BallJoint Problem - It never ends.

[HostileJava]

Well I have everything just about done for the 5speed swap, I went to put the axles back in and get the castle nuts back on the ball joints. One problem though, I turn the wrench and the nut and the bolt/shaft turns with it. Is this normal? Is there a special trick to this that I don't know about? If I can't get them to stop turning do I have to replace them?

Edit, After talking to Alex I put the wheel back on and lowered the car to the ground to put some pressure on the joints, that didn't help.

[nswst8]

1 is to seat it with a good 3lb sledge just trying to get the tappered end to seat in the knuckle.
2 is to use a set of vise grips (Thin nose) to hold the shaft while you spin the bolt.
But the best way I've always used the air impact wrench with either tapping on the head of the balljoint or holding the shaft with locking long nose pliers.
Hope this helps,
Phil

[DeathRat]

Well I have everything just about done for the 5speed swap, I went to put the axles back in and get the castle nuts back on the ball joints. One problem though, I turn the wrench and the nut and the bolt/shaft turns with it. Is this normal? Is there a special trick to this that I don't know about? If I can't get them to stop turning do I have to replace them?

Edit, After talking to Alex I put the wheel back on and lowered the car to the ground to put some pressure on the joints, that didn't help.

I just posted this in the other thread too.....here it is again for better referance....

Trust me you WANT to solve that problem....I tried to make-shift fix it & it blew out on me & cost me a ball joint, strut, cv axle, output transaxle seal, labour & tow truck! PLUS the discomfort of being stranded on a busy street during rush hour too!

I had to replace the ball joint in the end. (PLUS a whole lot more too)

[Dutchboy]

first take the joint out the hole and clean it up and make sure that there isnt any grease ont he tapered part and then stick it in the hole and put some antiseize if you have any on the threads .....or clean the threads really good ......then take a jack of some sort and jack up underneath the control arm so that it puts alot of weight on the balljoint...then tighten it.......puttting the car on the ground doenst put weight on the joint.....putting a block under the control arm then lowering the car on it will.......good luck ....nice car by the way ...looks almost excactly like mine.....

[Moodybluesr]

Replace the ball joint.

I know that's not what you want to hear, but if the ball spins freely in the cup, it is too loose and needs to be replaced.

[shepherd79]

damn, even after you put pressure on the ball joints you still can't turn them, well i have to say is you f***ed man. you have to replace those ball joints.

['89AccordLX(Rus)]

Holding the ball joint shaft with needle-nose pliers should do the trick. Assuming that the threads are not messed up, you would only need to hold it lightly. Once you clear the pin hole, insert a thin screwdriver or a metal rod through and use an open end wrench to tighten the castle nut until the shaft no longer spins. After that you can use whatever you want to tighten it. Also, if the ball spins in the cup, it doesn't necessarily mean the ball joint is too loose. I had to remove the ball joint on my car that had less than 7K miles on it. The only reason it spun in the cup when being reinstalled was because of slightly nicked threads. Also, if you notice that the threads are slightly deformed, you can use a small file to fix them.
My $.02

[Oyvind Ryeng]

I normally get towed twice a year from the lower front balljoints breaking (the "ball" get torn out of the housing normally). What I like to do when replacing them is:
-Put a jackstand under the lower control arm.
-Use a set of HUGE "plumbers pliers" to apply pressure to the balljoints tapered part, so that it's really stuck in the control arm.
-Put on a (new) locking-type castle nut (M12 1,25?), and secure it by jamming steel wire trough the bottom "holed" part that is now below the fastened castle nut to prevent the nut from backing out, and letting go of the control arm.

[NXRacer]

Justin had this same problem and couldnt do anything to get around it so he had to replace it. it sounds like thats what you're gonna have to do.

[HostileJava]

And that's exacly what I did

[bc86]

I just went through this not 4 months ago. And u wanna know what I ended up doing, replacing the balljoints. Chances are your car is old, so are your balljoints, replace them. Aint no thang. I sat there and turned them for hours. Tried everything, vise grips, tuning fork, air gun, nothing worked. Brought it to a shop, had them try, they couldnt do it. Also, turned out I couldnt get the nut off. As a piece of cotter pin must have still been in, and ended up stripping the nut, causing me to grind off the nut, to remove the balljoint.