I have a 1987 Maxima that needs the ball joints replaced. I'd rather save the money and replace them myself. I started doing it this past weekend, then stopped and put everything back together. I have some questions. I was following the haynes manual and then I got stuck. Here is what I did: Removed tire, brake calibre, and torque member. Then I loosened the jam nut on the tie rod and marked the threads in relation to the tie rod end. Next I unscrewed the tie rod end. And I loosened the three nuts holding the strut in the engine compartment. I took off the three nuts holding the ball joint on. The manual then says to disconnect the driveaxle from the steering knuckle. Am I supposed to remove the driveaxle altogether? And by doing so, do I need to remove the brake hub/rotor? I was going to take that big nut off holding the hub on, but I didn't have a socket big enough... what happens to be the size of a socket I need for that? Should it be a six-point or twelve-point? Am I making a simple job to hard for myself?

Thanks,
Nick

 

As a matter of point, I just did this same thing myself this past Saturday.

You are making the job more difficult...first off, ignore the part about the tie-rob ends...leave them alone.

Lossen the nuts in the engine bay for the struts. Then, remove the caliper and torque bracket (they can be removed as a unit, BTW), and tie them up out of the way. Remove the spindle nut (I believe it's about 1 3/8th or so (I didn't have a metric that large, but the 6-pt SAE I used fit perfectly...I'll write back later when I can get the exact size for ya). Remove the three nuts holding the ball-joint to the control arm, and pull/swing, pivot the spindle/hub assembly out of the way, and work the axle out of the hub. The axle will remain installed, just tie it out of the way if need be. Leave the spindle assembly free, so you can turn it as needed to remove the old ball-joint, and install the new. Once the new joint is bolted to the spindle, and torqued down, reinsert the axle into the hub - this usually requires workign the axle up & down a bit to get it to go in. Install the washer, & spindle nut - finger tight only at this time. Line the ball-joint bracket up with the control arm. Be careful, the bolts studs are not attached to the contaol arm. They are on a special bracket/plate that just sit on the arm. Thred the nuts on. Forget what the book says, about torqueing after the cars back on the ground. Unless you have like 17-18" wheels, there is not enough clearance to torque them with the wheels on. Torque them to as close to the highest spec as possible. Now, bolt your wheels back up, drop to the ground, and torque your lug nuts and the spindle nut. Now, install the lock/castle washer, and cotter pin. Drive the car for a day or so, normally, then raise the cra, drop the wheels, and check the torque on the ball-joints and spindle nut...

That's it.