Did anyone change their own ball joints using a press?

I am saving for my next car (Mini Cooper) and just blew a ball joint on the I30. I am in Savannah GA and nobody has a control arm but they do have ball joints. And I can rent a ball joint kit from autozone.

I'd rather not pay $160 for an arm I can get in NY for 60 bucks.

Any input is appreciated. I want to avoid ordering a whole control arm but I will if I have to.

 

I used the $30 HarborFreight ball joint kit (it's the same as the AutoZone set), to press in the balljoints. It worked very nicely and seemed to seat them without fuss.

To remove them (this was a set of spare control arms, and was done a couple months ago), I used a press. And it wasn't pretty. I think the balljoint kit applies the force much more precisely and would have worked better. But still I would hit it with some penetrating oil before using the press.

Dave

 

Which balljoint replacements did you use, and where did you get them? I was under the impression that our whole control arm had to be changed if they went bad.

 

I thought this too when I could get control arms for 60 bucks. Now i'm in an area where nobody has new control arms for sale except the dealer ($488 yeah right)

I would like to change the whole control arm but I'm not spending 488. I wouldnt get such a critical part from ebay either. So my options are to change the joint, leave it how it is until I get back to New York, or order a control arm from Pinnacle ($188)

 

I got them from www.suspension.com, although there really isn't anything special about them.

I suspect Nissan began specifying arm replacements so that dealer techs didn't need to screw around with them, and it also gets you new bushings.

Dave

 

I went with MOOG ball joints from Rockauto.com. You will need special pliers for the snap-ring retainers. Cheap fix!

 

I was thinking of ordering left lower control arm from this company. My ball joints are shot also.
http://www.internetautomart.com

Has anyone here done any business with them..any feedback will greatly be appreciated.

 

What are you guys talking about? You dont need a press for our ball joints. Theres a clip on the bottom that needs to be removed and you can hammer them out.