How to replace rear upper balljoint?

[MrBen]

My rear left of the car is squeaking bad and my mechanic said it was the balljoint (dry). How do I replace this? I don't want to spend the money on labor.

Thanks.

[shepherd79]

i never heard of ball joints squeaking. it is probably the rubber in the rear suspension is worn out and needs to be replaced. i had this problem.
sometimes lubricating helps a little.

[MrBen]

Please be a bit more specific

[POS carb]

balljoints can creak when they rot out inside, eventually leads to the ball falling out of the socket.
Basically you need a 17mm socket, a needle nose plier to get the wire out of the castle nut, and a big hammer to bang the corner of the joint until it comes out. You can then get a 14 mm socket and take the two upper arm bolts out and take the arm out. Usually the replacement brings a new arm.

[MrBen]

Alright, thanks.

If I press on the trunk, it creaks. If I sit in the car, it creaks. When I'm going down the road, it creaks and squeaks a lot. If there are people in the back seat, it creaks even more.

[Trowa]

=) Same problem here as well, but I also had knocking when cornering at faster speeds, but after i replaced the ball joints the knocking went away, but it still creaks ones in a while.
And u should definately look at ur ball joint, mine were literally falling apart from being rusted inside out, after seeing in what condition they were i was suprised that the whole thing didn't just give in LOL

And yes, they are a real b*tch to take out of the arm, had to use the c-clamp, i think it's called that.

[greekguy7]

One more thing... you can either by the balljoint only and press the new one into the old control arm... or.... you can buy a new control arm with the ball joint already installed in there.

[mindlos]

get a new upper control arm with the ball joint already assembled. It is too much trouble to get them seperate unless you have your own machine to press it in. You may have to pay a shop a good amount of money to do it for you. A friend of mine had some creaking coming out of his rear wheel well and two weeks later the dry ball joint seperated!! Good thing he was not on the highway. The rear wheel will just lean in and rub on the spring without the support. Dont sleep on that one ... its not that hard to replace.

[Blue Impact]

Originally posted by GhettoAccord
If I press on the trunk, it creaks. If I sit in the car, it creaks. When I'm going down the road, it creaks and squeaks a lot. If there are people in the back seat, it creaks even more.

I feel you on this one, man. I'm having that problem too, but mine's the front passenger side lower ball joint. WD-40 the hell out of it and the squeals will go away for a few days. :D

[dj99]

I got mine on ebay for $20-30 bucks, shipped.

[MrBen]

The control arm AND the balljoint? I doubt that...

Prove it :D

[dj99]

Originally posted by GhettoAccord
The control arm AND the balljoint? I doubt that...

Prove it :D

The REAR ones. :) No name reproduction part. Here it is on ebay now:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2416820491&category=33583

I got the front upper arms w/joints from www.rockauto.com for $61 each. They are MOOG brand.

[MrBen]

So is this the balljoint AND upper control arm? Excuse my ignorance, but suspension is a new game for me.

[dj99]

Look at the picture on ebay. It's all there as one unit. One end has a rod encased in a rubber bushing that attaches to the frame with two bolts and the other is a ball joint. Easy to replace. I had to bust the rusty castle nut to get it off, then I pickle forked it. Very satisfying. :)

[MrBen]

Alright. Anyone else have any input?

[Trowa]

it's not that hard to just replace the ball joint, the only specialized thing that u need is the thing to push it out of the arm, after u do that u can just knock it out with the hammer of the arm it's in, if that makes any sense LOL
But whatever, up to u, the ball joint inself is much cheaper then the arm=)

[MrBen]

lol, thanks.

So this would knock out the control arm and ball joint. HOPEFULLY this remedys the squeak. If it isn't this, what else is it? Even though my mechanic said the ball joint was dry.

[HondaManDan]

it could also be your springs....
you could be gettin squeak out of them.

[MrBen]

If it's my springs, how would I go about finding out? How do I lubricate it? I just bid on a control arm/balljoint assy on ebay... I hope this is it.

[accordlxi2.0]

im basically kinda new to this car also
so i was wanting to know in future reference
what would happen if you don't take care of the upper ball joint(replace it) seeing that it's being pushed in by pressure it should'nt come out at all?

[POS carb]

it will rust and snap in half or fall out of the socket on a bump, mine did the latter on a big ass speedbump (one of the big gradual ones that the back wheels start going up before the front ones are all the way over) with a 250# friend in the seat on the side it fell off and the wheel "fell in" (was leaning on the springs/wheelwell/trunk)

[accordlxi2.0]

for the upper ball joint! i did'nt think it would be for it to come out of it's socket. how do you check it? i know for the lower it's move the tire in & out.