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Okay, friends. One of the first things we need to do is safely raise and support the vehicle so that the suspension is hanging. The best way to do that is right underneath the frame. Once you've done that, remove all five lug nuts and remove the wheel. Now, I'm going to take a nice pry bar and I'm going to come in between the caliper and the rotor itself, and just try to push in the pistons a tiny bit. Perfect. Now, we're going to take the caliper off. We want to make sure we don't put a tug on our flex hose when the knuckle comes down. It's good to have something hanging off the frame so you can hang the caliper once it's off. There we are. And set that so it's going to be safe. Let's get the rotor off of here. We're gonna take off our tie rod end nut here. So, just go ahead and bend out that little clip. Remove the nut. I like to leave it on a couple threads. Now, we're going to bonk right along here to separate the tie rod from the knuckle. Set this up here. Next, we're gonna use another cord and we're going to go around the knuckle, just like this. And then I'm gonna bring it over to the frame. Perfect. Next, we need to remove this nut right here. You're gonna notice there's a little bit of a locking neoprene in there. If you need to heat it up a little bit, it would probably be helpful. We're going to remove this and then we'll separate the two.
Get that nut, put on just a couple threads. Now, we're going to bonk on the knuckle a little bit to try to separate the two. Just keep in mind that this will try to pull away. Okay. Let's carefully move the knuckle away. Let's go ahead and remove our lower ball joint nut. Back on just a couple threads here. The next thing we need to do is bonk right here on the knuckle to try to cause some vibration to break it free from the ball joint itself. Just keep in mind that once this breaks free, the safety nut's gonna keep it from falling. But the top part might kind of swing a little bit. Get our safety cord off of there. Take off the safety nut. Let's get this out of here. The next thing we need to do is peen over these edges so they're facing in towards the ball joint. They're kind of like a little lock.
So, now it's gonna be time to press out our lower ball joint. To do that, you're gonna need this tool right here with a couple little cups. Set the cup with it so that the ball joint stud can come down through. Take your ball joint tool, put it just like this with the stud going through it, and then come along the top with the pressing unit itself. So, now we're going to go ahead and press this down. If the ball joint press isn't working, what you could try doing is using your hammer. Just give it a couple loving bonks on the top, try to break it free. All right. So, I can start to see it move here, so I'm just going to continue on.
Now, it's gonna be time to install our brand new ball joint. Something that I like to point out is this area of the boot right there. That needs to be facing towards the inward portion of your vehicle. So, of course, I'm gonna turn this just like that. And this is gonna press in from the bottom up, something to think about when you're pressing it up because you don't want to damage the boot with your cup that you're gonna use. So, I just find one that fits right up and around the outside. Then I find another one that goes just like this, lets the stud come through. Set it just like that. Now, we're going to need something that goes along the top so that the ball joint can press up and through. That way there, we can put on our lock clip. Okay. I got this nice and tight. We've got this sitting as level as possible with the control arm. You want to make sure the ball joints isn't sitting off-kilter. Tighten this until this area of the ball joint hits right up against the control arm. As you continue going up, make sure that it's continuing to go straight. If it's going cockeyed, you need to straighten it out. So, right there I can hear an audible difference in the amount of pressure that's going on there. So, I'm just going to take a peek. It looks as though it's sitting pressed against the whole control arm all the way around. Let's remove our tools and inspect our job. Make sure that it's seated all the way around. Let's continue on by putting on our lock clip. Use these little pliers here. Start them in there. There we are. Just make sure it's sitting in the groove all the way around, that's what locks this ball joint in. Looks amazing.
All right. So, now, it's gonna be time to get our knuckle back up on here. Line up your axle with the splines of the wheel bearing. Let's get that lower ball joint stud in there. Hold up the knuckle, put your washer and the nut on there. Line up your ball joint stud with the knuckle hole. I'm gonna use a pry bar to pull it down. Start that nut on there. Let's go ahead and snug this up. The lower ball joint nut as well. Torque your upper ball joint nut to 40 foot-pounds. Now, we're going to torque this to 38 foot-pounds. Once you've done that, you want to make sure that the slots on the ball joint nut line up with the hole on the ball joint stud itself. If it's not, you need to continue tightening until it is. Take your locking cotter pin, slide it right through, and then peen it over. Let's get the tie rod stud back in here, put on our nut. Snug it up. Let's go ahead and torque this to 45 foot-pounds. Once again, we need to continue on to make sure that it's lined up. Looks like it could go a little further. Cotter pin in there. Make sure you peen it over.
