Attention: TDR Forum Junkies Hi Guys,
I completed the ball joint installation on my '96 2WD this weekend. It took six hours start to finish, including some time spent over a ruptured ball joint boot. Why aren't boots available seperately for bone heads like me??
Having access to an automotive shop made a huge difference. . indoors, air wrench, floor jack, jack stand, bench mounted vice, hydraulic press, oh yeah.
I rented a ball joint service tool from the local tool rental place... the tool didn't fit the job. It is basically a C-clamp with a set of adaptors which allow it to fit properly & apply the required force to the ball joints for removal & installation. If you decide to take this route, be sure the tool will fit the application. The rental store refunded most of my money.
So, BHF(Big FINE Hammer)to the rescue. I drove the lower joints out with a 2lb. hammer. I used the old nuts on the threaded studs as a target for the BHF to drive the new lower joints in, no problem.
On the uppers, I removed the upper A-arms & hammered the old joints out. I pushed the new joints in on a hydraulic press. I could have hammered those in too, but chose the press.
The most diffucult part was getting the new boots to seal properly on the new Moog joints. I found that installing the boot on the joint before installing the joint in the truck was much easier than after, provided you don't rupture the boot during the joint installation process. I was able to recover from the setback with a suitable solution; I purchased a generic boot (the "Help!" brand) from the local parts house & cut it down to fit inside the Moog boot, which gave me a rubber barrier between the grease & new joint on the inside & the new boot with a small hole in it on the outside. It's not perfect, but better than a ruptured boot alone.
Now it's off to the alignment shop, which BTW, wanted $300 to install the joints. I'm glad I chose to do this one myself.
My thanks to those who responded with helpful suggestions on this job. Again, the best price I found on the joints was at:
www.AutoPartsGiant.com
2 MOOG K7205T BALL JOINT, LOWER $60. 18 ea
2 MOOG K7206T BALL JOINT, UPPER $37. 85 ea
shipping free on orders over $50, this was for a 2WD 1996 CTD Ram 2500.
I completed the ball joint installation on my '96 2WD this weekend. It took six hours start to finish, including some time spent over a ruptured ball joint boot. Why aren't boots available seperately for bone heads like me??
Having access to an automotive shop made a huge difference. . indoors, air wrench, floor jack, jack stand, bench mounted vice, hydraulic press, oh yeah.
I rented a ball joint service tool from the local tool rental place... the tool didn't fit the job. It is basically a C-clamp with a set of adaptors which allow it to fit properly & apply the required force to the ball joints for removal & installation. If you decide to take this route, be sure the tool will fit the application. The rental store refunded most of my money.
So, BHF(Big FINE Hammer)to the rescue. I drove the lower joints out with a 2lb. hammer. I used the old nuts on the threaded studs as a target for the BHF to drive the new lower joints in, no problem.
On the uppers, I removed the upper A-arms & hammered the old joints out. I pushed the new joints in on a hydraulic press. I could have hammered those in too, but chose the press.
The most diffucult part was getting the new boots to seal properly on the new Moog joints. I found that installing the boot on the joint before installing the joint in the truck was much easier than after, provided you don't rupture the boot during the joint installation process. I was able to recover from the setback with a suitable solution; I purchased a generic boot (the "Help!" brand) from the local parts house & cut it down to fit inside the Moog boot, which gave me a rubber barrier between the grease & new joint on the inside & the new boot with a small hole in it on the outside. It's not perfect, but better than a ruptured boot alone.
Now it's off to the alignment shop, which BTW, wanted $300 to install the joints. I'm glad I chose to do this one myself.
My thanks to those who responded with helpful suggestions on this job. Again, the best price I found on the joints was at:
www.AutoPartsGiant.com
2 MOOG K7205T BALL JOINT, LOWER $60. 18 ea
2 MOOG K7206T BALL JOINT, UPPER $37. 85 ea
shipping free on orders over $50, this was for a 2WD 1996 CTD Ram 2500.
