# Need help replacing ball joints



## geekwithoutacause (Nov 14, 2017)

Hi all !
Great info on here !
I recently got the HF 20 ton 60603 press.
I did my (partial ) first job with it, press in a balljoint. It worked very well ! Thing didn't break a sweat. but.....
The balljoint is off of an f250 Superduty. The knuckle is off the truck and has 2 balljoints. a lower and an upper. Both balljoints point upwards. I was able to rest the knuckle on the 2 plates and push from the top (thru the opening for the 2nd balljoint) down onto the lower balljoint. All went well.. But now I need to press in the top one. I do not want to press on the top because the knuckle will then bear the pressure and I am not sure that is correct. I can not hang the knuckle in between the lower bridge of the press. The knuckle is too big for that. If I hang it over the side, the knuckle isn't centered enough to get the press above it. 
What I really need is the lower bridge in a narrow version of it. This way the knuckle can just hang down from it. Anyone have any ideas on how to fabricate that? Any alternatives ?
Here is a video of a guy doing the same job on very similar knuckles. But.. he presses the top one in in a way that puts way too much pressure on the knuckle I think.





Thanks all !


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## RandyM (Nov 15, 2017)

You need to make a threaded two piece spacer tube to put between the flanges.


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## geekwithoutacause (Nov 15, 2017)

RandyM said:


> You need to make a threaded two piece spacer tube to put between the flanges.


Thanks for your reply. I am not sure what you mean. Can you elaborate?


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## RandyM (Nov 15, 2017)

geekwithoutacause said:


> Thanks for your reply. I am not sure what you mean. Can you elaborate?



You need a support tube to go between the two flanges to prevent collapsing. The tube needs to be adjustable to get a tight fit. You can use two threaded tubes (pipe) or a bolt and a tube. Once installed, you can just put the knuckle on the press plates and press from the top down without collapsing the upper flange. You'll need to be a little creative and some time to make your tooling.


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## geekwithoutacause (Nov 15, 2017)

RandyM said:


> You need a support tube to go between the two flanges to prevent collapsing. The tube needs to be adjustable to get a tight fit. You can use two threaded tubes (pipe) or a bolt and a tube. Once installed, you can just put the knuckle on the press plates and press from the top down without collapsing the upper flange. You'll need to be a little creative and some time to make your tooling.



Ok, I see what you mean. So the tube would sit in between the lower balljoint and the upper balljoint. And by it being adjustable I can squeeze it in between the socket over the lower balljoint and the underside of the top of the knuckle. The upper balljoint presses in flush. 
Great idea ! Now I need to find the parts. I think I can do it.
Many thanks from a shop press rookie !


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## geekwithoutacause (Nov 15, 2017)

RandyM said:


> You need a support tube to go between the two flanges to prevent collapsing. The tube needs to be adjustable to get a tight fit. You can use two threaded tubes (pipe) or a bolt and a tube. Once installed, you can just put the knuckle on the press plates and press from the top down without collapsing the upper flange. You'll need to be a little creative and some time to make your tooling.



Randy, what if I put a bottle jack in between ? jack it up tight ?


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## RandyM (Nov 15, 2017)

geekwithoutacause said:


> Randy, what if I put a bottle jack in between ? jack it up tight ?



Anything to take the press force off of the knuckle will work. You might have a hard time fitting a bottle jack in. Good Luck.


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## geekwithoutacause (Nov 15, 2017)

RandyM said:


> Anything to take the press force off of the knuckle will work. You might have a hard time fitting a bottle jack in. Good Luck.



Ok, you have a good point there. Going to try to find some threaded pipes. Home depot?

I guess a piece of threaded rod, put a nut with washers on it. then a smooth piece of pipe on top of it.. Yeah, I think that should work. 
If the pipe fits smoothly over the threaded rod it should be pretty strong. Maybe a couple nuts on it.


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## RandyM (Nov 15, 2017)

geekwithoutacause said:


> Ok, you have a good point there. Going to try to find some threaded pipes. Home depot?



Yeah, any where they sell plumbing supplies. You'll probably need a coupling to get your adjustment. A threaded pipe cut to length and a coupling for adjustment.


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## RandyM (Nov 15, 2017)

Hey Geek, You live in a neat place.


