how to change a lower arm / lower ball joint (std & frp)

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jacko

New member
Joined
Nov 24, 2007
Messages
2,840
the lower ball joint connects the wishbone / lower arm to the steering knuckle which in turn carries the hub, disc, caliper and wheel.

it is a spherical bearing of sorts and any wear can cause a knocking over bumps, dodgy steering etc

it is a cheap part at about a tenner from a good motor factors and relatively easy to change.

the only real problem is that the original ford ones are 'permanently' fixed on! you can buy the whole arm, new bushes & all for around £20 - £30 usually but this isnt an option on the frp as there 'custom made'

the frp arms are not really custom made....there chopped in half and seperated by approx 30mm and then a dirty great thick plate of steel is welded over to connect the 2; pretty it aint but it works, and its cheap.

pb will sell you a copy frp lower arm with uprated bushes for £200 each. so for a £20 arm, £50 of bushes, £5 of steel and 1 hours labour hes making a lot of money out of frp owners!

so; how to do it yourself......

jack car, remove wheel

remove arm;
undo bolt to steering knuckle. torx and 17mm spanner (can be rusted solid; i replace with stainless steel bolts i have custom made myself as there a funny size. have 2 new ones from ford on standby as there pretty soft and naff)
undo arm from subframe; you need 19mm socket and spanners and imperial sizes for the rear bush upper nut (bl**dy ford!!!) iv replaced mine with stainless metric
you may need to jack up the disc to disengage the ball joint; persuade with a hammer! (gently tapping is only needed usually but do not hit the disc!!!)
hold disc etc out of way & with a good tug remove lower arm.

remove 'permanent' ball joint;
use an angle grinder with grinding disc to rmove the rivets (ball joint side; do it on other side & you will damage the arm)
use a cobalt drill bit (10mm ish) to drill the rivets out
persuade with hammer and/or drift
replace with a new ball joint that will come with nuts & bolts (i replace these with stainless)

replace

hey presto, the next time it needs doing you wont need to do half that.....just undo the ball joint & replace.

the piccies show an frp arm

you must get the tracking done; £25 to £40 depending where you go. some people can be fussy about the frp as its quite low....

i will post some piccies soon
 

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