how do i change a ball joint? ( yes serched)
09-29-2008, 10:13 AM
#3
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 165
write up? my car had strange vibration when going 60+ took it to a mehanic he said change ur front right ball joint i have no experince doing that they said it would cost me 300 bucks so if i can do it myself save some money that'd be great.
09-29-2008, 10:39 AM
#4
Why do you always write "YES, I'VE SEARCHED", when you obviously never search? 
http://www.autozone.com/az/cds/en_us...rInfoPages.htm
and..
http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...ntrol-arm.html
http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...tions-pic.html
http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...t-out-hub.html
http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...r-tie-rod.html
Some people opt to replace the entire lower control arm instead. Obviously if you're trying to save money though and only have a bad ball joint, you can just replace the joint. maybe these pictures in the LCA writeup will help anyway though:
http://maxima.cardomain.com/ride/348507/15
To be honest, given the other questions that you've asked in the past, I think this is one that you should cough up the $$$ and have the mechanic do.
And, $300 is a rip off, so go somewhere else if you want to have it done... I had both LCA's done for $400, parts and labor. If i had a driveway and it wasn't 10 degrees outside at the time, I would have just done it on my own
http://www.autozone.com/az/cds/en_us...rInfoPages.htm
and..
http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...ntrol-arm.html
http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...tions-pic.html
http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...t-out-hub.html
http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...r-tie-rod.html
Some people opt to replace the entire lower control arm instead. Obviously if you're trying to save money though and only have a bad ball joint, you can just replace the joint. maybe these pictures in the LCA writeup will help anyway though:
http://maxima.cardomain.com/ride/348507/15
To be honest, given the other questions that you've asked in the past, I think this is one that you should cough up the $$$ and have the mechanic do.
And, $300 is a rip off, so go somewhere else if you want to have it done... I had both LCA's done for $400, parts and labor. If i had a driveway and it wasn't 10 degrees outside at the time, I would have just done it on my own
09-29-2008, 02:20 PM
#5
09-29-2008, 03:21 PM
#6
I thought it was held in by a snap ring, I know that is how the replacements come.
09-29-2008, 06:01 PM
#10
09-29-2008, 07:15 PM
#12
Do it properly, get a press of some kind. Or carry the control arms to a shop and pay them $20 to do it on their press.
All that said, my recommendation is to buy a new control arm. The ball joint is of excellent quality (some ball joints you can buy are not worth the time to install them) and you get new bushings which most maximas would benefit from.
Dave
Last edited by dgeesaman; 09-30-2008 at 03:10 AM.
09-29-2008, 07:52 PM
#15
Where do you people live that your paying 3 and $400.00 to get ball joints done. In NYC if I go to the Parts Authority and buy some ball joints, my fav driveway mechanic will do em for $30.00 a side. If I take em to a garage they'll do it for $80.00 all together. Mechanice where you guys live must make more money than Doctors.
Last edited by maxima-junky; 09-29-2008 at 07:53 PM. Reason: Adding text
09-29-2008, 08:05 PM
#16
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Pleasanton,CA
Posts: 1,136
I did my LBJs in my garage with tools rented from Autozone. The only thing that I forgot was a snap-ring plier to get the snap ring out. I don't believe the snap-rings are cosmetic, the damnnn this is made with space age high strength steel, though it is a few mm it is it very very strong and firmly fixes the joint to the arm. The entire suspension resting on the joint bolt is calling for serious trouble on the road, hook or crook the snap-ring needs to be put back into the groove to prevent the knuckle coming off the control arm.
BTW, without getting the snap-ring out, there is no way on earth you are going to get the LBJ off the arm. Period, ask me how I know.
Once the snap ring is out, just hammer the old one out. Putting the new one needs some effort. Put the new ball joints in the freezer all night to reduce the dimensions just enough to make it into the balllljoint hole. The Autozone balllljoint press did the job but then you will need some patience. The first one took me a long time but then with all the learning the second one was a breeze.
In all you will need close to 4-6 hrs to get the job done.
BTW, without getting the snap-ring out, there is no way on earth you are going to get the LBJ off the arm. Period, ask me how I know.
Once the snap ring is out, just hammer the old one out. Putting the new one needs some effort. Put the new ball joints in the freezer all night to reduce the dimensions just enough to make it into the balllljoint hole. The Autozone balllljoint press did the job but then you will need some patience. The first one took me a long time but then with all the learning the second one was a breeze.
In all you will need close to 4-6 hrs to get the job done.
09-29-2008, 08:37 PM
#17
Where do you people live that your paying 3 and $400.00 to get ball joints done. In NYC if I go to the Parts Authority and buy some ball joints, my fav driveway mechanic will do em for $30.00 a side. If I take em to a garage they'll do it for $80.00 all together. Mechanice where you guys live must make more money than Doctors.