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## geekwithoutacause (Nov 15, 2017)

Yep thanks !, like it here. Great climate, still have seasonal changes, really nice summers, and winter is not brutal.


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## brino (Nov 15, 2017)

How about a machinist's jack?
https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&k...qmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_38k6gnel5w_e

or even a couple long bolts and coupler nuts to match?
https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Find-Fa...rd_wg=yQB4O&psc=1&refRID=QS34B2NFTN0MQQQY6EY1
Gets bolts long enough that when you partially thread the nut off the end that it just fills the gap.
The bolts are thin enough you could use more than one.

-brino


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## geekwithoutacause (Nov 15, 2017)

brino said:


> How about a machinist's jack?
> https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&k...qmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_38k6gnel5w_e
> 
> or even a couple long bolts and coupler nuts to match?
> ...



Brino,
Excellent ideas. I think the coupler nuts with long bolts should work well. I think home depot has them in stock so I should be able to get them there. Thank you !


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## markknx (Nov 15, 2017)

Ive used a pipe an coupler to do this sort of thing. But the pipe needs to be really close to length or the threads get sloppy


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## jakes_66 (Nov 15, 2017)

geekwithoutacause said:


> Ok, I see what you mean. So the tube would sit in between the lower balljoint and the upper balljoint. And by it being adjustable I can squeeze it in between the socket over the lower balljoint and the underside of the top of the knuckle. The upper balljoint presses in flush.
> Great idea ! Now I need to find the parts. I think I can do it.
> Many thanks from a shop press rookie !



Randy is right on with this one.  A piece of threaded pipe (slightly long) and one coupler would work great.  Thread the pieces together, mark the pipe and cut to the desired length (so it barely fits).  You could then unthread the coupler ever so slightly to get a tight fit.

If all else fails, you can go to Autozone or Advance and rent the special tool that's designed to do the job (see photo below).




Good luck!

-Jake


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## geekwithoutacause (Nov 15, 2017)

Thanks all, those are all excellent points.


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## RandyM (Nov 15, 2017)

jakes_66 said:


> *Randy is right on with this one*.  A piece of threaded pipe (slightly long) and one coupler would work great.  Thread the pieces together, mark the pipe and cut to the desired length (so it barely fits).  You could then unthread the coupler ever so slightly to get a tight fit.
> 
> If all else fails, you can go to Autozone or Advance and rent the special tool that's designed to do the job (see photo below).
> 
> ...



Thanks Jake, we won't mention the other times.


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## jakes_66 (Nov 16, 2017)

RandyM said:


> Thanks Jake, we won't mention the other times.



Don't worry, the secret is safe with me!


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## geekwithoutacause (Nov 16, 2017)

lol


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## EmilioG (Nov 16, 2017)

Franklin or Hazet ball joint separators are super duty. Expensive, but get the job done.
The spacer tubes get destroyed after one or two uses.  I've used heavy duty all thread with a wheel bolt the same thread size as the ball joint threads,
washers, end tube cap, hole drilled. The wheel nut gets welded to the all thread.  Snap On makes a very hefty version of this tool.  $$$$$
Just be careful with the knuckles "ears", they can break if spread to far.  Ask me how I know.   An Old ball joint can get seized in pretty good with the rust.  Check out YouTube also.


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## geekwithoutacause (Nov 16, 2017)

EmilioG said:


> Franklin or Hazet ball joint separators are super duty. Expensive, but get the job done.
> The spacer tubes get destroyed after one or two uses.  I've used heavy duty all thread with a wheel bolt the same thread size as the ball joint threads,
> washers, end tube cap, hole drilled. The wheel nut gets welded to the all thread.  Snap On makes a very hefty version of this tool.  $$$$$
> Just be careful with the knuckles "ears", they can break if spread to far.  Ask me how I know.   An Old ball joint can get seized in pretty good with the rust.  Check out YouTube also.



Thank you ! I was able to remove the old ones quite easily. They don't use salt around here and the frame is in great shape. 
And yeah, I figured that much pressure on the knuckle 'ears' can't be a good thing. I think the guy in that video is lucky it didn't break. I won't risk it and make some type of support to prevent pressure on the ears. Thanks to all the help here I will know how.


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