Can Any of you Falcon guys tell me if a 64 Falcon has a 3 bolt upper ball joint or a 4 bolt one??? Thanks.
So is there some sort of walk-through out there for replacing the upper ball joints on a falcon/mustang??? Ive never done this before but the local LeSchwab quoted me $250 in labor!!!! And it doesnt look too hard
Its not hard at all. I did em in a kragen parking lot then noticed the front shock tower bolts were loose. Easy job though. 4 1/2 grinder insteada cold chisel will massivly simplify things. Floor jack is a neccessity.
Yup, I just realized that..... So you pull the wheel and grind the rivets... nothing else??? What abouth the tension from the spring???
LOL, yep there's that pesky spring. You will need to unload the suspension but then it will be contained by the shock at full extension. Be careful, though.
I used to do these all the time. You can do it one side at a time using a floor jack and jack stand. You should pull the shock and use a compressor on the spring before you pop loose the upper ball joint. So jack it up, lower the car onto a jack stand at the unibody on the same side. Jack up the lower arm, undo the shock, pop in the compressor (j-hook type), compress the spring. Loosen the ball joint, pop the joint with a pickle fork or hit the side of the steering knuckle with a BFH. Lower the jack down, undo the ball joint nut and take the ball joint out. While you're at it, look at your upper control arm bushings from the bottom. With the tension off it, you can flip it up and see if the a-arm bushings have rust coming out of them or they are loose. There is a newer style a-arm bushing set that comes with a new shaft and the bushings press into the arm. It beats the old screw-in type and never needs to be greased. The arm will have to come out completely. Keep track of the shim packs as they fall onto the driveway. Reassembly is the opposite of the disassembly. PM me if you need a scan out of an old Motors Manual, there should be something about it in the one I have. Bob
Moog used to make the kits, haven't seen one in year though. They were virtually the same for old Mustangs, Comets, etc. I'm sure they're still around or someone else makes them as well. Bob
I finally got time to take a peek under the car today.... it looks like the ball joints have been replaced before, they arent riveted on, theres bolts. The only thing thats keeping me from diving into this is compressing the spring, Ive never done it and i dont have a spring compressor....
You don't need to touch the spring. Jack the car up, put it on stands. Use a pickle fork to seperate the upper ball joint from the spindle. Unbolt the old ball joint , bolt in the new one , bolt it to the spindle. Put something under the lower arm to catch the weight of the suspension when the ball joint is let go from the spindle.
Got them both done guys.... I did the drivers side a week ago, it took 4 hours!!!! The BJ was siezed in the spindle and my shitty Harbor Freight pickle fork snapped in half.... I ended up cutting the top of the bj off and hollowing out the center of the froze stud and the collapsed it on itself. Dont worry I was careful and there was no harm done to the spindle. The passenger side got done in a half an hour the other day... I tried a trick that a buddy of mine told me about, put the business end of a 6lb sledge on one side of the spindle that the bj stud goes through and hit the opposite side with a hammer... a couple whacks on my Shucks rental pickle fork and out it came easy as pie. Thanks for the help guys.
Toldja. Thats why I like the older cars. Now youre dangerous. Theyres nothing you cant do. GO GETTEM!!!!!!!!
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