replacing upper and lower ball joints?

[74 340 4speed]

I was quoted $700 by a local shop to do this today and thought to myself, wow this is rediculous and that I need to learn how to do this myself.

I did search for this first but am still not quite sure how to do it.  I want to be safe when I'm working and I know that suspension work can be dangerous.  Is there a certain order to remove suspension components that makes this job easier?

I have plenty of tools/air tools to work with but I need to know what specialty tools I need for the job.  I know that I will have to have a ball joint socket for the top ball joint, and those are made by american muscle.  What else will I need?

Also, how complicated is it to upgrade the torsion bars? It has the stock ones in it now, and I was wondering if it was worth upgrading them.  I plan to get some of the XV motorsports subframe connectors so I didn't know if upgrading the torsion bars would be a real necessity.

[dutch]

no dangerous stuff there as long as you jack it up save.   loosen the upper balljoint nut but leave it on a few threads so the spindle wont hit you.  I like to use one of those forks to hit between... if it wont come out, the hammer is too small  once the lower control arms hang down all the way and you`ve got the adjustment bolt loose,  take out the clip on the backside of the tb crossmember and you should be able to gently tap out the tb towards the backside of the car.  don`t ever use any kind of vise or clamp on the tb that might damage the surface! this can result in cracks.
700... 

[74 340 4speed]

Thanks for the info dutch.  Any other opinions on upgrading the torsion bars?  I like the way the car sits in the front right now, but it doesn't handle very well. It has a good bit of body roll.  I know the subframes should help out some, but I don't know if they will fully address this problem or not.

[dutch]

if your upper and lower ball joint are toast, I can only guess what the all bushings and tie rods look like... It will make a huge difference if you replace all rubber stuff with poly-urethane. Wont help a lot with body roll, but makes it handle a lot better. Same goes for the leaf-spring bushings...
how are the shocks...?

[74 340 4speed]

if your upper and lower ball joint are toast, I can only guess what the all bushings and tie rods look like... It will make a huge difference if you replace all rubber stuff with poly-urethane. Wont help a lot with body roll, but makes it handle a lot better. Same goes for the leaf-spring bushings...
how are the shocks...?

I have already replaced the tie rod ends with new TRW pieces and have put new shocks on all four corners as well.  Question, when I have the front of the car in the air and the load off the front suspension, do I need to completely loosen the TB adjusting nut before I start the process of removing the upper ball joint from the spindle?  Or, does it need to be loosened when I get ready to remove the lower ball joint?  Or, does it need to be loosened at all, if I don't plan on replacing them at this time?  Sorry for all the questions, but I know how much pressure suspension can be under and I don't want my hands/arms to be crushed when removing parts.

[Bluemonster71RT]

I am not sure if the 74 upper ball joint is the same as the 71 is but if it is you'll need the special ball joint socket for that thing.

Like this one http://chucker54.stores.yahoo.net/upbajosobebo.html

[Chryco Psycho]

I often use the T bar pressure to help seperate the ball joints , the lower control arm will not move far even if it is under pressure , you can cange both ball joints without unloading the T bar as long as you have a jack to lift the lower control arm back up , Tbars have to be opne of the safest suspensions to work with , coil springs & struts are the least safe

[74 340 4speed]

I often use the T bar pressure to help seperate the ball joints , the lower control arm will not move far even if it is under pressure , you can cange both ball joints without unloading the T bar as long as you have a jack to lift the lower control arm back up , Tbars have to be opne of the safest suspensions to work with , coil springs & struts are the least safe

Thanks Chryco! 

[Chryco Psycho]

 
 the lower control arm has limited movemnet range & cannot go anywhere & the T bar is trapped & cannot go anywhere at all other than rotating a few degrees

[Aussie Challenger]

  I like the way the car sits in the front right now, but it doesn't handle very well. It has a good bit of body roll.  I know the subframes should help out some, but I don't know if they will fully address this problem or not.

  Does your car have a sway bar fitted at the front if yes then a rear bar does make a difference, I fitted one to mine. Fitting one can improve the handling, however if your ball joints are bad then replace them first.   

[74 340 4speed]

  Does your car have a sway bar fitted at the front if yes then a rear bar does make a difference, I fitted one to mine. Fitting one can improve the handling, however if your ball joints are bad then replace them first.   

my car has front and rear sway bars.  I got the upper ball joints replaced today and took it out for a drive and it felt better than before.  I guess I will do the lower ones next week.  It sure did take a while to get them out of the upper control arms even with the assistance I had from a 1/2" impact and a huge air compressor.  I went right for the 10 lb sledge when I separating them from the spindle.  Three good hits when that thing, and it was all over. 

[mojavered]

Not sure if it matters to you or not, but you can always go down to Autozone and rent the tools required for the job, take them back when you are done and get the money back.  Saves on the pocket book and space in the garage.

[74 340 4speed]

Not sure if it matters to you or not, but you can always go down to Autozone and rent the tools required for the job, take them back when you are done and get the money back.  Saves on the pocket book and space in the garage.

I work at Advance Auto, so I normally just get stuff from there if I don't have it at home.  Your right though, renting tools does save money.  Especially if they are one time use.

[74 340 4speed]

Well, I got the lower ball joints installed today.  Much more invovled than the upper ball joints, but it wasn't that bad.  The old joints were worn out so I'm glad I got them changed out.  I also got a moog pitman arm and replaced that too.
 
I tried replacing the pitman arm about a year ago with a TRW arm, but the splined hole for the steering shaft was too large in the TRW arm.  I thought one may have been mispackaged, so I ordered another one with the same result.  Anyone with a manual steering box in a 73-74 e-body, order the moog arm so you won't have to deal with the same headache I had to.

Next week its time to move to the rear suspension.  Cal-Tracs, split monos, shackles and some new poly bushings for the rear swaybar.