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Ball joint install issue???? Solved and done, Thanks

shady

shady

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I know I've seen a thread about this, but what causes the upper ball joint to not make it up far enough? It seems like the bottom ball joint is too tall. I checked the joint and it is seated all the way. I dont know exactly what year the axle is, but I went with all 79 parts and the bearings are the correct size. heres some pics. and a couple of before and during
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I'll lay odds that you need to back off the upper ball joint pre-load adjuster first then once you have the lower ball joint nut torqued properly you'll set the preload on the upper ball joint. This requires a spanner socket (available from all major tool trucks and most auto stores).
 
I cant find the socket any where. but the bottom one was installed and torqued before the adjuster was even installed. i tried to turn it down far enough to get it tight but soon realized that something was wrong. then I took pics, drank another beer and came home for the night:thumb:
 
Am i the only one that thinks that lower nut looks way too tall? Me thinks you should try sliding the shaft in to make sure there wont be a clearance issue there.
 
y5mgisi said:
Am i the only one that thinks that lower nut looks way too tall? Me thinks you should try sliding the shaft in to make sure there wont be a clearance issue there.
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Looks that way but its not. All the newly produces lowers come with a poly lock nut like that.


That being said when I put together my dana 44 I had a lot of issues with this. Despite being the 4th time I had done balljoints on this front axle I came to discover that my inner C was bent open.

You can also run into this problem from have a bent shut/ collapsed knuckle.




PS: Your crew cab has the wrong front end in it :flipoff7:
 
y5mgisi said:
Am i the only one that thinks that lower nut looks way too tall? Me thinks you should try sliding the shaft in to make sure there wont be a clearance issue there.
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I slid the shaft in and it fits, but barely. You pretty much HAVE to have a ggod shaft bearing in the back of the spindle.

rampage said:
You can order a spanner socket either from PartsMike or get one from Napa or SnapOn. Or if you'd like to save a few bucks you can make one in about 15 mins by taking a grinder to an old 13/16 socket.

You can follow the procedure for adjusting the sleeve in ftn96's ball joint write-up.
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I'm making one from a 3/4" impact socket:waytogo: As for adjustment, I'll check that link. the chilton says to just torque it to 50 ftlb:dunno:

Stomis said:
PS: Your crew cab has the wrong front end in it :flipoff7:
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:doah: Dont I know it:D If I intended on keeping it I'd be getting the right set under it. the only thing on this truck thats NOT 1/2 ton is the back doors and VIN number:haha:

As for my issue, I think the lower ball joint is the wrong one. I'm gonna look at an assortment of them and see if i can find a better fit
 
I went through 72-88 and they all call for the same lower ball joint:confused: I'll take more pics, but it can clearly be seen in person that the space between the knuckle and the C is way larger at the bottom than on the side I havent pulled apart yet.
 
Wouldn't hurt to measure the inside distance of the "C" and compare it with the other side or another truck.
Not sure how it could have gotten bent unless it was bent when you started or it bent while getting the old joints out.

Unless I am mistaken, if you tightened the top nut, it would draw that gap closed. But it would probably do it by pulling the top joint out of the hub. Not what you want, of course.
But, if the "C" had gotten bent by some kind of driving event and pulled the old joint out like that, you might not have noticed when pulling it apart due to rust, dirt, that sort of thing.

Also, you say that they all use the same lower joint, what about the upper? Any chance its the wrong one and just too short?
 
Well I found the issue. Talking to the guys at Orilleys I found out that the Master Pro brand ball joint that I bought was the right one, Just made wrong. Apparently they've had the issue before. We got the moog one out and compared them side by side. the MP one is a full 1/2 too tall. They gave me $15 off the moog one, and let me return the MP (even though I BEAT it back out) for a full refund.

I couldnt get pics due to dead batt in camera.
 
Good to know to watch out for that. im glad none of your **** was bent!

my on the other hand I bent my **** when i dropped it 4 feet off my bench :thumb:
 
the orilleys guys took all of the 8195 part #'s off the shelf and are going to send them back and explain the issue, so they tell me anyway. They were awesome to deal with though
 
rampage said:
You can order a spanner socket either from PartsMike or get one from Napa or SnapOn. Or if you'd like to save a few bucks you can make one in about 15 mins by taking a grinder to an old 13/16 socket.

You can follow the procedure for adjusting the sleeve in ftn96's ball joint write-up.
Click to expand...

Don't buy it from Snap-On. I just did this a few weeks ago- spent 25 bucks on a socket, and the damn thing wasn't long enough. I needed about a centimeter more length for it to work well- I made it work (barely, and I rounded off the adjuster pretty good in doing so), but if I was buying a new one, I'd certainly be trying a different brand.
 
I was gonna buy the one from orilleys. I found it on their site finally, but I made one that worked ok
 
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