OT Legacy lower ball joint
 

The right-front lower ball joint on my wife's Legacy is a little sloppy. Doug doesn't think that I need any special tools to replace it, but I thought I'd ask here.

Chorus of wise guys: 'Ask what?'

Argh, okay.

Do I need any special tools to replace a lower ball joint on a 1990 Legacy wagon?

Re: OT Legacy lower ball joint
 

I've not done this, personally, but, in past posts, I can't remember a special tool. Some use a "pickle fork" to separate the ball joint, but, I seem to remember Eddycat saying that a BFH works better than a "pickle fork" for this operation. Less chance of damaging the matching surfaces. However, I'll defer to those who've had the experience. This is just my recollection.

I will say (again) that you don't need any special tools, just an especially cold beer waiting for you when the job is done :)

Doug

Ball Joint removal
 

You can do it w/o any special tools however, a fork makes it much nicer. When I did the Brat's ball joint the fork wouldn't even seperate everything. I had to get a puller from Autozone. I think I got my fork from sears. Wasn't more than $20 if I remember correctly.

Okay, thanks, guys. I have access to the forks, but I'll decide whether to use those or a BFH next weekend when I actually do the repair.

I did this awhile ago on my 91 Legacy. I took out the clamping bolts top and bottom and then used a pry bar like a crow bar and something for a fulcrum, a lot of PB Blaster. The top came out easy so I put the clamp bolt back in the top and kept working on prying the bottom out. It took awhile.

Generally I use a BFH against the knuckle where the ball joint stud passes through. It's definitely not the recommended method (quite the contrary, actually) but I do it this way when leaving the joint in place, when changing an axle, for example. This method won't damage the boot or place 'funky' loads against the joint.

I have a pickle fork, somewhere, I think. ;) If I use a fork I'll use one that plugs into my air hammer. Normally I reserve its use for tie rods though. I'm not fond of whacking the steering linkage to death in order to free one joint.

I tried removing the lower bj from the control arm a while ago to no avail. My pickle fork or puller didn't do the job. And I'm not able to visualize the pry bar method in my head either!
:confused:

Slicker than snot...
 

The lowest price I could find online for a lower ball joint (for my Legacy, in case you just skipped to this post without reading the rest of the thread) was about $40. Unfortunately, nobody seemed to have one in stock, and I need it this weekend. So, I figured I'd probably pay $50+ locally.

Murrays, a local chain, is the parts store I call first. They never actually have what I need, but they can always get it the next day. Autozone, just across the street, never knows what the hell I'm talking about. In my opinion, Autozone is the Radio Shack of the auto store world.

Anyway, $23. I have to actually go to the store and pay for it before they order it, which is ridiculous, but it's still only $23. So, I guess I'll just do both sides. :D

Ball joint from Autozone
 

Hey Pockets. I got one for my Brat at Autozone. Its about 2/3s as think in the neck as the one on the otherside. It may be cheap but I'm not quite certain that it'll last. I think I paid like $12 for that. I too got both sides. Took the one back after it took me 4 hours to get the bad one out.