Replacing the Ball Joints..., One done, one to go...! Options

[DJKnut]

My car steers like a Mack truck, so I decided to start with new ball joints... I'm mostly working outside in the nice weather days... and up my way (NW Wash..) those are getting few and far between... However, I was able to get the first one replaced today... Disassembly was trial and error... lots of grunting and big hammers.. I used a wedge shaped chisel to separate the 'A' arm from the strut after removing the retaining pin.. that worked OK.... then after several aborted tries at pipe wrenching the lower retaining nut off, I resorted to popping it loose with drift and a big hammer, once I had it started, it came right off. Reassembly started with slipping the new ball joint into the strut and tapping the retaining pin in... which didn't go as far as it should have, so I pulled everything apart again, and found that the new replacement retaining pin had a rather sharp leading edge which dug into the ball joint shaft a bit and prevented it from properly seating... so after filing all the divots out, I put things back together with the old retaining pin, and it sucked in perfectly... It took a bit to get the new ball to move, but I eventually got it to line up with 'A' arm, and lowered the body jack down while supporting the 'A' arm from the underside with blocks, and then used the new retaining nut to finish snugging everything into place... Then the purpose made (and a bit expensive..!) socket was fitted to do the final torquing... It didn't have a real strong hold of the nut, and seamed like it would easily strip out the four lugs holding the nut, so I put a jack under the breaker bar and socket, and lifted until it supported the entire weight of the car, keeping everything tightly together, and then using a bar extension I tightened with everything I had... and the socket held tight... I suspect that I'm in the spec range (140 lbs +/-), but will double check tightness after I've run it a bit to let everything settle in.... Not too bad an afternoon project... now ... if we ever get another sunny day... I'll do the other side, and see if it cured the stiff steering issue. This just goes to show that driving isn't the only way to enjoy a 914... but it surely is something to look forward to!!! Cheers, Dave