Now, you'd want to clean up the mating surface on your wheel bearing so that it looks more like this. You can use a brush or anything that's gonna clean up any of the rust. Make sure you clean up the backside of your rotor where the mating surface is. Let's apply a little bit of copper never-seize on the bearings. Go ahead and put your rotor up on there. Now, we're going to grab the caliper, start it on there as well. Let's go ahead and start the caliper on there. There we are. Start in both of your bolts. It's a good idea to use a little bit of threadlocker on these. Okay. Let's bottom these out. Now, let's torque these to 138 foot-pounds. Now, it's going to be time to get the wheel up on here. We're gonna snug up the lug nuts and we'll torque it to 130 foot-pounds.
Torqued. We're just going to go ahead and pump up that brake pedal. That feels good. Okay. So, now, at this point, what you want to do is take it for a road test and, of course, get it down to your local alignment shop.
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Hi, I'm Mike from 1A Auto. I hope this how-to video helps you out, and next time you need parts for your vehicle, think of 1AAuto.com. Thanks.
In this video, we're going to show you how to replace the lower ball joints in this Dodge Ram. This one is a 2008, but the procedure is pretty much the same for 2006 to 2008 1500 Dodge Rams. We do this on the passenger side, but the driver's side is the same procedure.
You'll need new ball joints from 1AAuto.com, 8 to 35 millimeter sockets with a ratchet and extensions, a breaker bar, hooked picked, bungee cords or mechanics wire, pry bar, hammer, flat blade screwdriver, needle nose pliers, snap ring pliers, ball joint press, torque wrench, and jack and jack stands.
With the vehicle on the ground, using the 22 millimeter socket and breaker bar, break the lug nuts for your wheel loose. These chrome lug nuts tend to be swollen, so make sure your socket's on there good. Using the small pick, remove the center cap from the wheel. Using a 35 millimeter socket and a breaker bar crack the axle nut loose. Raise and support your vehicle. Finish removing the lug nuts. Remove the wheel and tire from the hub.
Remove the two 21 millimeter bolts securing the caliper bracket to the spindle. Be sure to crack both of these loose before removing them. If they are removed fully one at a time, the caliper can twist and cause the flex hose on the brake line to tear. Be sure to support the assembly while you remove the last bolt. Remove the entire caliper and carrier assembly. Using a bungee cord secure it out of the way by hanging it off of the frame. Remove the rotor from the hub.
Brace the hub with a pry bar and finish removing your axle nut. Using a hammer, tap the end of the axle to push it out of the hub. Remove the nut for the tire rod. Take a 21 millimeter socket and ratchet. You want to leave the nut on a few threads so that it's flush with the bottom of the stud. Carefully tap up with a hammer. Remove the nut. Remove the tie rod from the control arm. Remove the 22 millimeter nut connecting the upper ball joint to the spindle.
Tap the front of the knuckle right where the ball joint comes through with a hammer to release it, careful not to hit it too hard because this is aluminum and it could crack. Once it's loosened up, you may have to hit the bottom of the control arm to release the joint from the knuckle. Using a flat blade screwdriver, release the tab on the connector for the ABS sensor. Push down and release the connector. Release it from the clamps under the control arm.
Pull down on the spindle or push up on the upper control arm to separate them and remove the axle shaft from the wheel bearing.
With a pair of needle nose pliers, straighten out the legs on the cotter pin. You want to get them as tight as you can, and as free of kinks as possible. This may mean pinching them together, and working them back and forth a little. Keep them together. Stick one of the legs from your pliers through the eyelet of the cotter pin. Clamp down, and twist it out. Regardless of whether or not the cotter pin comes out in one piece, you will want to replace these after they've been removed.
