What do you get when you combine 8 hours and 2 4ft. metal bars twisted into pretzels, 3 broken sockets, 1 bent breaker bar, 1 empty can of wd-40, 1 sore back and an empty beer. Yeah, 2 new ball joints on a 1992 Legacy. I won, just barely. Sorry just had to share my experience.

What do you get when you combine 8 hours and 2 4ft. metal bars twisted into pretzels, 3 broken sockets, 1 bent breaker bar, 1 empty can of wd-40, 1 sore back and an empty beer. Yeah, 2 new ball joints on a 1992 Legacy. I won, just barely. Sorry just had to share my experience.

 

Maybe it's just me but I cannot imagine exerting that much force on the control arm and knuckle components and not doing some damage. Somebody please put my mind at ease.

What do you get when you combine 8 hours and 2 4ft. metal bars twisted into pretzels, 3 broken sockets, 1 bent breaker bar, 1 empty can of wd-40, 1 sore back and an empty beer. Yeah, 2 new ball joints on a 1992 Legacy. I won, just barely. Sorry just had to share my experience.

 

Ball joints are never easy (maybe on a new car but who needs to replace the ball joints on a new car????)

The first time I replaced one (on a Loyale) I broke the pinch bolt and had to drill it trough and replace with a longer one and nut. Etc.

Rust is the number one ennemy of shade tree mechanics.

When will your president (or the UN) declare a war on rust?

When I first started I was worried about this, and I tried to be gentle. I didn't nick, dent deform anything on the car. Trust me these things don't just fall out.

When will your president (or the UN) declare a war on rust?

 

Let's turn that around. Our President deals with the big stuff (fostering democracy, chasing dictators, etc.) Your PM deals with the little stuff (Medicare, local people's rights). Seems like the Global War on Rust is best left for M. Martin. Hopefully, he can reverse M. Chrétien's legacy of collective hood-ornament gazing.

 

The ONUzi (for you francophones north-of-the-border) is best left to rust itself out given it's effectiveness of late.

Now that isn't very nice to say about my country.

 

I will say though, I sure hope Bush doens't declare war on rust, or my subaru is all but blown up.

Now that isn't very nice to say about my country.

Paris, Canada? FWIW, My favorite inventor this winter is surely Arthur Sicard.

Yes Paris, Canada, it is in Ontario.

Yes Paris, Canada, it is in Ontario.

 

Sorry, I thought it was Paris, Texas.

Let's turn that around. Our President deals with the big stuff (fostering democracy, chasing dictators, etc.) Your PM deals with the little stuff (Medicare, local people's rights). Seems like the Global War on Rust is best left for M. Martin. Hopefully, he can reverse M. Chrétien's legacy of collective hood-ornament gazing.

 

The ONUzi (for you francophones north-of-the-border) is best left to rust itself out given it's effectiveness of late.

 

I'm amazed. Never thought Americans had any interest for canadian politics.

It is because your President deals with the big stuff that I thought he would be the right man for the war on rust.

"The ONUzi" ??? Maybe my accent is not pure Québecois?

I will say though, I sure hope Bush doens't declare war on rust, or my subaru is all but blown up.

 

Sorry, I thought it was Paris, Texas.

 

Also in Maine, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky...looks like we've got lots of towns called "Paris" here in the lower 48.:-p

 

BTW, I vacation from time to time in your province so I do try to brush up on the happenings about, political newshound that I am. My last visit was on the heels of Jean Charest and the Liberals sweeping the PQ out of the National Assembly and shocking everybody by raising the Maple Leaf next to the Fleur d'Elise.

 

And, yes, I was happy to note that the Legacy is a popular automotive choice with the locals up there.

OK, you guys are talking about a rust problem. . .

We dont get a lot of that in California, thankfully. . . When I did mine, it was pop pot the pinch bolt, take a big hammer to knock it out of the knuckle (by banging on the control arm, then take the same hammer and a pickle-fork to knock the tapered part out of the arm (this ball joint is not going back in, so I do not care about the grease shroud. . .) Total time of about a half hour per side. . .

 

Did it the same time I replaced my clutch, in fact. . .

 

Now that was fun. . . Trying to wrestle a tranny jack, with tranny on it, on a sloping driveway and get it to line up with the pilot berring. . . That took two days. . . .

No matter how bad your rust may be, you don't want to be on the wrong side of our smart weapons.

 

Guess we'll have to stick with a bigger breaker bar and GRRRRR-illa warfare.

A couple of tricks I did learn:

 

I had to go and purchase impact wrench sockets, good 1/2 inch sockets would probably work too. I first tried with some 3/8" and these just snapped when I tried to get the rusted bolts off. I also uhooked the sway bar.

 

To get the end out of the control arm, on the one side I finally got it by placing a jack underneath the bolt and jacking it up. I think extreme care here is essential, make sure it is the suspesion moving up and down not the whole car. This didn't work on the other side, jumping up and down on the pickle fork worked. Alternate from one side of the knucle to the other helps here. A lot of penetrating oil is helpful too.

 

Once I got the end loosened from the control arm I replaced the nut underneath the control arm, I didn't tighten it, I left some play there so I could get a small bar between the knucle and the control arm, then I pried the joint out of the knuckle. When I finally got it out I cleaned all the rust and junk out of the knuckle and the control arm

To get the new joint back in, I pushed the joint into the knuckle as far as I could, then hooked it onto the contol arm. Then I got a brick and a 1x4 and used them as a lever to push the joint in from below the control arm. This worked very well. Replaced the pinch bolt and the bottom nut and I was all done. I did read were people people put anti-seize on the top of the ball joint, I didn't, but, it is probably a good idea.

When I first started I was worried about this, and I tried to be gentle. I didn't nick, dent deform anything on the car. Trust me these things don't just fall out.

 

 

when you want them out they don't want to come out but when you want them to stay in ,they fall out on yah.:-\