid.

Remove tie rod end from knuckle joint.

Next, loosen lower ball joint nut completely and then put it back on finger tight to keep knuckle assembly from dropping.

Get a large pickle fork (preferably two) and alternate between the upper and lower while also tapping on knuckle. Do not drive pickle fork into either all at once. Both ball joints have to get freed at the same time or you may distort the knuckle. You will see when one or the other starts to free and can then concentrate on the remaining one.

You can then work on freeing the camber adjusting sleeve. Factory ones have a sort of tag on them that prevents them from turning. Grind this off and the alignment people MAY be able to reuse them (they affect both camber and castor). Otherwise, they will charge you $20 or $30 for a new one. You can't buy these until the castor/camber requirements are known. (This is for a 96 2wd - yours may vary)

I took my knuckle joints to my local mechanic shop and between the two of us, we pressed out the old ball joints and pressed in new ones in less than a half hour using the special tool most garages have. I gave him $25.00 for beer money.

BTW, I replace both upper and lower at this time. Don't forget, the lower balljoint must be removed first and pressed in last.

I always clean and free up all nuts/bolts/sleeves/tie rod ends etc. that my alignment guy needs to adjust before bringing it in. He appreciates this as he can then concentrate on the alignment.

 

Depends on what you have tool wise available. I work at a big shop so when I did mine it wasn't to bad except for disassembling the 4wd hub and doing the axle pivot bushings. I avoid using pickle forks cause they have a tendacy not to separate what your working on and damaging the boot