09-29-2008, 10:02 PM
#20
PIicktures, no. But there are some pictures that might be helpful in the LCA writeup
No offense man, but if you had trouble installing the universal O2 sensors, and had no idea what to do with the wiring harness of your new HU, I really think you should let the mechanic tackle this. That job could get ugly if you're not 100% sure of what you're doing. If you are confident though, you can buy a Haynes manual. Should be a lot of pics & info in there. Again, don't mean to be an ***, but we don't really want your car to be down for weeks or otherwise unsafe if the job isn't done properly.But i'm not really sure how confident you are in your abilities when you make a post like:
Just play it safe, shop around and get the best price on the work. You might want to consider buying the entire LCA and just having them install it. Ebay has them for $50, Autozone about $100. Some people don't trust ebay vendors, but I think nick got his suspension parts form ebay in that writeup and they've been holding up well.
No offense man, but if you had trouble installing the universal O2 sensors, and had no idea what to do with the wiring harness of your new HU, I really think you should let the mechanic tackle this. That job could get ugly if you're not 100% sure of what you're doing. If you are confident though, you can buy a Haynes manual. Should be a lot of pics & info in there. Again, don't mean to be an ***, but we don't really want your car to be down for weeks or otherwise unsafe if the job isn't done properly.But i'm not really sure how confident you are in your abilities when you make a post like:
Just play it safe, shop around and get the best price on the work. You might want to consider buying the entire LCA and just having them install it. Ebay has them for $50, Autozone about $100. Some people don't trust ebay vendors, but I think nick got his suspension parts form ebay in that writeup and they've been holding up well.
Last edited by CRiME; 09-29-2008 at 10:22 PM.
09-29-2008, 10:25 PM
#21
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 165
PIicktures, no. But there are some pictures that might be helpful in the LCA writeup
No offense man, but if you had trouble installing the universal O2 sensors, and had no idea what to do with the wiring harness of your new HU, I really think you should let the mechanic tackle this. That job could get ugly if you're not 100% sure of what you're doing. If you are confident though, you can buy a Haynes manual. Should be a lot of pics & info in there. Again, don't mean to be an ***, but we don't really want your car to be down for weeks or otherwise unsafe if the job isn't done properly.But i'm not really sure how confident you are in your abilities when you make a post like:
Just play it safe, shop around and get the best price on the work. You might want to consider buying the entire LCA and just having them install it. Ebay has them for $50, Autozone about $100. Some people don't trust ebay vendors, but I think nick got his suspension parts form ebay in that writeup and they've been holding up well.
No offense man, but if you had trouble installing the universal O2 sensors, and had no idea what to do with the wiring harness of your new HU, I really think you should let the mechanic tackle this. That job could get ugly if you're not 100% sure of what you're doing. If you are confident though, you can buy a Haynes manual. Should be a lot of pics & info in there. Again, don't mean to be an ***, but we don't really want your car to be down for weeks or otherwise unsafe if the job isn't done properly.But i'm not really sure how confident you are in your abilities when you make a post like:
Just play it safe, shop around and get the best price on the work. You might want to consider buying the entire LCA and just having them install it. Ebay has them for $50, Autozone about $100. Some people don't trust ebay vendors, but I think nick got his suspension parts form ebay in that writeup and they've been holding up well.
hey you know what man i did get that damn radio to work and i did do alll the sensors along with knock sensor and whole buncha other shyet plus its a good learning experience. untill i saw max.org i never even opened the hood of my car
09-29-2008, 10:31 PM
#23
It's great that you're learning but... you really need to invest the $10 in a Haynes (from Amazon.com) or the time and download the Factory Service Manual (FSM) for free.
Just trying to be helpful here.
Just trying to be helpful here.
09-29-2008, 10:32 PM
#24
But anyway, the links I gave you up top should be more than enough to get you started on this if you're serious about doing it yourself. If you ask me, this isn't really a job that you want to practice on. Knock sensor, O2's, HU, fine, but this is a pretty important part of your suspension. Your call man, the info is all over this site!!
09-29-2008, 10:34 PM
#25
Did you look at ANY of the links, at all? Yes, it is. Pic Taken right from the LCA writeup above:
09-29-2008, 10:54 PM
#26
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 165
ordered one 2 days ago lol 7 from ebay actually hope its as good as u ppl say it is.
09-30-2008, 07:27 AM
#27
Haynes and Chiltons both are good for some stuff ... the FSM is more complete and free .... why not go that route? I have a Haynes and the FSM, all I need. Well ... and Maxima.Org!
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