Hey all, I just put new bearings, lower ball joint, upper control arms and tie rod ends on but I cant get this project finished. The ball joint in the upper control arm is not fitting into the spindle. How do I get this in? I have tried beating on the conrol arm but it just bounces back beacuse there is too much play in the arm and the spindle. I then lined it up put the tires on and took the jacks out so there is more pressure but the damn ball joint still wont go into the spindle! What can I do?

Thanks in advance!

 

i just did this last night. i hammered a pry bar into the slit on the spindle where the upper ball joint fits in and that helped it go in better.

 

i just did this the past weekend also. i hit mine in with a hammer and they went right in. you do have the bolt removed right? just asking. i didn't have a problem with the UCA. the lower ball joints were a B***H!

 

spray penerant in the hole and hook a pry bar in the shock tower and tap down on the control arm with a dead blow, dont be shy hitting it

 

Going to see if I can do this because the slits for mine are on the back side. I have 3" lift so my spindles are bigger then normal.

OH, should I have it jacked up or let it down?

 

yeah, 4X4 spindles have the slit on the back. I had to turn the wheels to one side to get to it but it worked fine.

 

you need to have a floor jack or jackstand under the control arm or else your hammering is being absorbed by the shock, which is fully extended, not a good idea

 

This is what did it, thank you for the advice.

Another question though.. I took it to get it aligned today and they told me that since I replaced the upper control arms I need a camber kit on them? The stock ones didn't have any type of kit on them.. is this true?

 

yes probably. i bought the kits too.

 

Ok, then my next question would be what do they look like/do you have a parts number? Im trying to find them on various auto parts store websites to check prices but I can't find anything.

 

i got mine from rockauto.com they are called alignment kits. get two one fore each side.

 

If the slot is rusty/dirty at all try using sand paper to clean it up a little.

 

get a torch and heat up the spindle like a ****

 

Im on rockauto.com, there are two dif types of alignment kits.

One has a bunch of parts and (ACDELCO Part # 45K18011 More Info {#88914231}
ADJUST KIT,FRONT CAMBER/CASTER -; CONTAINS CAMS AND BOLT, 0 DEGREE TO +/- 2-1/4 DEGREE)

The other is MEVOTECH Part # MK8674 More Info {Alignment Camber Kit} which just looks like one bushing?

anyone know which is right?

 

You need the one with the cams and bolts. The other one is for TTB suspension I think.