Using a 22 millimeter socket and breaker bar, remove the nut on the lower ball joint. Ensure that your axle nut is partially installed so the hub—once released from the ball joint—does not fall. Put some weight onto the top of the spindle, either by pulling down with your hand or a pry bar, and hit the bottom of the spindle here with a hammer to release the ball joint from the spindle. Once the ball joint is separated from the spindle, remove your axle nut the rest of the way.
Release the axle from the hub and the spindle from the ball joint. Using a bungee cord, zip ties, or mechanics wire, secure your CV axle up and out of the way of your lower ball joint. Using a pair of normally closed snap ring pliers, release the snap ring on the top of the ball joint. Place the receiving tube onto the bottom of the lower ball joint. Set it onto your press. Install a cup onto the top of the press to protect the grease fitting and to keep the press centered.
Using a 22 millimeter socket and breaker bar, tighten down on the press until the ball joint is released from the control arm. We're going to use an 8 millimeter socket to remove the grease fitting in order to get the added clearance to finish pressing the joint out.
Now you'll put your tube back onto the bottom of the ball joint. Reinstall your press, and without a cup on the top, put the threaded end of the press directly onto the top center of the ball joint. Press it the rest of the way out. When the joint is close to coming out, hold the press if it's safe to do so. Remove the assembly from the control arm.
Here we have our old ball joint, which we removed from our truck, and our new ball joint from 1A Auto. As you can see, there are some minor aesthetic differences, but the taper and the diameter of the joint are exactly the same. Same spline, they have a nice new boot, this one on our vehicle had actually collapsed in some, which obviously isn't going to hold grease very well. It's all dried out and rusted inside—I can barely get this thing to move.
Our new ball joint comes with a new snap ring that will sit on top of the control arm, to keep from the vehicle moving up and down and from working the ball joint out of its seat; A 90 degree zerk fitting, which is actually going to be a lot easier to access inside the vehicle; A new castle nut; And a new cotter pin to secure it and keep it from turning out. When it comes time to remove this ball joint in the future, you'll see that we have a slot in there, which allows you to keep the ball joint in place with a flat blade screwdriver, while undoing this castle nut, making it easier to remove a stubborn old ball joint, whereas this one has no provision to keep it from spinning.
Install the ball joint into an installation cup that fits the rim of the joint as best you can. Install the joint into the spindle with the cup on top, which will allow the joint to come through until it bottoms out. Make sure it's in there nice and straight. Using a 22 millimeter socket and ratchet, tighten it down until the joint seats fully into the lower control arm. Once you can see that the ball joint is seated fully, all the way around the control arm, remove your ball joint press.
Use your snap ring pliers to spread the new snap ring. Install it into the groove of the ball joint. Be sure that it's fully seated in there. Install your zerk/grease fitting. Using a 10 millimeter socket, tighten down your grease/zerk fitting. Be sure to face it in a direction that won't be interfered with by the spindle, such as backwards or forwards, as long as you can do so without stripping it.
Install the ball joint as well as the CV axle into the spindle, making sure that both line up properly. Start the washer and castle nut onto the threads of the ball joint. Line up and install the spines of your axle into the hub. Start your axle nut on as far as it'll go. Lift up on the upper control arm, slide the upper ball joint into the spindle. Pull down until you're able to get the nut started onto the threads. Tighten it down with a 22 millimeter socket and ratchet. Torque the upper ball joint to 40 foot-pounds. Add an additional 90 degrees.
Reinstall the tie rod into the spindle. Start the nut. Tighten it with a 21 millimeter socket and ratchet. Torque the tie rod to 45 foot-pounds. Reinstall the harness into the keepers and the bottom of the control arm. Reinstall the connector.
Push down on the safety tab. Reinstall the rotor onto the hub. Make sure that you don't twist the line on your brake hose. Reinstall the caliper carrier assembly onto the rotor. Start the bolts on the back side. Tighten the bolts down with a 21 millimeter socket and ratchet. Torque the caliper bolts to 130 foot-pounds.
Reinstall your wheel and tire onto the vehicle. Start the lug nuts with a 22 millimeter socket. Get all the lug nuts as tight as you can in the air and lower the vehicle. After tightening your axle nut torque it to 185 foot-pounds. Pop the center cap back into place. Torque your lug nuts to 135 foot-pounds in a cross pattern.
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