Stuck on Ball Joint Job

[KELLY88]

Well I've been putting it off for months and today I finally got started on replacing the ball joints and tie rod ends to fix a horrible alignment problem. I got it all taken apart, old ball joints out, new ball joints in and greased up. My problem is that when I go to reinstall the knuckle I don't know the torque spec on the lower ball joint nut. My manual doesn't specify this number. I tried it at 70 ft/lbs but it was too tight. I tried til it felt snug and the knuckle still didn't turn very easily. Is this knuckle supposed to be hard to turn initially or am I missing something?

Oh ya, the truck is a 97 4x4 with the Dana 35 front axle.

 

[Tbmitchell]

here are the spec for the front end from all data

The front suspension lower arm ball joint must always be installed first. Clean the steering knuckle bore and insert front suspension lower arm ball joint in knuckle as straight as possible.
Assemble U-Joint Tool T74P-4635-C and Receiver Cup to install the front suspension lower arm ball joint
Turn the forcing screw clockwise until the front suspension lower arm ball joint is firmly seated.
NOTE: If the ball joint cannot be installed to the proper depth, realignment of the receiver cup and C-Frame tool will be necessary. Install the snap ring on the front suspension lower arm ball joint.
To install the front suspension upper ball joint, install the U-Joint Tool T74P-4635-C and Replacer T80T-3010-A3 in the knuckle.
Turn the forcing screw clockwise until the ball joint is firmly seated.
Position the knuckle in the axle arm and install the camber adjuster into the support arm. Position the slot in the original position.
NOTE: Nut on lower ball joint stud must be tightened before pinch bolt or binding of the steering system will result. Install a new lower ball joint nut on the bottom ball joint stud. Tighten the lower ball joint nut to 129-149 Nm (95-110 lb-ft) minimum. Then tighten to align to the next slot in the lower ball joint nut with the hole in the stud. Install a new cotter pin.
Install the snap ring on the upper ball joint stud.
Install the upper ball joint pinch bolt and tighten to 88-115 Nm (65-85 lb-ft).
Connect the steering linkage to the steering arm. Install the steering linkage to steering arm nut and tighten to 70-100 Nm (52-74 lb-ft).
Install the front wheel spindle and shaft and arm assembly.



If you have any more question pm me and i can look it up if needed

 

[4x4junkie]

You're not tightening the upper pinch bolt before tightening the lower balljoint, are you? (lower joint nut has to be tightened first)

 

[KELLY88]

Tbmitchell: thank you for all the tech specs. Much more than my Hayne's manual has listed.

4x4Junkie: No I did the lower nut first. I've just never done this job before and got nervous when I had a real hard time turning the knuckle by hand after tightening the lower ball joint nut down. I just want to make sure my steering won't be a fight after putting everything back together.

 

[4x4junkie]

How hard is it to move it?
It should not be freely movable like a door hinge, but it also shouldn't take all your might to move it either.
I would say about 5-15lbs of force would be normal with brand new ball joints to move it (3-5lbs if used joints).

 

[KELLY88]

Well moving the knuckle by hand got a little easier the more the grease got worked in. Seemed to be fine so I threw it all back together. Drove it a bit this morning and it handles just fine. No steering binding or difficultly in turning. Thanks for the help guys. Time to get this thing aligned and move on to the pesky Check Engine light.

 

[legoms013]

I just did ball joints a week ago and was wondering the same thing, but I figured if the original lower nut was torqued down so friggan tight thats what I made the new bolt. Super friggan tight prolly 90 ft-lbs or something so as to use up all the taper and what not.

Before the new ball joints were in the knuckles were completely loose. in fact when i took the tie rods off they rotated out in either direction for each side.

But the new ones were pretty stiff and with grease weren't to bad.

 

[bigdan002001]

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but was wondering about pretty much the same thing, but a little different. When i torque the lower nut to 110ft lbs. then line up the hole for cotter pin the knuckle isn't up very tight to the axle beam. I can actually see some of the upper ball joint shaft shining under the top portion of the beam? Is this right? Also does the truck have to be on the ground before I torque the upper pinch bolt? I read that in another forum for first gen explorers which have the same front end?
Thanks,
BigDan

 

[KELLY88]

No you can torque the upper ball joint nut to spec before putting the truck on the ground. As for seeing part of the upper ball joint shaft, it's hard to tell without a picture but I would say that as long as the lower nut is good and tight, and assuming the parts store gave you the right ball joint, then you should be find to proceed.

 

[bigdan002001]

Thanks man I do appreciate the help. I ended up taking the knuckles back off and using my dremel and sanding disks to sand out the holes in the beam where the ball joints go...cause I sanded and painted the beams along with the knuckles. Removed the excess paint inside the hole and took the upper bushing out and reinstalled and torqued to 100ft.lbs. and it pulled it up much tighter than before. I could still see a little of the lower stud above the boot on the bottom before, so I knew they weren't going up like they were supposed to. I have upper bolts threaded in but not torqued yet, so will go ahead and do so next. Thanks again.
Dan