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I recently bought an eg6 and the previous owner put coilovers on but they're too low. I wanted to raise them but I was having a tough time unscrewing the allen bolt. So I needed front tires and told the mechanic (been going to him for every car) to take a look at them for me. He said I needed Centric (or something) ball joints that cost $162 a piece. Anyone ever heard of these? What alternative do I have if any?

 
Rep Power: 327

i assume he's refering to http://www.spcalignment.com/PROD_DIR...d2=67135&cmd3=
$162 may be a bit high but i cant recall what retail pricing is.

 
Rep Power: 266

Ball joints... ugh. Someone please show me the secret to getting those loose! I tried once because I wanted to replace axles, but the fork that autozone borrowed out wouldn't pop the joint even with a sledge hammer. And then I got thinking, "hey, if I can't get it out, how the hell am I going to get them back in?"

 
Rep Power: 811

when i worked at advance, they sold a whole giant kit for balljoint removal. maybe check kragen see if they have it.

 
Rep Power: 327

if your talking about breaking the taper fit loose. EASY, loosen the nut 3-5 turns, rotate the knuckle so you can easily swing a BIG ball peen hammer and hit the side of the knuckle with the BALL of the hammer. You leave the nut on the threads to protect them while swinging the hammer. This is not a job for baby hammers use the biggest ball peen hammer you have. I rarely have to use a pickle fork or other tools to break the tapper fit loose.

 
Rep Power: 266

The nut? Is that specific to 7th gen? I don't remember a nut...

 
Rep Power: 327

The nut that attaches the ball joint to the knuckle. Or are you having a problem getting the ball joint out of the upper control arm?

 
Rep Power: 266

Ball joint out of upper control arm.

 
Rep Power: 327

stick a block of wood or something between the upper control arm and the inner wheel well and push the upper control arm up. Then hit the ball joint on the bottom side(not the stud) with a BFH(Big F'n Hammer) Or a air hammer and they pop right out. Ususally takes about 5 minutes to change and install an adjustable ball joint.

 
Rep Power: 266

And what happends when you want to get the joint back in after axel exchange?

 
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A ball joint separator similar to this from Princess Auto or similar store States side makes it usually a breeze. Pounding and hammering are usually not needed when using this tool, and the BJ boot does not get damaged.

BALL JOINT SEPARATOR
8004135
$ 17.99

The BJ and boot is not wrecked like what happens when using the usual pickle fork and hammer which are OK for a BJ replacement where you don't care if it gets mangled.

Look them up here:-

http://www.princessauto.com/_osn.cfm...NT%20SEPARATOR

 
Rep Power: 327

what do you mean? what happens with what?

 
Rep Power: 327

Typically i can break the tapper of a honda ball joint with 1-2 hits of a hammer and never damage the ball joint or boot. The tool is a nice, but in the repair world where time is money and the tool doesn't work on all applications. There is nothing like a big hammer.

 
Rep Power: 266

What I meant was how do I get the control arm joint back in.

 
Rep Power: 327

is it a OE type ball joint or an adjustable like pictured above?

 
Rep Power: 327

If its an OE type then it can be done using a ball joint press like
http://www.toolsource.com/ball-joint...5-p-87365.html


Or can be done being creative with a hammer, large socket and removing the control arm and placing it in a vise.

 
Rep Power: 266

It's OE.

 
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i do alot of front end work and alignments and actually removing a ball joint from the upper control arm can be a pain.In order to install the adjustable ball joint to the upper control arm with damaging you car you would have to remove the upper control arm get a ball joint removal/insaller kit which is a big c-clamp and have to force the ball joint back into the upper control arm or if you have the money just buy a upper control arm with a adjustable ball joint already installed into it.