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2005 mustang ball joint replacement

17K views 13 replies 5 participants last post by  thermohousing 
#1 ·
My 05 mustang needs the ball joints replaced. I know I can do this myself. My question is do I have to remove the knuckles to press them out? Can't I just drop the ball joint end of the lca and press the old ones out then press the new ones in, then just put the ball joint back into the knuckle?

Thanks in advance for any knowledge.
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#2 ·
ive heard 3 stories on this.

1) the ford workshop manual says you can not replace just the balljoints, must replace the control arm assemblies.

***this was what i did, i got the frpp control arms from am as i also wanted the rear bushings, but they used to be $100 less per pair too. little more involved replacing the entire control arm. the drivers side was a pita cause of the steering.

2) once you replace the control arms then you can replace just the ball joints

3) theres been at least a few guys that had just the balljoints replaced on the oem ca`s at different shops

you can buy balljoints for our cars. you would have to drop it from the spindle and press it out, then reverse. if you do try to just replace them, post back the results
 
#4 ·
+1. the stock ball joints are not serviceable in the control arms, the entire arm has to be replaced.
Get the GT500 lower control arms; they'll fit right in and are much stronger.
 
#7 ·
hmmm. a couple members here in canada had them replaced at canadian tire. same thing. in missouri i checked at oreillys and they offered ball joints for our cars too. i still went with the frpp arms. did the shop say why fords does not recommend replacing them? all the shop manuals say dont. has to be somehting with the construction of the arms, but i sure would like to know exactly whats up. i know you can also press in new rear bushings, but thats the same job(plus a little more) as replacing the arms in labor.
 
#9 ·
ball joint replacement

Do Not Tell Me Something that has been done for roughly 60 years is not serviceable. It is a pain but it is doable. I replaced mine with Raybestos grease-able ball joints a month ago. The tool for pressing the old joint out is not available at the any of the auto parts stores.
The press doesn't include the correct tools needed. You can buy a one size fits all set of adapters for 150 to 200 bucks. I made my upper press tool at work, the factory receiver worked fine. If Ford pressed it in I can get it out. I'm just sayin
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#11 ·
i think the question is, how safe and strong is the new joint pressed into the oem arms? i guess time is gonna tell in this case. ive always done my own balljoints too. fords has gotton really bad with the no service this and that, the frt hubs instead of bearings, and the sealed trans is a good example of trying to screw the DIY guys
 
#12 ·
That is the whole point of my post. They want all your money, and since there are fewer tools available for the diy guys like us they can pull it off. I would have bought new lower control arms if they included ball joints with grease zerks.
 
#13 ·
i hear ya. the no zerk fittings any more is a rip. i bought the frpp arms only because i was pushin 100k and i wanted the rear bushings and at the time they were $200 for the set of arms. i think the price went way up. so i`m good for a while, but i`ll be pressing the next ball joints ,myself.
 
#14 ·
I replaced both my lower front ball joints. I had the original ford control arms. Had to press them out and press the new ones in and was a pain in the but. Used a big c lampm style press with a jackscrew and sockets. I should of just purchased the new control arms. It can be done, but was a pain for me at least. finding the correct size sleeve to press the old one out was the problem. The tool did not have the correct size and I had to improvise.
 
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